Day 1
at the airport on my way to Sydney, my first major trip on my own. i am part terrified and part excited - very cool and frightening. if you had asked me 3 years ago if i would be doing anything like this i would have said 'No Way' - i am glad i am getting braver as i get older instead of the other way around. so here i am - awesome!
getting some dinner before getting on the plane and a beer to calm my 'i hate flying' nerves just a bit. people watching at the airport is completely brilliant! there is a lady beside me talking about webbed toes on her cell phone...ok... and a father / daughter dealing with a major ketchup disaster. good times!
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on the plane to San Fran:
ah Safety announcement time:
in the event that the plane is crashing - pray! :/ ugh
as if you could save yourself when the plane plummets in a ball of flame - lovely!
i hate flying, did i mention that i hate flying!! but since i dont have time to sail to australia...darn it!
watched the saddest show ever on the tv and i am thinking is it a good plan to get 215 people really depressed and stuck in a tin can hurtling 40,000 feet above the ground?? anything could happen.
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1:30 in the morning (my time, i haven't switched my clock yet)
still in the air - ugh.
serious bought with claustrophobia somewhere around the middle of the pacific approximately 9 hours into the flight (oh fuck - i am not a fan of turbulence) anyhow someone on United, mistakenly, feels that showing you the position of your little tiny plane's progress over the wide expansive pacific ocean is a good idea! (where you could go down anywhere and no one would ever find you (I hate LOST!))… Wrong!
so looking at the screen, which is All blue, because there is no where to land...i pull my focus in to my current sardine like existence and i begin to have trouble breathing. great. then my mind starts to build images of me having a full out panic attack and being tackled by the sky marshal. not quite the image i wanted for my trip to australia.
so i decide to make the man beside me wake up (again...boy was he sorry to sit by me) so that i could walk around, after circling the plane several times (i hate the people in first class right now) i stand in the back looking out the window, at least there are stars so i can get my bearings, and enjoy the entire 2 ft square uninhabited space for awhile.
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they keep bringing us food...blah...it feels like kindergarten where they try to control the unhappy masses with milk and cookies...
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dammit the plane is back on the screen and we are still hours away - whimper
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while i was in San Fran i bought a travel pillow and blanket - lifesavers!
and the most hedonistic book that i have ever read, the first chapter did not seem that bad but OMG!! if it were actually real like the author claims he could give the Marquis de Sadie a run for his money. it is funny, cruel, and so crude...i am not sure that i want to read anymore, but it is kind of like the horrific cant tear your eyes away scene of someone jumping from a building, you know you shouldn't look but you cant help it...i think i need a shower after that last story. yuck! definitely throwing it away!!
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what a long flight!
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still in the air but WOW what a glorious sunrise!! oh my, the reddest red I have ever seen, perfect flow of colors one into the other from blood red to indigo - breath taking!
Monday, June 21, 2010
sydney-day 2
Day 2
on the ground - hallelujah!
on to customs, and my favorite question on the form - are you bringing in any illegal or illicit drugs or lethal weapons? who would answer 'yes' to this question???
i hand over my papers to the very cute customs guy, who has the teenage girls behind me twittering and frantically fixing their hair...because we ALL look like we have been pressed through a meat grinder at the moment.
he asks me where i am stay (because i left that line blank since i can never remember the name of my friend’s college) and answer with probably the worst thing you can say to the customs officer...
"i'm not sure"
he raises an eyebrow
"well, i'm meeting a friend" (oh great, i am going to be arrested for sure)
"is it in sydney" he asks
"no, about 45 minutes away, it begins with an 'm' - she is in college" he smirks at me pauses then smiles.
"macquarie?"
"yes! that's it!"
"are you sure?" he is almost laughing now, except that it is probably against the rules to laugh if you are a customs officer.
"yes, yes - that is definitely it." and then i proceed to spell it for him, as if to prove that i know what it is...brilliant! good way to confirm myself as the world's most unsophisticated traveler ever!
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finally at the rental car place. now all the time since we have landed i have been checking my phone. no signal AT ALL. yikes! how will i reach my friend? how will i make my way since i was planning to use the GPS? no clue...dont panic, it will be ok.
i hope.
i ask the guy at the rental car place to use his phone for a local call.
No. but i can use the pay phone - he points.
Fine.
at the phone (which as a million different options for how to make a call, in 6 languages)
i put in my change. ring-ring
"Hello?"
"Lizzy?"
"Suz!"
click, the phone goes dead, i need more change to continue the call - WTF! it was 5 seconds.
Fine. I can use my credit card.
No, it takes ever credit card in the world (in 6 different languages) but mine!!
ok, now beginning to panic...cant reach Lizzy, dont know where i am going, AND it is 9:30 in the morning and i haven't had coffee!!
first things first, get a coffee. so i am trying to stay calm, and breath. but i start to laugh at the complete ludicrous situation i am in, and thinking that this probably why most people actually 'plan' their vacations and dont just get on the plane. it doesn't take long in my exhausted state for the laughing to become just a little bit hysterical sounding and dissolve into crying... so i am attempting not to weep openly into my latte and figure out what to do next.
ok, get cash, buy a map, because it isn't going to get any better by sitting in the airport weeping. true - so i gulp down the rest of my coffee. head off to the exchange.
after begging to use his phone and, i am sure, looking completely pathetic. he turns me down on using the phone but gives me a free phone card for the pay phone - Eureka I can at least call Lizzy.
hooray - we get in touch, she is in the middle of giving me directions ...
click, the phone dies.
