Google Maps, you bastard!

We woke up at about 8:30 ("half eight" to the Irish) yesterday (Sept. 28) and got ourselves around. I'm not sure how well I've been sleeping lately and I was wandering if it was because the temperature of every room we've stayed in is on the warm side. In general, everywhere we've gone, whether a pub, grocery store, or what have you, the room temp is slightly warmer than I like. Even more so now because I'm wearing layered clothing and sometimes my waterproof rain jacket. Anyways, after we got around, we went down to the restaurant on the ground floor and had our free breakfasts. Full Irish for both of us, with coffee and a glass of OJ. We agreed that this one was better than the ones we had in Dublin. 

We checked out of our room and packed the car. This was Lisa's big moment at the reins of the driving the Great Bandido. She did excellently. Nervous? Yes, though she had the added benefit watching me work through many things first. But hey, there are still some thing you just have to do yourself. You have to work the bugs out yourself. You get the idea. Be brave, my dear. 

We trekked north through the town of Kilkenny which dumped us onto a tiny rural road. This was the only route to the motorway, M8, to Cork. Trial by fire. As I said, she did well. She tends to hug the super narrow shoulder, but she was quick to inform that I did the same. Well, better to be scraping something on that side of the car than to find yourself in a head-on collision. Then there were the tractors. You have to be patient. The opportunity to pass could take a moment to arrive. It'll try your nerves to try to steer into the right lane and assess the traffic situation. When it appears that there isn't any there's a blind curve or a hill, but you have to keep checking or you'll never get out from behind them. That is, unless the farmer signals an all clear for you.

We navigate through the roundabouts that spin us onto the M8 to Cork. Easy driving now. We wanted to see the Rock of Cashel on the way to Cork. It is the ruins of an old church that held a lot of historical significance. We make to the town of Cashel and are relying on Google Maps to get us to our destination. It did, but it didn't, again. It was trying have us go on this weird harebrained route to The Rock including a wrong-way hairpin turn. Asshole map. Not so easy driving now. Not cool.

So after that was sorted out, we were parked in the proper parking lot. Bandit may have gotten a hubcap skimmed on a little rock wall, but he didn't mind. We get out and look up to get a glimpse of The Rock. It sits proudly on top of a tall, rocky hill. It's windy as all get out, but the panoramic view is astounding. It was a gorgeous day to be in such a gorgeous place. 

As Lisa and I were taking photos of the place when we hear a random woman say to us "would you like me to get a photo of you together?" in an American accent. Uh, sure. The was unsolicited, but OK. She was in her late twenties, maybe early thirties, as was her husband. She was visibly pregnant and wearing an FSU headband and had a FSU bag. I had to ask. "Are you from Florida?" They said they were from Jacksonville but were indeed FSU fans so I Gator-chomped her. After briefly discussing each other's trips thus far and when we were each going home we bid each other farewell. Lisa and I wrapped it up after a few more photos and made our way back to Bandit. Now for the final leg of today's trip. Just had to get out of Cashel. 

Well needless to say we escaped just fine. We were back on M8. No sweat until we get to Cork. We passed the Galtee mountains on our right and saw Irish countryside everywhere else. Such a beautiful country.

We get to Cork at near noon. Here's the thing with Google Maps. It's great until it fucking sucks. Once we are in a town it just blindly routes a "quick" way to your destination. No indication as to how many of those roads are actually one-ways. Yes, just as what happened to us in Kilkenny and in Cashel, happened here. Where the hell was the parking garage? We couldn't take a certain street because it was a one-way. How do we circle back around and not get too far away? Aggghhh! We had to basically figure everything out in a pinch. Right here in the city of a foreign country. Again. This time we got lucky and as I was trying to process many things very quickly Lisa spotted the parking garage we needed to be in. We caught a break this time. 

We get checked in, la-dee-da, blah, blah, blah. I was still feeling pissy about Google pissing me off. It started getting Lisa cranky. We both got cranky. Cranky. Say "cranky" again. Cranky. So, we decided to get a pint, but first we had some errands to run. We needed to get another means of charging our devices because one charger wasn't enough. Bandit's 12 volt plug doesn't seem to work and we've been using Lisa's phone to navigate. I needed to find some distilled vinegar because my blue jeans were stank. There must have been some remnants of good old Florida mildew in them suckers. Back in Dublin I attempted to hand wash them with the intention of drying them with the hairdryer. It turns out that the hairdryer didn't work and I had to air dry them. It took nearly two days for my jeans to "dry". The stank took over. My jeans ended up semi dry in a garbage bag in my backpack for the last few days. Hence the vinegar.

After we got the needed supplies, we went out for some pints then came back for a nap. A much needed nap. It was pretty difficult to wake up for both of us after the alarm went off. We dragged around a bit and got ourselves out the door and to a Spur (a convenience store) nearby. There we got an Irish version of Red Bull. It helped. Thus, our first evening in Cork could officially commence.

There are many heritage pubs in this city. We went to one, called Bodega, before we came back for a nap. We actually ate lunch there as well. After we drank our Boosts (Irish Red Bull) we walked into a place called The Poor Relation Grocery & Pub. Interesting name. It was pretty dead in there. One woman sitting at a table, reading a book and drinking a pint. Then there was the barkeep. A young, thin girl wearing hipster-type garb. Lisa asked for a Guinness, but they didn't have any. Whoa Nelly, what? So instead she got a pint of the local craft brewery's (Rising Sons) stout called Mi Daza. I got Murphy's Irish stout. At this place we were really noticing how much this town is influenced by American culture. It was the first place we'd seen with American football on all TVs. It's hard to explain, but Cork just feels more American.

