First tastes of Ireland

off to the airport bright and early on saturday morning.., even if i did leave packing till the last minute and it wasn't until 1am that i realised i hadn't even printed off my ticket... (i promise i never used to be this disorganised!!!!)

thankfully  my flat mate was able to come to the rescue and print my ticket for me... (there's something to say for living with students...they have all the basics!) caught the tube to the city, and then found my way to the train station where i managed to convince the ticket that yes i was incompetient... but i needed a ticket to the airport... damn the scottish, and how they pretend to not understand you... after waving my arms about like a plane and almost giving in to his request of an anthem randition he eventually handed over my ticket... and pointed me in the right direction to catch my train.... i found the correct station... who numbers them randomly ie 1,4,3,6,2,8,10...and boarded my train,

 it had absolutely no room for luggage...which was surprising considering most people would catch the train to the airport as it stops right at the terminal...

you'd think they'd have some sort of section to put your luggage... oh well,luckily there weren't that many people on board so i was able to get a myself and my pack a seat!

the whole journey took about 45min, the whole train ride was rather scenic, as it was along the coast... as the airport was right on the coast (and i love my ocean views!)

word of warning...anyone booking cheap flights in the uk and europe....... check where the airport is located.... who would have though glasgow would have 2 airports... one in the city, and one 60miles from the city.... (where mine was!)

 didn't miss my stop! and managed to find the check in desk... (always helps to follow others!) and checked in... it was funny at the check in desk, there was these two ladies in front of me that were obviously over the 15kg luggage weight, so they kept taking things out of their suitcases and sticking them into their hand luggage, then weighing the suitcases again... took awhile but they made it in the end... though they had a bit of trouble lifting the hand luggage afterwards!!!

i flew with ryan air, who has a 15kg luggage limit, but a 10kg hand luggage limit! after check in i was then left to wander around the extensive airport... (there really wasn't much, security check in involved me walking through a door, and eventually getting to the metal detectors... ryan air seems to have a policy of making everyone take of their shoes... so that was all a bit time consuming... you'd be surprised at how many people refuse to take off their shoes...(like me in hawaii.... they too got frisked!... i totally learnt my lesson.... if they ask you to jump.... jump!

eventually got though that and was let loose in the duty free... so much alcohol, yet weird restricions... after trying a few times to buy this massive bottle of vodka and having no success!!!!! finally someone lets me in on the secret... that i couldn't buy it cause i was only going to dublin!

however if i was going to copenhagen i could have bought it!

flight was over almost before it began... took a whole 20mins.... and i was in a totally different country... it took me twice as long just to get to the airprt! there was definitely a mix of people on the plane. the best and loudest was the gang of about 50 lesbians with "proud to be leso's" emblazed over both the front and back, and bright pink hats.. (you know jut in case you couldn't read...) slightly intoxicated... but all the more fun! that and the rugby guys!!!! lol way to much entertainment for one flight... shame it wasn't a touch longer just to see what would have happened...

My pack arrived safe and sound and i managed to make my way out of the airport... without being grabbed by customs!!! (yay!) maybe i could have smuggled that bottle of vodka over! after being given fantastic directions by kt on which stop to get off the coach at.... all i needed to do was work out where i could catch that particular coach from... after a few wrong turns, all was good, and the bright blue colour gave it away, and i found the one i was looking for... yay! even managed to get off at the correct stop... much to my own delight... :O) waited for a few minutes outside this toyota shop, and i swear the guy inside must have thought i was casing the joint... he kept coming to the door and giving me evil looks!... i was tempted to walk in and ask to go for a test drive, what with my pack and all! ;o)

KT met me at the bus stop, being the only one standing there with a giant pack on, i think i was easy to pick... We then walked a little way down the road to her place...What a lovely place she has... after living in horrible hostels for ages, and only recently into a flat... it was pure heaven! :o) and it had a view!.... you have no idea how exciting it was to actually be able to look out any window and have a nice view... not of the garbage bins in the courtyard, or the concrete outside! and it's very own balcony...

shame it's so cold outside... it'd be amazing in summer! we ended up deciding on a quiet night in.. and got stuck into the bacardi and vodka, (man that first drink was strong!) KT cooked up an amazing chicken curry.... and we settled on the couch... we made a break from the house after a bit of a sweet craving, and headed down the street to the local spar (ie corner shop!) we made a little detour into the local pub for a few drinks on the way, where i popped my guinness cherry as they say in ireland... with a half a pint of the black stuff with a dash of blackcurrant...