NO FUCKING WAY! Are you kidding me!!!
FINE, just _________ (fill in swear word here)
I completely give up on the airport and decide that I will just start driving in the general direction I need to go and hope that I can get there eventually.
I got to Lizzy's, 2 hours after leaving the airport - not too bad. After asking for directions 3 times, stopping 2 guys in a grey car, who no matter what will have a place in heaven, for letting me follow them to the road i needed. I was there!!
whew!! time for a cup of java!!!
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Lizzy and I went into Sydney on the bus, gorgeous place! I can tell already that I do not want to leave and I will DEFINITELY be coming back!!
I wanted to take pictures of everything - which will probably get annoying, but oh well. After dinner and a wonderful beer, called 'golden ale' which i hope I can find back home. I was dead on my feet.
3 hours of sleep in 36 hours was just not cutting it.
So we decided to have an early night and head back.
i feel asleep on the bus, a first for me. poor Lizzy had to wake me up to get off and walk back to her place. :)
on the ground - hallelujah!
on to customs, and my favorite question on the form - are you bringing in any illegal or illicit drugs or lethal weapons? who would answer 'yes' to this question???
i hand over my papers to the very cute customs guy, who has the teenage girls behind me twittering and frantically fixing their hair...because we ALL look like we have been pressed through a meat grinder at the moment.
he asks me where i am stay (because i left that line blank since i can never remember the name of my friend’s college) and answer with probably the worst thing you can say to the customs officer...
"i'm not sure"
he raises an eyebrow
"well, i'm meeting a friend" (oh great, i am going to be arrested for sure)
"is it in sydney" he asks
"no, about 45 minutes away, it begins with an 'm' - she is in college" he smirks at me pauses then smiles.
"macquarie?"
"yes! that's it!"
"are you sure?" he is almost laughing now, except that it is probably against the rules to laugh if you are a customs officer.
"yes, yes - that is definitely it." and then i proceed to spell it for him, as if to prove that i know what it is...brilliant! good way to confirm myself as the world's most unsophisticated traveler ever!
------------
finally at the rental car place. now all the time since we have landed i have been checking my phone. no signal AT ALL. yikes! how will i reach my friend? how will i make my way since i was planning to use the GPS? no clue...dont panic, it will be ok.
i hope.
i ask the guy at the rental car place to use his phone for a local call.
No. but i can use the pay phone - he points.
Fine.
at the phone (which as a million different options for how to make a call, in 6 languages)
i put in my change. ring-ring
"Hello?"
"Lizzy?"
"Suz!"
click, the phone goes dead, i need more change to continue the call - WTF! it was 5 seconds.
Fine. I can use my credit card.
No, it takes ever credit card in the world (in 6 different languages) but mine!!
ok, now beginning to panic...cant reach Lizzy, dont know where i am going, AND it is 9:30 in the morning and i haven't had coffee!!
first things first, get a coffee. so i am trying to stay calm, and breath. but i start to laugh at the complete ludicrous situation i am in, and thinking that this probably why most people actually 'plan' their vacations and dont just get on the plane. it doesn't take long in my exhausted state for the laughing to become just a little bit hysterical sounding and dissolve into crying... so i am attempting not to weep openly into my latte and figure out what to do next.
ok, get cash, buy a map, because it isn't going to get any better by sitting in the airport weeping. true - so i gulp down the rest of my coffee. head off to the exchange.
after begging to use his phone and, i am sure, looking completely pathetic. he turns me down on using the phone but gives me a free phone card for the pay phone - Eureka I can at least call Lizzy.
hooray - we get in touch, she is in the middle of giving me directions ...
click, the phone dies.
NO FUCKING WAY! Are you kidding me!!!
FINE, just _________ (fill in swear word here)
I completely give up on the airport and decide that I will just start driving in the general direction I need to go and hope that I can get there eventually.
I got to Lizzy's, 2 hours after leaving the airport - not too bad. After asking for directions 3 times, stopping 2 guys in a grey car, who no matter what will have a place in heaven, for letting me follow them to the road i needed. I was there!!
whew!! time for a cup of java!!!
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Lizzy and I went into Sydney on the bus, gorgeous place! I can tell already that I do not want to leave and I will DEFINITELY be coming back!!
I wanted to take pictures of everything - which will probably get annoying, but oh well. After dinner and a wonderful beer, called 'golden ale' which i hope I can find back home. I was dead on my feet.
3 hours of sleep in 36 hours was just not cutting it.
So we decided to have an early night and head back.
i feel asleep on the bus, a first for me. poor Lizzy had to wake me up to get off and walk back to her place. :)
sydney-day 3
Day 3
didn't wake up until 1:00 in the afternoon - fabulous, and yet somehow I am still tired, oh boy
Lizzy’s apartment has the world's most amazing shower, it could revive the dead, which is good because that is just about what i was. (it is one of those 'sunflower' shower heads - heaven!!!) AND she has the scariest bathroom light ever!! it is straight from a horror movie, where it flickers and flashes and then when it fully comes on there is a big scary monster waiting to eat you...Yikes!
we pulled ourselves together by around 4:00pm and drifted back into the city so that I could take some pictures with my 'real' camera. poor Lizzy, i am absolutely no fun when i am shooting, i dont talk or anything i get so focused. after making her suffer for about an hour it was time to move on to her friends house for dinner.