From there we ventured into a few more pubs. Cork seemed to have less of the night life as compared to any town we've visit in Ireland thus far, but then again it's Monday. There were bars open, some with live music, but none traditional. Again, it felt more American. We still got our drink on. Afterwards we hit up a late-night McDonald's and eventually came back to the room. We ate, we slept. Slept well. This brings me back to discussing our sleep. This place is the first were we could control the temperature in the room. We made it comfortably cool in here so that we could sleep more soundly as we do at home. And we did. Finally. 

 

I woke a few minutes before our 9am alarm. The alarm went off and I got around to get us some coffee at a little coffee pod just outside of our hotel. There was some confusion as to what Lisa wanted (double Americano). I don't know what the hell that is, but I guess we ended up with what's called a Red Eye. I don't know. I just order a black coffee and I'm done with it, damn it. I also tried to pay with my room key. Ugh, that's my morning so far. I believe our plans today are to really not do too much. Maybe walk here, maybe walk there. We'll see.                         

Beginning Adventure of Bandit the Black (continued)

As promised, I'll finish up the last post and talk about Kilkenny. 

So as we are nearing Kilkenny on M9 I was starting to feel much more comfortable with Bandit and the roadways. I think Lisa was feeling more at ease as well because I noticed that she had pulled out Rick (Steves) and started looking stuff up. So as far as that all goes, it's gotten better. 

We roll into Kilkenny and pretty much the second turn google maps would have been putting us the wrong way down a one-way street. Now we had to improvise. So, I ended up taking quite the robust right turn into a short road that took us into what looked like an apartment complex. "I don't give a fuck, I'm parkin' it right here", I said as I popped Bandit in reverse and pulled in. Lisa resumed trying to figure her way around the map and I awaited my directions. So here goes attempt two at getting to our hotel. So we back track a little  and we come to what looks like a main intersection. After taking a very brief moment to locate the traffic signal, which was more like a light post on the corners, my light was green and I'm turning left. I'm telling myself in my mind to "stay in the left lane" over and over again. The temptation to always end up in the right lane after a turn was still tempting me. But, no worries. We roll down one block and Lisa hurrily says "turn right here!" Ah shit man, that abrupt stuff is not cool, but I totally understand that it wasn't on purpose. I can't even remember if I checked for cars mainly because I couldn't remember where the hell to look for them that quickly. So I just went right onto the next street. Lisa is now telling me to stop, repeatedly. Ok, she's feeling stressed, but there is no way I'm stopping in the middle of the street so I immediately began scanning the area for somewhere to park it. I was coming up to another lighted intersection and my random choice I decided on left. As I rounded the corner my option was quickly denied as the blind corner showed to be a dead end. So I began to merge back into traffic only after pissing a cabby off, getting honked at, and getting a stank-face from his passenger. Oh yes, gotta find a place to park, remember? Lisa spots as set of handicap parking spots along the road and tells me to park there. I was hesitant, but whatever. I put it in park. Traffic infractions 3 and 4 complete. No ticket. Ha.

Lisa was able to work out a better route and after a few more moments Bandit was parked in the hotel lot. 

We get ourselves checked in, grab our belongings and head to the second floor to get to the room. It is tiny, but newly decorated with a lot of mirrors. How to get the lights on? Couldn't figure it out. Tried everything I knew if. So did Lisa. What the hell? I couldn't get the TV to turn on either. Now it wasn't a question it was a statement. What the hell.

I had to piss so I turned to the flashlight on my phone and closed the bathroom door. Plenty of mirrors made it plenty bright enough to. As I'm in there the bathroom light comes on and I hear Lisa begrudgingly say through the door "That is fucking ridiculous". So as I walk out of the bathroom she explains to me that there is a card reader just as you enter the room. You have to put a card key into it and then you get power. Well, needless to say, I agree with her sentiment. 

After we get settled in its finally time to see Kilkenny on the safety of our own two feet. It is a very old medieval town the proudly boasts a large castle on its main drag. We are hungry and really wanting a pint at this time so the whole touristy thingy is just going to have to wait. Lisa's blog entry is quite descriptive and I honestly don't think I have anything to add. Son with that, I will conclude and say that at this moment, she is getting herself ready for the day and then it will be my turn. We get a complimentary full Irish breakfast from the hotel so we shall be hitting that up before we embark for the next chapter in this adventure, The Rock of Cashel and Cork. Lisa is driving this time. She's a little apprehensive. But she's got this. Wish us well...

 

Beginning Adventures of Bandit the Black

Saturday, the 26th of September, 2015. We woke up and got all of our stuff together and walked through out hotel room for the last time. It was our last night in Dublin. Or should I say, Publin. We had to find where exactly our Airlink bus stop for the airport was going to be. The receptionist in the hotel lobby said it was near Trinity College. Lisa had her doubts and was able to lead us to one that was closer. I'm telling you, she's really good at this stuff. We got to the stop and about 2 maybe 3 minutes later the bus shows up and we board. 

We were some of the first people on board. About 45 minutes later after the bus made all of its stops, we were on our way to Dublin Airport to pick up our rental. Terminal 1 first to check in our reservation and then catch a shuttle bus to terminal 2 to finalize all of the paperwork and get the car. As we finished signing papers I really started to get some nerves about driving. It was both exciting and intimidating. Lisa kept reassuring me that if I wreck that we are fully insured. Just don't lose the key. That'll cost. I love you too, dear. We walked across the parking lot looking for parking space 161. Yup, there it is, a little beep beep of a car. A black Skoda Citigo (we later nicknamed Bandit) Automatic? Yes. *sigh*

You see, things like reserving an automatic aren't really guaranteed in Europe. People mainly drive a stick, which I can do and have done many times before but I really don't want to try in figure out how to navigate in such foreign circumstances with the added stress of driving stick. You get the idea.