I've never been a fan of dark ales... however i was pleasntly surprised... and actually managed to drink it... it's definitely true when they say that guinness tastes totally different in ireland... i'm not sure if it's because it's fresher because everyone drinks it, so it's constantly being pumped through the pipes... but i have to say that it was the best gunniess i've tried! and i'll even go as far as to say i actually enjoyed it

 Kt also introduced me to another of her favourite drinks, cider with blackcurrant... the first of many over the next few days...(see the common theme here, add blackcurrant to anything and it'll be delicious!...mmmmm blackcurrant syrup!)

we were entertained by some random irish guy who for some reason was having the time of his life flipping his beer over and over with a coaster..... he'd put the coaster on top of a full pint then flip the glass so it was upside down, then flip it over again... needless to say there was a fair amount of beer all over him and the floor... but the bar man would fill up the pint everytime he'd flip it up the right way.... strange...but hey we're in ireland where anything goes!

made our way back to Kt's apartment and continued on with our toxic drinks! (if you ever drink with KT .... don't let her pour! ;oP) we managed to make our way through about 1/2 a bottle of bacardi, and a bottle of vodka.. (we're not alco's i promise!) before the famous A came home from work! what a sweetie, so charming and he's totally besotted with KT (which is hardly surprising....) she's definitely found a keeper... who quickly played catch up!

had the best nights sleep in the spare room.. mmmmmmmmmmmmm reckon your landlord would notice if i stole the bed!

March 11th 2007(to the seaside we go!)

woke up at some un-godley hour of 5am to this amazing sunrise.. which was over almost before it began, and if i hadn't have take an picture i could have sworn i was still alseep..

 
went back to sleep for awhile!.

got up for the second time around 10am, and remember that i was that hey i was in Ireland...
ended up heading off to find the Eurospar to pick up some goodies... for breakie...i love just wandering the aisle of new supermarkets, they vary so much!
before heading back to the apartment..

KT made the best breakfast ever... (you're totally in the wrong profession you know!) Kt's version of Eggs Benedict... it was delicious! mmmmmmm even now i'm sitting here drooling at the thought! ;o) ummed and ahhed over what we'd do... lol totally not knowing what i was going to do as part of my tour(and the fact that i didn't want to drag her along to places she'd already been!)

we decided to head north to a little seaside village called Howth.. caught the Dart (train) to Howth and got off to the sweet and salty smell of the ocean... oh how i love the ocean!

walked around and found this quaint little market selling all sorts of things... and a guy selling the best apples in ireland, which was confirmed by another stall holder!

walked out along the pier and got some amazing views out over Dublin bay... was a little windy but nice at the same time... found a semi sheltered area near Baily Lighthouse to have our picnic lunch.... before heading back along the path below the pier before walking through the Howth village. We managed to find this ruined abbey(cant remember the name but KT took a picture of the sign!) up on the hill...

and found this pub... and couldn't resist not going in for a drink!...

settled in with some crazy locals out for their sunday drinks... and had another 1/2 pint of guinness... which wasn't quite as tastey as the one the previous night, not quite enough blackcurrant in it! (maybe my mind was playing tricks on me last night!)
we tried to take a picture of the two of us with our guinness, and there was this guy (?was his name steve!?!) sitting at the table across from us, totally absorbed by what we were doing... now to look at them they were totally off their trees... they were drinking a mix of guinness beer, and the free pink lemonade... (free cause it tastes so horrible no one in their right mind would drink it sober!)

 anyways as we were having no luck... and this guy was just watching, i hinted that he should take a pic.... hahahaha bad mistake! he'd point the camera push the button then totally move the camera as it was taking the picture... hilarious... he then went on to take pictures of his drunk friends... hahahaha yeah i really should learn not to speak to strangers hey!

we finished off our drinks and quickly headed away from the scary guy! walked up a hill and took some pictures overlooking the bay before it started to spit with rain, so we decided to call it a day and head back... had pizza and salad for dinner and a few drinks.. and this amazing selection of fudge and strawberries....that was so artistically arranged on the plate by KT ... (talents are totally lost you know!) mmmmmm yum fudge! lol

March 12th 2007 (exploring i shall go)

poor Kt had to go to work, and was gone when i got up at 9am... decided to head out and explore, and realising as i got to the gate that i had no idea what the security code was to get out!!!, after a quick text to KT, i was free! it was an absolutely fantastic day weather wise sun was up and shining... so i decided to walk into town... now if i had any idea where town was i would have been fine!

but yeah setting off in a random direction in the hope of finding the city centre was a smart move... however this is where talking to strangers comes in handy! found this lovely lady out walking her dog, and she walked me into town... (there are some nice people out and about!) once i was in town, and after promising to catch up with her again before i left! i set off to explore...

i decided to do one of the city hop on hop off tours... as it would give me a general overview of where things were etc... and managed to convince the guy issuing the tickets that in the nature of st pats day he should make it valid for 48hrs instead of hte usual 24hrs!.. and he did!!!! hahahah the girl behind me jumped on the bandwagon too, and also got 48hrs for the price of 24! exciting...