this time on our way into the city we took the train (why i decided to get a car i am not sure, i haven't gotten back in it since i got here...oh well) and the signs at the station are great. like:
'way out'
'no rubbish'
'mind the gap'
absolute favorite ‘Manly Ferry’ makes me laugh every time i see it :)
good stuff!! :)
Lizzy’s friends had us to dinner and they made the MOST BRILLIANT chinese food that i have ever had. squid and tomatoes in a ginger sauce, fish and cabbage and spicy peppers, followed by apple scones for dessert. WOW and she just 'whipped' this up when she got home...oh, boy! I also got to try an australian original, veggimite. hmmm, glad i tried it - dont ever want any more, ever-ever. it is a thick brown paste, that tastes like saltwater cheese....i gulped down half a glass of wine to kill the taste...or at least that is my story and i am sticking to it :)
3 glasses of wine later and jet lag hits again (not that the wine had anything to do with it of course!), i am all but falling asleep in my plate. (not very polite) so Lizzy and i head for home, where i fall asleep on the bus again, i hope this doesn't become a habit! boy, am i an entertaining house guest!!
forget walking back to the house! taxi!!!
time to crash with new adventures awaiting us tomorrow.
didn't wake up until 1:00 in the afternoon - fabulous, and yet somehow I am still tired, oh boy
Lizzy’s apartment has the world's most amazing shower, it could revive the dead, which is good because that is just about what i was. (it is one of those 'sunflower' shower heads - heaven!!!) AND she has the scariest bathroom light ever!! it is straight from a horror movie, where it flickers and flashes and then when it fully comes on there is a big scary monster waiting to eat you...Yikes!
we pulled ourselves together by around 4:00pm and drifted back into the city so that I could take some pictures with my 'real' camera. poor Lizzy, i am absolutely no fun when i am shooting, i dont talk or anything i get so focused. after making her suffer for about an hour it was time to move on to her friends house for dinner.
this time on our way into the city we took the train (why i decided to get a car i am not sure, i haven't gotten back in it since i got here...oh well) and the signs at the station are great. like:
'way out'
'no rubbish'
'mind the gap'
absolute favorite ‘Manly Ferry’ makes me laugh every time i see it :)
good stuff!! :)
Lizzy’s friends had us to dinner and they made the MOST BRILLIANT chinese food that i have ever had. squid and tomatoes in a ginger sauce, fish and cabbage and spicy peppers, followed by apple scones for dessert. WOW and she just 'whipped' this up when she got home...oh, boy! I also got to try an australian original, veggimite. hmmm, glad i tried it - dont ever want any more, ever-ever. it is a thick brown paste, that tastes like saltwater cheese....i gulped down half a glass of wine to kill the taste...or at least that is my story and i am sticking to it :)
3 glasses of wine later and jet lag hits again (not that the wine had anything to do with it of course!), i am all but falling asleep in my plate. (not very polite) so Lizzy and i head for home, where i fall asleep on the bus again, i hope this doesn't become a habit! boy, am i an entertaining house guest!!
forget walking back to the house! taxi!!!
time to crash with new adventures awaiting us tomorrow.
sydney-day 4
Day 4
the australian wildlife - so far, all that i have seen are birds, but they are pretty spectacular.
there is the cookabura (which i am no doubt misspelling) - there were 4 in the tree this morning outside Lizzy’s place, they are large about the size of a macaw, but they look more like a kingfisher. BUT they sound like a monkey!!! ooo--aaa--ooo completely takes you by surprise when you first hear it.
then there are cockatoos just flying around - like flocks of crows back in the states - amazing - but they sound completely awful!! i guess i have never heard one at the pet store before, oh-my, i can not imagine owning one!!
Lizzy and i head back into the city around 12 o;clock for lunch. Lizzy knows of this great pizza shop for exotic pizza and then we are going to go on a walking tour for a bit. i had decided to pack all of my camera gear, about 20 pounds worth into a rolling case to make my life easier...oops, my bad, mistake # 642. in order to get to the pizza place we had to climb these old stone 'excorcist' stairs. well so much for not having to carry it...by the end of the day i must have carried it up and down 1,000 stairs, it became a joke after a while. but since i am not going to the gym, this should definitely count as my workout :)
the pizza place was great and tucked into this old hotel called (wait for it...)
the Australian Hotel, boy they really slaved over that name huh??
we had a half crocodile/half lamb pizza - completely delicious and it struck me as just a little odd that we were having a notoriously ferocious animal and the worlds most docile animal on the same plate together. there must be some cosmic message there but I am not sure what...hmmm
we walked all over the city, with the guide book that we mostly ignored because that would imply planning and we can't have that!!! haha
took pictures, window shopping, lovely!
i know that i will be coming back, it is just a wonderful place and i need another month of walking and taking pictures to really capture the feel for the place.
our ultimate destination today is the art gallery for special evening exhibits. just to point out, there are WAY more hills in sydney than i would have thought, and perhaps they are more noticeable when dragging 20 lbs, up 45 degree inclines - because no matter which way we seemed to go it was ALWAYS uphill. i need a llama!!
thinking we are supposed to go to the royal gardens - we show up at 5:00 ... cool we are early (something neither one of us is known for) but there are signs everywhere saying it closes at 5 and penalties and prosecution for trespassers. hmmm. ok...
time to pull out the guide book...look up the museum...oh what a surprise we have to go up another hill to get there.
at the top of the hill it is just beginning to rain. no worries, we are right on time, there it is across the street Lizzy says. cool - we cross the street - awesome we found the...
library.
time to pull out the guide book again...look up the museum...oh no - it is just a little farther this way. 'are you sure' i ask
'yeah, i had trouble finding it last time, its this way'
ok, and off we go
several blocks later...