So, here goes.

The first thing I notice was that the car seemed to take more effort to actually propel itself forward. Meaning that when I press the gas pedal, it kinda starts moving forward at its own pace. It really reminded me of driving with a clutch. It felt like it. But there wasn't a clutch. As I proceeded towards the first stop sign the RPMs sounded like they were running on the high side just like it was still in first gear. You know what? I learned at that moment that I still had to tap the stick forward to put it into second. Then the same for third and so on. Oh damn it. So, that is how it's going to be now.

After Lisa was able to navigate me out of the airport and onto M50, a motorway that is like our Interstates, I was able to concentrate on getting used to it all. It's still harrowing to me at this point. Just be cool and just do it. Right? 

We were on our way to Powerscourt Home and Gardens which is about 45 minutes south of Dublin in County Wicklow. We drove into the Wicklow mountains near a small town called Enisskerry. The beauty of Ireland was finally ours to behold. So, so beautiful. 

As we neared the estate, the roads became super narrow as they are well-known to be. Serious. There is either solid shrubbery or an even more solid rock wall inches from the 6-8 inch shoulder on your passenger side and maybe that much on your side for oncoming traffic to pass by you.

Anyways, the next thing I know I am in a car park, putting the car into neutral and pulling the parking brake (no Park position with this car). First journey---check. Time to forget about all of this driving stuff and relax again. 

 The first thing Lisa and I decide to do is to eat. There wasn't time for that back in Dublin and we banked on this place having a cafe or something. Indeed it did and it was delicious. I had, first and foremost, black coffee. Then I got some kind of spicy chicken pasta that was heated to about 1000K with some other kind of cold pasta. it was all tasty and hearty and much needed. Especially that coffee. Lisa had a Guinness stew and some other kind of pasta and of course, coffee as well.

With are bellies full and the caffeine finally kicking in it was time to check the place out. We get through admissions and walk through the nearest doors which let us out into the rear of the estate.

 As you can see the building is large. This place started out as a castle in the 1200's and then was reconstructed from 1731-1741. There are tightly manicured lawns which were lined with many statues or large vases containing various colorful flowers. Then we turned around to view the landscape.

I was just floored. I still am just looking at these photos. This photo is facing east. There was so much to see here, but it was also so hard to tear myself away from this view. After Lisa and I finally did tear ourselves away we walked towards the the north which leads to the many gardens that lie behind and around that pond you see in the distance here.

We started on a dirt path and quickly lead us to Pepperpot Tower

After another short walk we came upon a Japanese style garden

 

Following the trails some more we found a Pet Cemetery.

Here is a view back to the estate from the other side of the Dolphin Pond

From this view, almost everything on the left is nearly all flower gardens behind gated rock walls. When we made it to that area we were simply overcome by the smell of countless aromatic flowers and all the color one can imagine. The air was cool and light with the temperature being in the low to mid 60s. What other sense could possibly be pleased in this moment (besides taste, don't be a smarty).

 

And for those of you who know, I tend to take selfies with butt cheeks in the background...

So that was Powerscourt summed up very quickly, believe it or not.

 The next stop is the Glendalough ruins, an old monastery that was founded in the 6th century. Freaking old, man. We drove about another 45 minutes through even narrower roads. Very intense for a first timer. I know that Lisa was keeping it together as well. Hey, she did amazing because she calmly navigated me to our next destination. 

When we arrived, we circled through a roundabout and into a rinky-dink car park. It was basically four tiny parks no lots stitched together by a tiny lane. And there were about ten-thousand cars parked in every spot and every nook and cranny. I drove around that sucker for about 15-20 minutes waiting for anyone to leave. Finally, a lady walks to her car, a red Ford, and after mucking around on the right side of the car walks around to the left side of the car. She gets in and sits down. I'm thinking that it may be a moment because maybe she is waiting on someone else to get in on the driver's side and drive of. Just as I am about to consider moving on the reverse lights come on and she backs out. Holy shit, and hell yeah!

We park and rejoice. We walk to the welcome center and show them our passes. As we walk out to see the ruins we cross an old wooden bridge and to our right we see this.

Then we walk a trail that leads into the monastic city.

Inside the cathedral.

The bell tower.

There is obviously a boatload of history that happened here and it was just amazing being here. Unfortunately at this time, it is 11:45 pm here in Kilkenny and we need to be awake early in the morning to drive to Cork, so I apologize. I still want to write about Kilkenny, which was the next leg of the adventure after these ruins. So...at least from me, to be continued...

Death Ride to Durango (Kilkenny)

To make up for lost time, all you lucky readers are going to get dueling blog entries today =) Should be interesting to see if we remember anything differently (or not at all). 

Friday evening was a lazy stroll around some of the pubs in the City Centre area of Dublin. Just a few relaxed pints to unwind and prepare for the first big travel day within Ireland. We ate dinner at the Mercantile in Dublin. Nothing extraordinary but still good and still filling.

Saturday morning we took the bus from our hotel to the airport and picked up our car. It is a small black hatchback style car, a Skoda Citigo. After a few hours of bitching about different features of the car, Ryan semi-affectionately named it "Bandit" and was giving it pep-talks when attempting to steer it up hills. 

