Day 21 - Europe 2010

Sometimes small mistakes can have huge consequences.  Nick forgot to set the alarm!

We had gone to bed at 1am and were supposed get up at 5am in order to take the bus to the airport in time for our 9:30am flight.  I had asked Nick if he had set the alarm before going to bed and he made sure to do so.  He set it for 5am but forgot to actually turn it on.

So, I woke up thinking it was a bit lighter than it should be and checked the clock to see that it was 6:30am!  OH NO!  We jumped out of bed and were out of there by about 6:50am.  We ran to the metro and arrived at our stop around 7:20am, running to the bus station not knowing when the next bus would leave.  We got there at 7:30am and the ticket guy told us the next bus wasn’t leaving until 8:00am!  That would get us to the airport around 9:15am, definitely not enough time to check in and get on our plane.

So we had two options.  Take the hit and pay for another flight or take our chances having a taxi take us to the airport.  There were taxis right there, probably waiting for poor souls like ourselves, so we piled in.  I tried not to look at the meter and watch our money drain away with each mile but instead focused on the time and wondered whether we would make it.  I know the driver was trying to hustle and am pretty sure he was going faster than any legal speed in the states.

We arrived around 8:40am but it cost us… drum roll please… $160!!!  Yes, that was incredibly painful and a terrible consequence for not setting the alarm.  I wonder whether it would have been cheaper to buy another plane ticket!  Sheesh!  But at least we were there, though with not much time to spare.  Our tickets said our gate closed at 9:00am!

So we had to check in and then go through customs.  This is where Nick and I got kind of irritated because the guy checking passports was going really slow.  There was one guy who was checking EU papers and his line was going twice as fast as the passport guy, who was small-talking with every person who went through.  When it was finally my turn, he looked at my picture and did this thinking face, looking at my picture and then at me again and again, like he was making some joke that he needed to really ponder whether the picture was me or not.  I gave him a hurry up sign and pointed to my watch.  I know, how rude am I?  But our gate was closing in two minutes, we still had to go through security, and I was not about to pay $160 for a taxi ride just so we could miss our flight for Mr. Bucket Face passport guy to do his jokes!

So we made it through everything and lucked out because they were just beginning to board.  Nick was asking if I was excited yet, since I had expressed a lot of excitement the day before about going to Ireland, and I said I would be excited when I was actually sitting on that plane.  But I eventually did and we eventually arrived in Dublin and considering we woke up an hour and a half later than we should have, I considered it lucky we were there at all.  Still, I could have done without the $160 taxi!

We got to our hostel which was actually quite nice.  The people there were very friendly, the place was clean, the location was fantastic, the rates were much cheaper than anywhere else we’d stayed, and finally I had free internet with a good connection!  YAY!  So we made use of the internet for a while, went out for some lunch, and then came back and took a huge nap!  We were so tired, what with lack of sleep the night before and our chaotic morning.  Plus, for once, we didn’t really have a to-do list and it felt nice to just relax and take it slow.

In the evening, we went out for some dinner and to walk around.  Dublin is refreshingly small but also a bit scrubby.  There’s a bit of a litter problem and for whatever reason the f-word is extremely popular here.  I don’t know if it’s just not as bad of a swear word here or what but the guys especially use it quite heavily and quite conversationally.  So it’s a bit shocking to be walking through the streets and here that left and right.  Whoa, okay.

We do enjoy English, however, and that we can finally fully communicate with the people.  Still, we can only understand about half of what they say, their accents are so heavy!  So, just like in other places, we usually have to ask them to repeat themselves a time or two before we get what they’re telling us.  Most people have been very nice and friendly.

It was interesting to walk through the town.  It reminded me a bit of Munich, with some modern elements with some of the old mixed in.  We stopped by Trinity College and walked through the grounds there.  We happened upon a cricket game and stopped on a bench to watch.  It looked like it was just wrapping up though, so we didn’t stay long.

We saw an ad for Riverdance on one of the lightpoles and thought we would go to the theatre there and ask about it.  We didn’t know if it would be playing when we were there because we had been given information about events in Dublin and didn’t see anything about it.  But when we stopped in we found out that opening night was THE NEXT DAY!  How cool!  I couldn’t believe it!  I had wanted to see Riverdance, or Lord of the Dance, since I was in high school and I hadn’t expected an opportunity to see it while in Ireland.  It cost a bit but I didn’t mind.  I was so glad for the opportunity and couldn’t wait until tomorrow!

From there I wanted to walk along the river and head toward the ocean.  It was a bit of a walk but we enjoyed seeing some of the unique architecture in Dublin, including odd buildings and bridges, and I enjoyed the photo opportunities.  See the photos for more details on all we saw on our walk.

We actually never made it to the ocean because our way was blocked off.  Oh well, it was fun anyway, and we were especially enjoying not having to rush anywhere.  We had one more stop for the night and that was the Arlington Hotel where they have free live music and dancing every night.  So we stopped in and really enjoyed it!  The band played some traditional Irish music and I was tapping my feet and really feeling it!  The dancers came out but we didn’t have a great view – the place was pretty packed - so I wasn’t as into it.  Still, it was fun to have a preview of our Riverdance show.

We went back to our hostel happy to be in Dublin and looking forward to the next day.

PHOTOS:

Almost all of the signs here are written in a second language, which the locals call Irish.  I learned that they take it in school from an early age but only about 3% of the population is fluent.  Interesting how they accommodate that anyway, or encourage it I suppose.

Here he is playing cricket, though it looked like a pretty informal game.  Even if the pitch rolled on the ground, the guy took a swing at it.  Interesting.  I don't know anything about the game.  I don't even know if it was cricket, actually!

Here I am at the Trinity College, showing off another of my new scarves.  Hey, I live in Hawaii and never get to wear them so just let me be excited about it, okay?

Nick shows off some more of Trinity College in Dublin.  It was a fairly small campus.

Our journey through Dublin began with some interesting messages.  Prison Food?

These kids in wetsuits were jumping from the bridges into the water.  It must be so cold!  Nothing else to do in Dublin?

The old ship docked on the canal there.  I kind of wanted to go on it.  It looked like a pirate ship!  It even has a mermaid on the front!

This bridge was very different.  We figured with the bridge separating the pirate ship from the ocean, it has to lift up, but we couldn't figure out how.

This building was interesting.  Nick wanted to go inside but it was already going on 8pm.  He really wanted to know what it was for!

I also thought these buildings were cool.  I think it's actually a big bank.  As you can see, Dublin has some very modern parts to it.

And Nick ends the day with a smile and s sigh of relief.  Click to enlarge.