'wait - this doesn't look familiar' Lizzy says
time to pull out the guide book...look up the museum again...oh dear - 'i think it is back that way'
ok, and off we go...getting soggier by the minute. :)
this time we turn up the street with the library and ask directions, since obviously just using the guide book isn't working for us.
the guard points us in the right direction and we can see the museum - awesome! there it is...at the top of that hill....way over there. great!! bring it on!!
the museum was great, cool exhibits on middle eastern art, japanese ceramics, aboriginal art. cool - and a rare musical treat, indian opera - who knew there was indian opera.
we had a simple ride home on the bus, and i did not fall asleep this time and we are thinking it will be an easy cab ride home, since it is a little late we dont want to walk through the park.
well, wouldn't you know....
we walk up to the taxi and the guy hops out and says he doesn't want to take my luggage.
are you kidding? what should i do with it, just leave it here?? what kind of taxi doesn't take luggage!!
'fine' i say (and not too politely) 'we will take another cab.' there is a string of 5 or 6 of them - no problem! what was funny was that he actually looked puzzled as to why we didn't get in!!
next cab:
we get in
Lizzy ' can you take us to (she gives the address)'
cabbie ' why didn't you go with the other guy'
Lizzy ' why do you care'
cabbie ' well what happened'
Lizzy 'he was rude and didn't want to take our luggage, can you take us to 14 crown street?'
we are looking at each other like - WTF?
cabbie 'i'm not local'
Lizzy-exasperated 'ok, i will give you directions. turn around and go the other way.'
cabbie 'no, not here'
Lizzy 'but your going the wrong way'
cabbie grumbles
Lizzy ' you need to turn around your going the wrong way'
finally he turns around - she tell him where to turn, he takes the first turn.
she says to go straight, he turns right
Lizzy 'stop, stop where are you going - i told you to go straight!'
cabbie pulls over (the meter is still running) 'you said this road'
Lizzy 'no, i said go straight, you asked for directions i am giving them to you'
cabbie 'i can't go straight'
Lizzy - incredulous now 'we are not paying for this, you are not going the right way, you need to go back!'
cabbie - now yelling at Lizzy 'i'm not local, there are 2200 roads in this book i cant remember them all!!!'
Lizzy 'why are you driving here if you dont know where to go! we are so not paying for this.'
cabbie, still yelling the same thing
Lizzy,' come on Suz, we are walking!'
Go Lizzy!!! :)
we climb over the barricade (he picked a great place to stop) with my luggage and walk home, luckily the irritation gave us the extra energy we needed to get home quick!!
how do we find these people!!! :)
i love travel - hehe
the australian wildlife - so far, all that i have seen are birds, but they are pretty spectacular.
there is the cookabura (which i am no doubt misspelling) - there were 4 in the tree this morning outside Lizzy’s place, they are large about the size of a macaw, but they look more like a kingfisher. BUT they sound like a monkey!!! ooo--aaa--ooo completely takes you by surprise when you first hear it.
then there are cockatoos just flying around - like flocks of crows back in the states - amazing - but they sound completely awful!! i guess i have never heard one at the pet store before, oh-my, i can not imagine owning one!!
Lizzy and i head back into the city around 12 o;clock for lunch. Lizzy knows of this great pizza shop for exotic pizza and then we are going to go on a walking tour for a bit. i had decided to pack all of my camera gear, about 20 pounds worth into a rolling case to make my life easier...oops, my bad, mistake # 642. in order to get to the pizza place we had to climb these old stone 'excorcist' stairs. well so much for not having to carry it...by the end of the day i must have carried it up and down 1,000 stairs, it became a joke after a while. but since i am not going to the gym, this should definitely count as my workout :)
the pizza place was great and tucked into this old hotel called (wait for it...)
the Australian Hotel, boy they really slaved over that name huh??
we had a half crocodile/half lamb pizza - completely delicious and it struck me as just a little odd that we were having a notoriously ferocious animal and the worlds most docile animal on the same plate together. there must be some cosmic message there but I am not sure what...hmmm
we walked all over the city, with the guide book that we mostly ignored because that would imply planning and we can't have that!!! haha
took pictures, window shopping, lovely!
i know that i will be coming back, it is just a wonderful place and i need another month of walking and taking pictures to really capture the feel for the place.
our ultimate destination today is the art gallery for special evening exhibits. just to point out, there are WAY more hills in sydney than i would have thought, and perhaps they are more noticeable when dragging 20 lbs, up 45 degree inclines - because no matter which way we seemed to go it was ALWAYS uphill. i need a llama!!
thinking we are supposed to go to the royal gardens - we show up at 5:00 ... cool we are early (something neither one of us is known for) but there are signs everywhere saying it closes at 5 and penalties and prosecution for trespassers. hmmm. ok...
time to pull out the guide book...look up the museum...oh what a surprise we have to go up another hill to get there.
at the top of the hill it is just beginning to rain. no worries, we are right on time, there it is across the street Lizzy says. cool - we cross the street - awesome we found the...
library.
time to pull out the guide book again...look up the museum...oh no - it is just a little farther this way. 'are you sure' i ask
'yeah, i had trouble finding it last time, its this way'
ok, and off we go
several blocks later...