We requested an automatic transmission vehicle when we made our rental car reservation. Ryan and I have each driven manual transmission cars before, however neither of us have any recent experience with it and decided that when we already have to get used to driving on the opposite side of the car and the opposite side of the (narrow!) roads, readjusting to driving a manual transmission would just be one extra, unwelcome headache. We were right about that!! However, the downside is that "Bandit" is only what I refer to as semi-automatic. The car will shift on its own, but it isn't 100% automatic either. There is no "park" gear, instead you put it in neutral and put on the emergency break, just like with a manual car. When reversing or in a low gear the car is a little wobbly, just like with a manual car. And when going up a hill, the struggle is so real. Anyway, the moral of the story is that driving the car definitely took some getting used to, as did driving here in Ireland.

The first moves out of the airport went relatively smoothly. We made it through one roundabout just fine, then at the second we turned out to be in the wrong lane, but it was too late to do anything about it. Thus, instead of merging easily onto the motorway (the equivalent in roads to the interstates at home) we ended up on some side road by the airport. What we really needed was to do a U-turn, however the signage indicated that these were prohibited at the intersection we were at. I urged Ryan to "just do it!!" after looking around for any Garda, and thus our first traffic infration in the Republic of Ireland committed. Thankfully I was right, there were no cops around, and unless we get a ticket in the mail from a hidden traffic camera, we should be out of the woods. Whew.

Following that slight mishap it was off to the Powerscourt House and Gardens, approximately 30 minutes outside of Dublin. The gardens took about an hour to walk through, and they were gorgeous. For those of you who see our Facebook pictures and probably imagine that all we've been doing is hitting the pubs and not seeing any real sights, just know that I'm taking pictures on my real camera at all the major sights and so those pictures won't be uploaded until we get home...I promise we're doing some real touring in between the consumption of pints! 

After Powerscourt we made our way to the Glendalough ruins, about 45 minutes drive from Powerscourt. That was our first exposure to the naaaaarrow rural roads that connect the sights in the countryside of Ireland. If there is a bicyclist or pedestrian (or sheep) in the road, you basically have to slow down to their speed until the coast is clear in the opposite direction to pass. There is no shoulder, no wiggle room, and most of the time on the rural roads the visibility is limited by completely blind turns. It was a bit harrowing to get used to. I tried to stay calm and be a good navigator for Ryan, who bravely took on the first day of driving. From what he said, I did a good job of not letting my nerves show, but damn did I need that pint when we got to our final destination last night!

Glendalough was equally beautiful to Powerscourt. It is the site of ancient monastic ruins from around 1050, and is surrounded by beautiful hills and countryside. We walked around the ruins for a bit, taking in all the natural beauty and trying to imagine what life must have been like for the monks who resided there nearly 1000 years ago. 

Once we were through at Glendalough, it was back on the road for a 90 minute drive to the town of Kilkenny. The hotel car park was ridiculously hard to find (really shitty directions, by the way, if anyone from the Zuni hotel happens to stumble across this blog!) but once we got situated in our room we were more than ready to head out for, what else, a pint. 

We went to the Kyteler's Inn and enjoyed a few rounds plus some delicious traditional Irish dinner. Ryan got the Irish stew and I had the bangers and mash (mine was better!). Following our dinners we headed down to their covered beer garden to listen to a trad session going on down there. Around this time we realized that it was 8:30 here in Kilkenny which meant it was 3:30 back home-and that meant it was time for Gator football! I was able to stream the game live on my phone so we propped it up on the pint in front of me and enjoyed (mostly) watching our Gators play. It was kind of amazing to be sitting in a pub in Ireland, listening to trad music playing and cheering on the Gators at the same time!

After a bit we got restless and knew there were more places in Kilkenny to be explored. From the Kyteler we went over to Matt the Miller's pub. We noticed right away walking at night on a Saturday that Kilkenny seems to be the place for the Irish to throw their hen and stag parties (the equivalent of a bachelor or bachelorette party). I cannot tell you the number of super drunk groups of girls in tiaras we saw running around screaming last night. Unfortunately, Matt the Miller's seemed to be a gathering point for these inebriated partiers. The music and dancing looked enjoyable but we were both a bit tired to be trying to join in on those festivities. We got one round there and then moved up the road. 

Our next stop was a small place called O'Riada's. We tucked in there for a few pints and watched some locals enjoying their evening. We talked to a few local guys who gave us some suggestions for other spots to hit. They also educated us a bit on the yellow and black checked flags we had been noticing all over the city. Turns out hurling is a huge sport here in Kilkenny, and they seem to have quite a successful team. The pride for their team cannot go unnoticed once you understand the meaning of those flags-they are everywhere.

We left O'Riada's just in time to walk back to our hotel and catch the end of the Gator game (aka the good part). We briefly celebrated our victory and then passed out, agreeing to not set an alarm for this morning since we only had a few sights to see. 

This morning we woke up around 11:30 feeling rejuvenated, if still in need of caffeine. We got up and around and made it over to a place called Langton's for lunch and Irish coffees. Ryan got potato and leek soup with an entree of prime rib. I had the spiced beef sandwich which came with salad and chips. Definitely a good start to the day.

From the restaurant we made our way back across the River Nore to the Kilkenny Castle and the rose park out in front of it. The castle was originally built in medieval times but has been occupied up until the mid 1900s. It was quite nice and it was easy to imagine living in the lap of luxury there. 