 
Would definately recommend the City Tour bus to anyone over the dublin tours (they are the ones in red busses). The city tour had live comentary from the drivers instead of a pre recorded tape. So that meant that if the driver knew some little quirk he was able to add that into the tour.

A few things I learnt from the tour guide :

-Guiness Brewery in Dublin is the largest brewery in Europe

-St Patricks hospital is located right next to the Guiness Brewery, and it is a Alcohol Rehab facility (go the Irish)

-The Millenium spire which was constructed to celebrate the new millenium (duh) was finished in 2003... and it looks a lot like a needle

- considering there is apparently a drugs problem in Dublin

-Molly Malone - the Tart with the Cart. Sold fish by the day, and her fish by night

-The buildings built in the gregorian time have a unique feature - the windows get smaller the higer the building gets, to give the illusion of being taller.

-and that in the early times bodies from the st patricks graveyard, used to be dug up and sold to the medical students to practice on!

Now, Dublin was COLD, yes it was sunny at times, but geez jump on an open bus and let that wind chill rip right through you. I had to move to the covered area - where everyone else seemed to be already.

After the bus completed a circle, I decided it was time to actually hit the streets with my own two feet (should be a poet)So I jumped off the bus and started walking the route - so that I could check out some of the places that had caught my eye during the tour

First stop was at christchurch cathedral where i took some pictures from the outside...
decided that since it was a lovely day i'd do the outdoor's things while the weather was nice,

boarded the bus and headed out to phoenix park, which was this huge park, one of the largest city parks in the world...Everything was this incredible vivid green colour; the trees, the grass fields. it was like being in a whole different world, at one point as i looked around it was just me surrounded but nature! (and as corney as that sounds... it was surreal) here i was in a bustling city, yet at one with nature! it was just so peaceful, the silence broken ever so often with the sounds of people out for a jog!... what a perfect place to go to exercise...

boarded the bus and decided to head back into town... walked along and found the hostel i was meant to meet everyone at for my tour on wednesday, and what an effort that was... one thing that you notice in Dublin when trying to find a place.... a street names not going to help you much! They are virtually non existent (those that have been in Dublin know what im on about).After trekking around for a bit and asking the locals (well I think they were local, a LOT of them were definately tourists), I finally found the hostel after walking right past it 3 times.

had a bit of a look around in town, got a text from KT to meet at one of the Dart stations... and i was like ok... then afterwards i'm like.... mmmm i wonder where it will be... armed with a basic map, and the instinct to go south! i navigated my way along... ended up asking a local for directions... and found out i almost got there i was just a street short! yay!

caught the train back to Kt's and i have no idea what we did! lol (kt feel free to fill me in if you remember!)

actually hang on i remember KT making an awesome soup that went from being a plain packet soup to a meal worthy of a king... yum.... it was oxtail or something...

it was good...

March 13th 2007

(a day to do nothing!)

i was up and all set to head out and go visit the gaol... when A gets up and convinces me not to! hahaha.

then we went searching the net to see if there was anything that seemed like it could be fun and productive...

we decided that we could head out to malahide to see the castle and this working museum of miniture trains... and had even looked up train times etc, before realising that the museum was closed till april... bugger.... so that idea went out the window..

we sat around for awhile umming and ahhhhhing till we came to the conclusion we where going nowhere!

we did venture out of the apartment once! to go get lunch from the local shop! hahahaha but we didn't do much else apart from sit watching this random tv station (i think it was the turbo channel)
and watching these crazy guys get paid to make a car that could pick up golf balls on a driving range and shoot them back at the punters! hilarious!

that and watching lots of random things on you tube...

hahaha it was crazy...

i think Kt was a little miffed when she came home and realised we'd done nothing but sometimes doing nothing is just as good as doing something!

had yummy dinner of taco's...

hey my braincells are certainly performing here! and there i was thinking i'd killed many of them off with the amount of alchol that was consumed...

off on tour tommorrow... thank god i'm sure Kt's thinking! ;o)