'wait - this doesn't look familiar' Lizzy says
time to pull out the guide book...look up the museum again...oh dear - 'i think it is back that way'
ok, and off we go...getting soggier by the minute. :)
this time we turn up the street with the library and ask directions, since obviously just using the guide book isn't working for us.
the guard points us in the right direction and we can see the museum - awesome! there it is...at the top of that hill....way over there. great!! bring it on!!
the museum was great, cool exhibits on middle eastern art, japanese ceramics, aboriginal art. cool - and a rare musical treat, indian opera - who knew there was indian opera.
we had a simple ride home on the bus, and i did not fall asleep this time and we are thinking it will be an easy cab ride home, since it is a little late we dont want to walk through the park.
well, wouldn't you know....
we walk up to the taxi and the guy hops out and says he doesn't want to take my luggage.
are you kidding? what should i do with it, just leave it here?? what kind of taxi doesn't take luggage!!
'fine' i say (and not too politely) 'we will take another cab.' there is a string of 5 or 6 of them - no problem! what was funny was that he actually looked puzzled as to why we didn't get in!!
next cab:
we get in
Lizzy ' can you take us to (she gives the address)'
cabbie ' why didn't you go with the other guy'
Lizzy ' why do you care'
cabbie ' well what happened'
Lizzy 'he was rude and didn't want to take our luggage, can you take us to 14 crown street?'
we are looking at each other like - WTF?
cabbie 'i'm not local'
Lizzy-exasperated 'ok, i will give you directions. turn around and go the other way.'
cabbie 'no, not here'
Lizzy 'but your going the wrong way'
cabbie grumbles
Lizzy ' you need to turn around your going the wrong way'
finally he turns around - she tell him where to turn, he takes the first turn.
she says to go straight, he turns right
Lizzy 'stop, stop where are you going - i told you to go straight!'
cabbie pulls over (the meter is still running) 'you said this road'
Lizzy 'no, i said go straight, you asked for directions i am giving them to you'
cabbie 'i can't go straight'
Lizzy - incredulous now 'we are not paying for this, you are not going the right way, you need to go back!'
cabbie - now yelling at Lizzy 'i'm not local, there are 2200 roads in this book i cant remember them all!!!'
Lizzy 'why are you driving here if you dont know where to go! we are so not paying for this.'
cabbie, still yelling the same thing
Lizzy,' come on Suz, we are walking!'
Go Lizzy!!! :)
we climb over the barricade (he picked a great place to stop) with my luggage and walk home, luckily the irritation gave us the extra energy we needed to get home quick!!
how do we find these people!!! :)
i love travel - hehe
ireland-starting out
Two for the Road (I thought you had the map!)
So my son and I decided that we really wanted to see Ireland, and we had not had a vacation in, oh, ten years, so now was as good a time as any. Well, now what? We have a destination but what did we want to see, how long should we go for, should we try to drive, it is our first international trip-what do we pack, and how would we even begin to start a trip like that? Time to hit the bookstore!
Friends and family recommended going to a travel agent, looking on-line through the travel websites, and several people suggested taking a tour, but honestly my son and I just are not that structured. We got to talking about a few of the things that we really wanted to see, and we had picked up a couple of guidebooks and a few maps at the bookstore. Well, they speak English there, and it is a relatively small country, perhaps we really did not need to plan that far ahead? Maybe we could just kind of ‘arrive’ and see what whim might take us once we got there. The more I pondered this idea, the more I liked it! I hate planning, so the appeal of just striking out on an adventure with no schedule, no timetable, and no pre-set course began to grow on me. At first my son, who is far more goal oriented than I, was a bit less enthusiastic, so I arranged a compromise. I would book us in and out of Dublin, so at least the first and last days we knew what we were doing and where we were staying, but then the rest of the time we could improvise. After all if the worst came to worst, we could always sleep in the rental car that I smartly booked at the same time as our flight.
Good plan!
The myriad of people that I spoke to of our trip sort of shook their heads, with an expression somewhere between ‘wow, that is brave.’ And ‘gee what a lunatic.’
So here is the story of our adventure, two for the road. (Driving on the wrong side, in a mini-car the size of a matchbox, no deadlines, no reservations, just our wits, Gaelic street signs, and oh yeah, did you bring the map?! No, I thought you had it! Oh, boy!)
So my son and I decided that we really wanted to see Ireland, and we had not had a vacation in, oh, ten years, so now was as good a time as any. Well, now what? We have a destination but what did we want to see, how long should we go for, should we try to drive, it is our first international trip-what do we pack, and how would we even begin to start a trip like that? Time to hit the bookstore!
Friends and family recommended going to a travel agent, looking on-line through the travel websites, and several people suggested taking a tour, but honestly my son and I just are not that structured. We got to talking about a few of the things that we really wanted to see, and we had picked up a couple of guidebooks and a few maps at the bookstore. Well, they speak English there, and it is a relatively small country, perhaps we really did not need to plan that far ahead? Maybe we could just kind of ‘arrive’ and see what whim might take us once we got there. The more I pondered this idea, the more I liked it! I hate planning, so the appeal of just striking out on an adventure with no schedule, no timetable, and no pre-set course began to grow on me. At first my son, who is far more goal oriented than I, was a bit less enthusiastic, so I arranged a compromise. I would book us in and out of Dublin, so at least the first and last days we knew what we were doing and where we were staying, but then the rest of the time we could improvise. After all if the worst came to worst, we could always sleep in the rental car that I smartly booked at the same time as our flight.