Once we departed the castle it was up the street to the Smithwick's Experience Kilkenny. There we learned about the history behind the Smithwick's ale and the Francisan brewing that had taken place centuries earlier in the same area. Like any good brewery tour, we finished in the tasting room where we each got a pint. 

From there we went just up the street to Bollard's pub where we had a pint or two and a nice chat with the bartender. We got to watch a little more rugby and showed the bartender there a bit of American football tackles for comparison to the roughness of rubgy.

This evening for dinner we went to the Rive Gauche, connected to the West Bank bar which is nearly just across the street from our hotel. Ryan got a caprese-style salad for a starter and a steak with chips for his main course. I had a prawn and asparagus risotto for my starter and the pork belly with mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious and by the time we left we were stuffed.

We took a bit of a stroll around town after dinner to try to get our digestion going. While we were walking we spotted a sign outside of a narrow alley directing passersby to the Hole in the Wall bar. This had been recommended to us by our dear friend Rick (Steves) so we decided to stop in. We made our way down the alley and into the bar, which was already occupied by 3 English gentlemen. Yes, 3 guys pretty much took up the whole place. It is tiny! The owner and his barman were still very welcoming towards us and got us started with some Bulmer's ciders while we took to the small table located just behind the occupied bar stools. The young man working behind the bar began to give us some history on the place while the owner ducked upstairs. He began to tell us some history of the building the bar was located in, which dates to the 16th century. He also gave us some backstory as to the owner of the place, who it turns out is a cardiologist by day who was involved in some research pertaining to the use of ACE inhibitors in AMI (heart attack) patients back in the 1980s. 

Of course after hearing all of this Ryan and I were quite anxious to meet the man. When he came back downstairs we talked with him quite a bit about his research and cardiology/MI patients in general. He then offered to take us upstairs to show us where they have music on some nights and demonstrated how to play the stones for us. Quite the eccentric man, as I'm sure you can imagine a cardiologist/clinical researcher/barman/musician would be. It was an enjoyable time though, and everyone in that bar from the lad serving us to the owner to the random townies in the bar who were just there to hang out and shoot the shit with the owner made us feel extremely welcome. 

We're currently relaxing back in our hotel room. I have developed a new and quite serious addiction to Cathedral City baked cheddar mini-biscuits. Not sure what I'm going to do when I'm cut off in 2 weeks when we come back home. They are basically just little cheddar flavored crackers we disovered by accident in the local grocery store in Dublin, but they are so freaking good. Anyway, more travelling tomorrow. We'll be going from our place here in Kilkenny up to the Rock of Cashel and then on to our next stop in Cork. It's my turn to drive tomorrow so.......should be interesting. Like I told Ryan, we have full coverage on our car, and the only thing not covered is the keys. So if I end up wrecking, you better believe I'll at least be trying to pry the keys out of the ignition! That's all from me for now, hopefully my entry wasn't too boring compared to Ryan's =)

Last full day in Dublintown

Well, we rested a little and the next thing we know we are back into the streets of Dublin. We were on our way to meet with Tracy and her friend Tara at a place called Oliver St. John Gogarty in the Temple Bar area. At 7:30 there was a Irish music themed pub crawl. Lisa and I got there a tad on the early side. But in our true fashion, we each had a Guinness to pass the time. Tracy and Tara arrived and a short time later two Irish gentlemen named Anthony and Larry arrived on stage with instruments in tow. A 3 hour pub crawl flew by quickly as everyone sang, drank, laughed and listened to song and story. It was a great experience and as much as I love Irish music, I have gained more understanding as to what it is all about and I cherish it so much more now. 

Afterwards, as the crowd dispersed from the final bar (there were only 3 that we went to), Lisa asked the guitar player, Anthony, where he was going to be playing later. I asked him some guitar related questions. He kindly answered our questions and now we knew where our next stop would be. Burger King. Yup. The ladies were a little on the hungry side and such as in the States there is usually fast-food not too far from anywhere. Ok, but then after food, we knew where we were going. Well, kind of. 

We hopped into a cab and asked him to take us to The Palace. The next thing we know he's pulling over at a club with a long line of college-aged people dressed for partying. This wasn't matching with the schema that I had in mind. When you ask an Irish musician in Dublin where to find an acoustic session, you seriously don't expect to end up at a dance club. Once we explained to the cabby what we were intending to do, he knew where to go. Apparently there are two places named The Palace in Dublin. If you are here, make sure you are specific as to which one you want to go to if you get a cab. 

All is well again and we are walking into another 19th century building with old, narrow doors. Upstairs is where the bar is. It is small, but so lively. Patrons drink and converse amongst themselves as musicians, including Anthony, play passionately while tucked away together along the back wall. There were about 5 of them back there. Collectively lost in play. Excellent. Now, time for more drinks.

Tara presents us each with a pint of Guinness. This time our pints were accompanied each by a little friend, so named Jameson. Ahh, shit's about to get real! Atta girl, Tara!

Aaaaaannnd this is where the night starts to get fuzzy. I don't honestly remember when we separated from Tracy and Tara. Maybe Lisa could explain. Maybe not. I do remember Lisa and myself stepping outside of the pub that we started the pub crawl at, Oliver St. John Gogarty's. I remember having a random conversation with a middle aged Irishman named Derek and a 20-something Aussie name Sean. This happens a lot here. You just end up in conversation with random folks from everywhere. I find it exciting, but I just get too drunk! Lisa was fading fast and I am sure I was on my way as well. She told me today that she had been trying to get me to leave for some time. It finally sunk in and we made it back to the room. I don't know how she does it, but the woman has mad navigation skills, even after a few hours of drinking. So that wrapped up day 3.