Good plan!
The myriad of people that I spoke to of our trip sort of shook their heads, with an expression somewhere between ‘wow, that is brave.’ And ‘gee what a lunatic.’
So here is the story of our adventure, two for the road. (Driving on the wrong side, in a mini-car the size of a matchbox, no deadlines, no reservations, just our wits, Gaelic street signs, and oh yeah, did you bring the map?! No, I thought you had it! Oh, boy!)
ireland-day 1
Day 1
We launched our oversees adventure from Dulles Airport in Virginia, my son’s grandparents dropped us off, because we really did not want to pay for parking for a week! Having not flown a great deal, until now I could drive in US for cheaper than I could fly, I had no notion of what to expect at security. I initially thought – good grief three hours before your flight, what will you do with all that time! – now I know better. A friend very wisely advised that we wear sandals, with socks, so that it would be easier, excellent advise! So I am passing it on to you all, definitely the way to go.
Security was courteous and efficient but with so many people, it just takes time. Not to mention that you have to all but strip to your essentials to walk through. It was rather comical watching everyone remove layers of clothing, shoes, scarves, bags, belts, wallets, keys, you name it! Walk less than 10 feet and then have to put it all back on again. When you think about it is amazing anyone gets to their flight on time.
We settled nicely into our flight, my son slept, I watched out the window, because I was way too excited to sleep. Our flight ended up being surprisingly short, just shy of 5 and a half hours. We landed the morning of March 29.
We launched our oversees adventure from Dulles Airport in Virginia, my son’s grandparents dropped us off, because we really did not want to pay for parking for a week! Having not flown a great deal, until now I could drive in US for cheaper than I could fly, I had no notion of what to expect at security. I initially thought – good grief three hours before your flight, what will you do with all that time! – now I know better. A friend very wisely advised that we wear sandals, with socks, so that it would be easier, excellent advise! So I am passing it on to you all, definitely the way to go.
Security was courteous and efficient but with so many people, it just takes time. Not to mention that you have to all but strip to your essentials to walk through. It was rather comical watching everyone remove layers of clothing, shoes, scarves, bags, belts, wallets, keys, you name it! Walk less than 10 feet and then have to put it all back on again. When you think about it is amazing anyone gets to their flight on time.
We settled nicely into our flight, my son slept, I watched out the window, because I was way too excited to sleep. Our flight ended up being surprisingly short, just shy of 5 and a half hours. We landed the morning of March 29.
ireland-day 2
Day 2
We had finally arrived! After months of thinking about it, reading in our books, wondering what would be different and if we would recognize anything. We made it! We got our first passport stamps – sweet! Our flight had landed at around 7:30am Ireland time and by the time that we sorted out getting our luggage, where to find the rental car, how to pay for the rental car, when I only have US dollars, and whether or not to get the collision insurance (by-the-way, get the insurance, trust me, Murphy’s law will apply – even in a Guinness town! Sorry bad beer joke.). It was 10:00am and I was desperate for a cup of coffee, I would easily have been on my fourth cup at work by now.
We found a small side café in Dublin airport, where everyone looked as haggard as we did after arriving from a multitude of other locations. It was here in this little café that it struck me that I did not bring nearly enough cash, because between my son and I, we got a bottle of water and a cup of coffee…and it cost $9.10. I had to ask her to repeat it because I could not believe it! I told my son to enjoy his water and not to throw out a single drop!
Once we were feeling somewhat alive we decided that we should go ahead and brave it and find our car and drive into Dublin.
For the novice European driver I highly recommend arriving in Dublin early on a Saturday morning, because most people are still sleeping which dramatically cuts down on the road traffic. A great help when I spent the first hour screaming in panic at every possible car, truck, stop light, speed posting, car passing, and even pedestrians! To say that I was disoriented would be a drastic misrepresentation! The up-side was that my son found it totally hilarious and sat in the passenger seat gurgling with laughter at seeing me loose my cool on several occasions. Everything is opposite and my entire equilibrium was thrown off, to the point where even trying to thank someone for having pity on me and letting me over became painful. (I mean that literally since every time I would wave, as I normally would with my right hand, I would slam into the window. Amusing after five or six times, much less so after 20!)
We were honked at no less that twelve times, drove up a wrong way street several times, circled Dublin six hundred fifty-eight times, parked (accidentally) in a guarda (police) ‘official use only’ spot where I finally broke down and asked for directions, after having a momentary crying fit in the car. At first the officer attempted to ignore that we were there, but I must have been looking particularly pathetic because he finally came over and gave us directions. All the while thinking ‘stupid american’, it was written all over his face, but he was willing to help and we were grateful. He called the hotel for us, because the global phone that I had leased wouldn’t work either (Murphy’s Law remember), and showed us on a new map that he gave us how to get there. For all you fellow travelers a bit of advice, the trick is – if you buy a map of Dublin, look for the arrows on the streets that show you which way to go on the street – MANY are one way and the way you NEED to go is seldom the way you will actually go to get somewhere. So now we are armed with four maps of Dublin; a fold-out city map that we bought in the states (big mistake, save your money), a tiny one printed in one of the guidebooks that we bought (just slightly more useful than previously mentioned foldout map), one from Hertz (absolutely useless), and finally one from the guarda. The one from the guarda was the only one that had arrows to show you which way the streets ran, and even with that it took us another 2 hours to find the hotel that was less than 10 miles away.
While we were circling, my son teetering on the verge of panicky hysteria, the scene of Chevy Chase’s hysterical laughter while being stuck in a roundabout in London saying “Look kids – Big Ben” kept playing my mind, only for us it was, “Oh look there is the Merriton Hotel!” The final hilarity was when we actually drove by our hotel, recognizing it too late and then not being able to find our way back to it for another twenty-five minutes! Awesome!
Once we arrived it was an absolute haven to us, I was so delighted that I had gone ahead and booked our hotel here, it is without a doubt one of the more expensive hotels, but worth EVERY penny to us as weary, lost travelers! It was a charming place tucked back in a small side street off of Leeson Street, famous for its Georgian style houses and the lovely brightly painted, elaborately carved doors. The hotel is called Number 31, 31 Leeson Close, Dublin 2, Ireland, info@number31.ie. The delightful lady that greeted us made us feel instantly at home and offered us tea and coffee, to which we responded with an enthusiastic, ‘yes – please’, since we had not eaten since the previous evening on the plane. My son and I sat in a sunken lounge area, with a peat brick fire going in the fireplace, sipping hot drinks and nibbling on cookies. It was here that we decided we really would like to live like this more often!
After our brief repast, we dropped our baggage in our rooms, resisted the pull of the plush looking beds and opted to take a walk through the city. Our affable hostess gave us another map of Dublin to use for our walking excursion. This one ended up being the one that we used the most, it had a cartoon style and was by far the easiest to understand, plus it clearly marked the location of our hotel, very clever! This brings our map count up to 5, surely there is no way for us to get lost now!
On our walk towards Grafton Street, the shopping district of Dublin, one of the first things that we noticed, and liked instantly was that the city was not full of skyscrapers and monstrous hotels. It had an intimate atmosphere to it similar to Old Towne Alexandria, only much older, like a comfortable pair of slippers that just feel right. It was grey from the rainstorm that was building, and crowds more savvy to the Irish weather were walking briskly to find shelter from the wet. We had not quite figured out that we were about to be soaked and took our time meandering and marveling at every tiny wonder that we saw. There were vine covered buildings, small book shops, flower sellers, street performers, ancient buildings, modern shimmering glass store fronts, street vendors, musicians, couples, families, lovers, and vagabonds. The flower sellers enchanted me, it was so unexpected. We were strolling down Grafton, after having had to duck inside a shop while the deluge of rain passed, and on the side street right where it joined Grafton was a wall of flowers. A tumble of colors, textures, and scents, all sparkling from the sun that shimmered on their rain drenched petals. It was magic and permanently etched into my mind as part of Dublin. We saw them all three days of our visit. I loved watching people walk away with their arms full of blossoms.
Our first meal in Dublin was at a small pub called “The Duke” on Duke Street, so we had to go there and try it. It was delicious, we had their Irish stew and it was easily the best I have ever eaten, then again it better be good as it is their signature meal, right? It was chocked full of carrots, potatoes, and lamb, with a rich and savory broth that makes my mouth water just remembering it. We were very tempted to lick our bowls clean but we weren’t sure that would enhance the reputation of American’s abroad, so we decided against it.
The meal made us so sleepy that it took a good deal of self discipline to not take a taxi back to our hotel. We wanted to see the much talked about St. Stephens Green, so just slightly jet-lagged and comfortably full we made our way to the park. It was worth the tired legs because it is a lovely park. It is nestled right down in the heart of Dublin, though it is a small the grounds are laid out in such a charming fashion that it feels much larger. There is a winding duck pond, quaint stone walking bridges, a wild rock and fern garden, fountains, rainbows of flowers, ancient oak and poplar trees, playgrounds, and artistic statues and monuments to those long gone. We were continuously awe struck by how green and lush everything was, but it is worth mentioning that it is because it had rained six times since we landed less than twelve hours ago, definitely bring a rain coat.
(what is the one thing that we forgot to pack…yep you guessed it – a raincoat!)
We had finally arrived! After months of thinking about it, reading in our books, wondering what would be different and if we would recognize anything. We made it! We got our first passport stamps – sweet! Our flight had landed at around 7:30am Ireland time and by the time that we sorted out getting our luggage, where to find the rental car, how to pay for the rental car, when I only have US dollars, and whether or not to get the collision insurance (by-the-way, get the insurance, trust me, Murphy’s law will apply – even in a Guinness town! Sorry bad beer joke.). It was 10:00am and I was desperate for a cup of coffee, I would easily have been on my fourth cup at work by now.
We found a small side café in Dublin airport, where everyone looked as haggard as we did after arriving from a multitude of other locations. It was here in this little café that it struck me that I did not bring nearly enough cash, because between my son and I, we got a bottle of water and a cup of coffee…and it cost $9.10. I had to ask her to repeat it because I could not believe it! I told my son to enjoy his water and not to throw out a single drop!
Once we were feeling somewhat alive we decided that we should go ahead and brave it and find our car and drive into Dublin.
For the novice European driver I highly recommend arriving in Dublin early on a Saturday morning, because most people are still sleeping which dramatically cuts down on the road traffic. A great help when I spent the first hour screaming in panic at every possible car, truck, stop light, speed posting, car passing, and even pedestrians! To say that I was disoriented would be a drastic misrepresentation! The up-side was that my son found it totally hilarious and sat in the passenger seat gurgling with laughter at seeing me loose my cool on several occasions. Everything is opposite and my entire equilibrium was thrown off, to the point where even trying to thank someone for having pity on me and letting me over became painful. (I mean that literally since every time I would wave, as I normally would with my right hand, I would slam into the window. Amusing after five or six times, much less so after 20!)