The next morning we woke around 11? I don't think we left the room until after noon. This was all ok too because the only thing left on our itinerary was the museum and Dublin Castle. Other than that, we completely took it easy. Unfortunately, neither of us felt rested and I know that Lisa was feeling a little rough after the previous night. But we persisted. We first went to the museum and we loved it. It was a walk-through of the history of Ireland, from prehistoric to recent times. Viking invaders, Romans, English rule, and Irish independence. Jewelry, weapons, clothing, and books.

 A few well-preserved bodies excavated out of bogs.

Dublin Castle is only a short walk from the museum. It was a lavishly decorated place, as you can imagine. It only took us about 30 minutes for us to walk through the parts that are open to the public. 

Tomorrow we head out of Dublin for the first time. We get are rental from the airport at 10 am. From there we embark to Powerscourt Home and Gardens and Glendalough. We will stay the night in Kilkenny which is south west of here. Sorry about the brevity but it's getting late and we are tired.

Cheers!

Don't go for the one

Day 3 today in Dublin, and we were definitely dragging ass this morning. Yesterday afternoon we took a decent nap and woke up ready to face the night. We started out at a little wine and tapas bar called Porterhouse. It was recommended to us by a barman at a pub on our first day, except he told us it was more of a craft beer bar. While they did indeed have some beers that were off the beaten path (no Guinness, Smithwick's, etc) it was most definitely not what we pictured when we thought of a craft beer bar. Regardless, the tapas were enjoyable. Ryan got some ham croquetas and I got a spinach salad with chicken, crispy chorizo and Manchego, plus we split some Iberico cheese and crusty bread.

After we left the tapas bar we walked down the street a bit until we came to a place called The Green Hen. It seemed like a cute place and had a few empty seats at the bar, so we decided to check it out. I had an old fashioned, which is one of my go-to drinks at home and was a nice change of pace from all the beer. Ryan decided to stick with a Guinness.

After we wrapped that up we went back to the Temple Bar district. It's touristy, crowded and probably overpriced but it's pub after pub and close to our hotel, so it's quite convenient. We started with a round of pints at the Norseman, then headed down to the Auld Dubliner. Both places had live music, but it was all covers of American songs, including one drunk German girl doing karaoke to "Africa" by Toto (hilarious). 

Following a Guinness at the Auld Dubliner we made our way across the street to Oliver St. John Gogarty's, a 3 level bar. On the first level it was extremely crowded and we somehow attracted the attention of a very drunk young German guy who Ryan thought as hysterical but I wanted to stab. He informed us how much he loves Donal Trump and how much he hopes Trump wins the election...yeah. I was done with that conversation. 

We decided to head up to the 2nd level where there was a group of musicians doing some trad music. We refilled our pints and listened for a bit, but then our Trump-loving clinger found us and we had to relocate again. We climbed up to the top level and enjoyed some quiet conversation, sans clinger. After a bit I felt nature calling and popped into the bathroom that was near the table we were sitting at. As I'm in there I hear Ryan start talking to someone else outside the door. I hear Ryan say that we are from Gainesville, to which the mystery stranger replies "Are you Gator fans?" While this question would not be unexpected back home, when you are several thousand miles away it is a bit more surprising. As I emerged from the bathroom I saw Ryan speaking with a middle-aged gentleman in a Dallas Cowboys shirt who was here on business from Texas. We had a nice chat about SEC sports (he's an Auburn fan, we told him to have fun watching Muschamp run his defense into the ground), which was refreshing since all we've heard anyone talk about since arriving is rugby. 

After we wrapped it up at that pub we decided to finish our night at The Temple Bar, where we had been the night before. We got one round but were both fading fast and decided to call it a night. We stopped for some drunk munchies food and made our way back to the room.

This morning it was a bit rough to get going, as I'm sure you can imagine after reading about our little improvised pub crawl last night. We got some coffees and breakfast and made our way to the bus stop. The bus took us out to the Kilmainham Gaol. The jail was built in the 1700s and housed common criminals (men, women and children, some as young as 6) until around 1910. Following that it was used to house political prisoners, and the execution in 1916 of 14 would-be revolutionaries helped build public support for Irish independence. 

The tour of the jail was very informative and Ryan and I both love historically significant places like that. The only bad part was that it was SO cold and windy today, and the jail didn't offer much protection from the elements. Yesterday was much warmer and so I unfortunately decided to leave my heavy jacket in the room today, a mistake I quickly regretted. 

At the conclusion of the jail tour we got back on the bus and rode over to the Jameson distillery tour. Unfortunately, Jameson is no longer distilled at that facility, but they do have some replicas of the distilling equipment and a guide who gives some backstory about Jameson and goes over the distilling process. At the conclusion of the tour they present you with 3 small samples of spirits. One is Jameson, the other a Scotch and the third an American whiskey. The Jameson was by far the preferred choice of both Ryan and myself. Once the taste test is done they give you an additional drink to enjoy in their bar area. Thankfully they alllow you to choose between a whiskey ginger with lime or a glass of straight whiskey. It was a no brainer for me to get the whiskey ginger...I couldn't do any more straight whiskey at that point!

For lunch today we went to the Brazen Head, which claims to be the oldest pub in Ireland, established in 1198. We both enjoyed a Guinness to drink as well as some beef and Guinness stew. Once we were stuffed we walked back to our hotel, and now, as you may have guessed, it is nap time! Tonight we are meeting up with one of our friends from work who just happens to be here on vacation as well. We are going to do the traditional music pub crawl with her and her friend. It should be a great time! 