We were honked at no less that twelve times, drove up a wrong way street several times, circled Dublin six hundred fifty-eight times, parked (accidentally) in a guarda (police) ‘official use only’ spot where I finally broke down and asked for directions, after having a momentary crying fit in the car. At first the officer attempted to ignore that we were there, but I must have been looking particularly pathetic because he finally came over and gave us directions. All the while thinking ‘stupid american’, it was written all over his face, but he was willing to help and we were grateful. He called the hotel for us, because the global phone that I had leased wouldn’t work either (Murphy’s Law remember), and showed us on a new map that he gave us how to get there. For all you fellow travelers a bit of advice, the trick is – if you buy a map of Dublin, look for the arrows on the streets that show you which way to go on the street – MANY are one way and the way you NEED to go is seldom the way you will actually go to get somewhere. So now we are armed with four maps of Dublin; a fold-out city map that we bought in the states (big mistake, save your money), a tiny one printed in one of the guidebooks that we bought (just slightly more useful than previously mentioned foldout map), one from Hertz (absolutely useless), and finally one from the guarda. The one from the guarda was the only one that had arrows to show you which way the streets ran, and even with that it took us another 2 hours to find the hotel that was less than 10 miles away.
While we were circling, my son teetering on the verge of panicky hysteria, the scene of Chevy Chase’s hysterical laughter while being stuck in a roundabout in London saying “Look kids – Big Ben” kept playing my mind, only for us it was, “Oh look there is the Merriton Hotel!” The final hilarity was when we actually drove by our hotel, recognizing it too late and then not being able to find our way back to it for another twenty-five minutes! Awesome!
Once we arrived it was an absolute haven to us, I was so delighted that I had gone ahead and booked our hotel here, it is without a doubt one of the more expensive hotels, but worth EVERY penny to us as weary, lost travelers! It was a charming place tucked back in a small side street off of Leeson Street, famous for its Georgian style houses and the lovely brightly painted, elaborately carved doors. The hotel is called Number 31, 31 Leeson Close, Dublin 2, Ireland, info@number31.ie. The delightful lady that greeted us made us feel instantly at home and offered us tea and coffee, to which we responded with an enthusiastic, ‘yes – please’, since we had not eaten since the previous evening on the plane. My son and I sat in a sunken lounge area, with a peat brick fire going in the fireplace, sipping hot drinks and nibbling on cookies. It was here that we decided we really would like to live like this more often!
After our brief repast, we dropped our baggage in our rooms, resisted the pull of the plush looking beds and opted to take a walk through the city. Our affable hostess gave us another map of Dublin to use for our walking excursion. This one ended up being the one that we used the most, it had a cartoon style and was by far the easiest to understand, plus it clearly marked the location of our hotel, very clever! This brings our map count up to 5, surely there is no way for us to get lost now!
On our walk towards Grafton Street, the shopping district of Dublin, one of the first things that we noticed, and liked instantly was that the city was not full of skyscrapers and monstrous hotels. It had an intimate atmosphere to it similar to Old Towne Alexandria, only much older, like a comfortable pair of slippers that just feel right. It was grey from the rainstorm that was building, and crowds more savvy to the Irish weather were walking briskly to find shelter from the wet. We had not quite figured out that we were about to be soaked and took our time meandering and marveling at every tiny wonder that we saw. There were vine covered buildings, small book shops, flower sellers, street performers, ancient buildings, modern shimmering glass store fronts, street vendors, musicians, couples, families, lovers, and vagabonds. The flower sellers enchanted me, it was so unexpected. We were strolling down Grafton, after having had to duck inside a shop while the deluge of rain passed, and on the side street right where it joined Grafton was a wall of flowers. A tumble of colors, textures, and scents, all sparkling from the sun that shimmered on their rain drenched petals. It was magic and permanently etched into my mind as part of Dublin. We saw them all three days of our visit. I loved watching people walk away with their arms full of blossoms.
Our first meal in Dublin was at a small pub called “The Duke” on Duke Street, so we had to go there and try it. It was delicious, we had their Irish stew and it was easily the best I have ever eaten, then again it better be good as it is their signature meal, right? It was chocked full of carrots, potatoes, and lamb, with a rich and savory broth that makes my mouth water just remembering it. We were very tempted to lick our bowls clean but we weren’t sure that would enhance the reputation of American’s abroad, so we decided against it.
The meal made us so sleepy that it took a good deal of self discipline to not take a taxi back to our hotel. We wanted to see the much talked about St. Stephens Green, so just slightly jet-lagged and comfortably full we made our way to the park. It was worth the tired legs because it is a lovely park. It is nestled right down in the heart of Dublin, though it is a small the grounds are laid out in such a charming fashion that it feels much larger. There is a winding duck pond, quaint stone walking bridges, a wild rock and fern garden, fountains, rainbows of flowers, ancient oak and poplar trees, playgrounds, and artistic statues and monuments to those long gone. We were continuously awe struck by how green and lush everything was, but it is worth mentioning that it is because it had rained six times since we landed less than twelve hours ago, definitely bring a rain coat.
(what is the one thing that we forgot to pack…yep you guessed it – a raincoat!)
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