One more day above the roses

Alrighty, so I'm a bit behind on this blogging game here. Ryan has basically summed it all up nicely so far though. Flights in were not the most restful, the first few hours in Dublin were a bit taxing as we were running on fumes and in a new place. The nap we took yesterday afternoon was probably the fastest I have ever fallen asleep. I don't remember anything after the second my head hit the pillow, and I did NOT want to wake up to the alarm (not that I ever do). It turned out to be a great first day in Dublin though, as Ryan said. We had a nice time at the Guinness Storehouse tour and very much enjoyed having our first pint of the good stuff here in Ireland. I also had a great time in the bar district, and hearing the live trad I've been listening to for years being played in real life in Dublin was beyond amazing. 

Today has been no less amazing. We started out this morning with a brief walk from our hotel to the Trinity College area. We had our first full Irish breakfast at the Kilkenny Cafe. It was probably not the best representation, as it was served cafeteria line style and it was obvious that some of the food was not the freshest, but it was a decent introduction to the meal none the less. We also got some fresh coffee, which perked us both up. 

Following breakfast it was across the street to the Trinity College library and the Book of Kells exhibit. The history behind the Book of Kells made it worth seeing, and the Long Room of the library was fantastic. It is an enormous room containing around 200,000 books along with sculpted busts of many writers and philosophers. It is quite the sight to behold, and it doesn't hurt that it bears resemblance to the library in the Harry Potter movies =)

Once we were done exploring at Trinity College we made our way over to St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. Patrick's Park next door. The cathedral itself was gorgeous, and inside of it we were able to see the burial place of Jonathan Swift. For obvious reasons, I love A Modest Proposal.

Following our tour at the cathedral we took a short walk to the Liberties neighborhood, thus named because of its location outside the former protective wall which surrounded the city of Dublin, thus making its residents at liberty to do as they pleased. We took a tour at the Teelings distillery, which boasts being the fist new distillery in Dublin in the past 125 years. Of course Ireland is famous for its whiskey, and Dublin used to be home to a number of distilleries, however a combination of factors beginning in the early 20th century caused a significant drop off in the number of distilleries in the city. 

The distillery was fun to get a tour of, and the highlight was the conclusion of the tour where we were treated to a flight of 3 whiskies. We got to taste a single grain whiskey, a small batch whiskey and a single malt whiskey. While I am relatively new to the experience of sipping straight whiskey, I found the single malt to be the most pleasurable (AKA least disgusting, haha!). I'm coming around a little bit, but I will definitely be sticking to the beers, ciders, etc when we go out to the pubs (and Ryan will thank me when he's not having to spend the night holding my hair back for me). Maybe by the end of the trip my taste for whiskey will have come around...we'll see. 

After the distillery tour was over we decided to grab a bite for lunch. We went to a pub called Thomas Read. Ryan got a soup & sandwich combo and I got a chicken pie. Of course we each got a pint to wash it down with. 

Now we've just headed back to the hotel room for a minute of rest before the night ahead of us. Not sure exactly what will be in store for us, but there are several more pubs and restaurants in the area that need exploring! No matter where we end up, I'm sure the night will be filled with trad, hearty food and plenty of pints =)

The dead shall rise...and then go back to sleep

So we woke from the much needed nap. It was like the rising of the dead and the onset of the apocalypse. At least that's what it felt like. No matter, we had some Guinness to attend to. For it is written in the book of Guinnessis 3:33 (tree-turty-tree); "for ye dead shall rise from the grave and be giveth life through the pint of Guinness". 

The Guinness Store house was very cool. You start on the ground floor to about the 3rd or 4th floor (I think) where you are shown the beer making steps. But you also get an idea of the dedication and meticulousness that goes into making such a specific brew. About the 5th floor there is the Guinness Academy where you can be instructed on how to perform the perfect pour of Guinness from the tap. There really is a skill to it. Lisa and I did really well. The instructor was excellent (sorry, I didn't catch her name). Then we proceeded up to the 7th floor which is known as the Gravity Bar to enjoy that perfectly poured glass. The Gravity Bar is a circular room with large glass windows encircling it so that one has a panoramic view of Dublintown. Very gorgeous way to enjoy a pint, I must say.

From there we hopped on the Green Bus (the hop-on hop-off bus mention in previous entry) on a bit of a tour of the city. The driver, named Mark, was absolutely hysterical. It was just joke after joke of that dry, sometimes clever but always smile worthy Irish sense of humor. "What is the difference between a hippo and a Zippo? Well, one is a lit'le heavy and one is a lit'le lighter". Not only that, he would comically banter with people outside the bus (he had a microphone) as well, to which he received many smiles. Between the jokes he was describing historical sites as we drove by them. 

We decided to get off of the bus just on the north side of the River Liffy, which runs through Dublin and is only a short walk to our hotel. On the way, Lisa noticed that we were walking by the Ha'Penny. We had read about this place many times and saw that it had great reviews. Well, I guess it was time for and pint. Ahhh, but remember, don't go for the one. Especially in Ireland. We sat and exchanged a decent conversation with the barman. He was chock-full of advice (and opinion) in regards to what was good in Dublin and what was "shite". Next to us, at the bar, was a couple that was vacationing here from Tampa. Small world, huh. Two more pints and a shot of whiskey in my belly. I was shown by our barman how the Irish drink thier whiskey which was interesting to me because I don't believe I have ever tasted so much flavor in a shot. You take your time with it. You swirl it, you smell it, then you take a sip. Slow down and taste it. Then you pour a dab of water in it then repeat previous steps. It was beautiful. The whiskey I tried was called Teeling. If you are ever here, I highly suggest it, even if you are not a whiskey drinker.

We proceeded to the Temple Bar area. It is just what you may think it is. A chunk of Dublin dedicated to its evening pub life and traditional music. We went into the actual Temple Bar and each had a Smithwick's (pronounced "smithicks"). There were 3 musicians elevated above the crown on a stage. A guitarist, an accordion player, and a fiddler that was singing. The music was loud, fast and drenched in Irish soul. It was impossible for Lisa and I not to smile with absolute glee. They played a traditional song that we both know, Tell Me Ma. We would have easily been there for the remainder of the night, but Dublin bars close early (between 11:30 and 1:30 depending on the type of license they have) and we wanted to eat. After shuffling around the area for little bit, we ended up in a small restaurant called Tha Shack. Lisa had Irish stew and I had fish and chips. Need I really say how delicious it was? 

After we had eaten, the fatigue was simply too much. We needed our bed, and we needed it now. A pint of Guinness wasn't going to save us this time. I am pretty sure we immediately passed out once we got back here in our room. Now we are rested and about to get some breakfast. Today and tonight, well Dublin, we will much more ready for you.

Just so tired

We landed in Dublin an hour or so ahead of schedule. Some would say that is a good thing and I would love to agree with that notion but I just never slept. Lisa barely did. We got through security and then proceeded to get our hop-on hop-off bus tickets. It took a bit of exploring to find. Then it was on to get Lisa's SIM card for her phone. We were both really starting to feel the fatigue of traveling all day yesterday, on throu the night, then for the majority of the next morning without stopping. Exhausting. We decided that it was time for food and then to retire to the hotel bed for some well needed and deserved rest. We walked around a few blocks near The Central Hotel, which is where we are staying and found a little French style place called Le Petit Parisien. Lisa ordered a croque Monsieur and I order d a croque Madam, but got a croque Monsieur instead. No one but me noticed, I think. The only difference is that mine was to have a fried egg with it. Ahh big deal if it didn't. I was so tired. The food was simply delicious anyway. We found our way back to our hotel and I now lay here typing this out on my iPad. we plan to wake up again in a few hours, rejuvenated and ready to explore Dublin Ireland. This is so bad-ass.

On the night plane

What in the holy hell is going on. We are on the plane to Dublin. No one told us it was the geriatric-express. There are currently 5 old-timers going for a stroll around the plane. Stretching the old legs? Can't sleep like ya used to? Well, I feel you on the last one there, gramps. I have gramma Esther in front of me decide that she was just gonna go ahead and recline back a bit. Right gut into my knees. Yeah, that resistance you felt, that was my knee caps. Now the screen that was in front of me is more at collar one level and directed to my stomach. So much for sleep. The jack-asses behind us fell asleep with their lights on. That wasted light is spilling over into my eyeballs. So much for darkening the plane out. So much for trying to watch TV to pass the time. So much for Internet (it isn't free). Please tell me this is going to get better.

At this moment, it appears the Lisa has succumbed to the Ambien that we both took 3 1/2 hours ago. I hope she has. At least one of us is getting rested (somewhat). 

I guess I had some pretty unrealistic expectations regarding this part of the trip. Lesson learned I hope. I now know that planes generally don't lend comfort too well to people with 6'2" frame.

 Well it just so happens that Aer Lingus has Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes. Fucking sweet. Well, only 2 episodes. So here goes the next 44 minutes.

Waiting for Dublin

Orlando.MCO. What can I say about that damn place? Nothing too good as of yet. Driving into it is a mess, getting around it is a mess, and then there is security. A mess. Yes, David and Lisa made it through security without issue. I was patted down then brought aside to have my back pack sifted through. Irish Spring body wash proved to be the threat to national security this time and thanks to the brave TSA workers, another crisis averted. I know, I'm just being sarcastic. It's like you don't know me. 

We board the plane and almost immediately Lisa is bemoaning the fact that there are 2 toddler aged children behind us. The one directly behind her has already kicked her seat. About an hour later, the other turned the channel on my in seat TV as I was watching SEC college football highlights. Grrrrr. They screamed, shouted, and whined the throughout the whole 3 hour flight. Parents only whispered "Stop it." Then we landed and after venting our frustrations, all was better.

We landed at Logan International in Boston and walked towards terminal E, the international terminal. We saw David off as he left to go home. Lisa and I proceeded through security, again, then to the terminal. Rewarded ourselves with a free sample of 15 year old Dewars scotch. OK, so that makes up for the little bastards on the pervious plane. We then found 2 beautiful Sam Adams Lagers, Prime rib sandwich French dip and fries for me and Ipswich clams, green beans and mashed potatoes for Lisa at a restaurant called Durgin Park. My food was very delicious. The au jus was peppery and over the top awesome. Lisa was not too much of a fan of her clams but was damn sure to eat her mashed potatoes. 

So now we wait in the terminal after searching for an outlet to charge our devices. I honestly don't mean to sound like a spoiled American, but in this day and age, in a modern city such as Boston, it is a little bit absurd that there are so few outlets for travelers to soak up some valuable juice for their precious devices, you know? But anyways, we found one for Lisa and now it's 8:04 PM, we wait for 8:15 PM to board. How exciting!

Soon, we will board. We plan to take some Ambien so that we sleep through our 6 hour transatlantic flight. Dublin, I'll see you in the morning.