My travel day to Ireland.....so I got up and had breakfast with my roommates Sirena and Mika. I then went back to the room, gathered my things and off I went to the train station, got on the fast train to Hamilton square, Birkenhead and from there I took a taxi to the Ferry terminal. There was a short wait and then finally got on the shuttle that took us right to the ferry,
got on and for general seating there was just some seats and tables and a few benches. I found myself a comfortable spot and watched some Curb again and entertained fellow passengers with my giggling. The ferry ride was a 7hr ride, so lots of time to just chill, went outside a few times and took some pics
Then I took a wee nap and finally we arrived in Dublin Ferry Terminal. I got off and went into the terminal and inquired about the bus, the gentlemen said it would take another 45 mins before arriving so I decided to call a taxi, and after a good 10mins or so, he arrived. Took me to the hostel and thank goodness I took the taxi as I don't think I would have found my way, was very confusing. I checked in and went up to my room, it was a 10 bed dorm room and they had good lockers in them.
I got the bed right next to the door as that was the only plug in the whole room.
Something I have forgotten to mention is a little more information about the hostels, well so far the ones I have stayed in have had lockers in the rooms, and either a sink or full bathroom in the room, otherwise the toilet and showers are out, and down the hallway. There is a self-catering kitchen in all so far and then the restuarant as they call it which is just where they serve you brkfast. Also, there is a lounge room and a tv room, laundry facilities which I don't think they all have but some of them, and best of all as I have said before, they are cheap.
This particular hostel is the oldest one in Dublin, it was an old boarding school, so it has a church attached and that is now the restuarant. The best part about this one also is that it has free wifi service, the others in England I had to pay per 24 hrs, so free is fantastic. So after sorting my things and locking them up I decided to venture out and I just got to the grocery store close by, got some food and then back and went down to the kitchen sitting area and worked on my blog (last entry)...pretty uneventful day, but was a travel day.
Day 9 Wed Apr. 29
Woke up to an average Irish day.....rain!
I went down for brkfst and then back to my room to lay down for a bit longer. Just when I opened my eyes to finally start the day, there was one of my roommates coming at me to plug her phone in, right next to my bed. So we ended up chatting for a bit, her name is Michelle and she was from Alaska and now lives in California and she is a massage therapis. She has been in Ireland for 3wks and it is a vacation for her to visit some of her relatives. So she gave me some tips of places to go and things to do, and then we decided to go out and get a bite to eat, thankfully the weather cleared up.
Since she has been around Dublin alot longer it was good so she could show we around alittle bit and so, we ended up at the Porterhouse Pub, it used to be a brewery, but now a restuarant. I actually had a beer in Ireland, it was a strawberry beer, made with real strawberries and it was very tastey. They also have a chocolate beer but I didn't try that one, had a good lunch and then she wanted to wonder off to The Queen of Tarts, tons of fresh pastries, they all looked great but I passed on that. She found out about both of these spots from the free walking tour she went on and this area we were in was known as the Temple Bar, it is one of the oldest areas of Dublin.
Here is a pic of the area.
We made our way back to the hostel and funny enough she took me one way to get into town and a totally different way to get back, so needless to say, I was kinda confused.
Here is a pic of O'Connell St. it is the main shopping street of Dublin.
There is the monument at the start of the street and then just past that is the Spire, apparently it is the tallest sculpture in the world, there really isn't much to it but pretty neat. We stopped at one of the souvenir shops Carroll's, and ya most of the shop was green and tons of Guiness products.....lol.
This is just a pic of a door, most or all of the doors in Ireland are different colours.
The Black Church, was on the way back to the hostel.
We got back and I went down and did a load of laundry, only cost 2.50 euro. I sat in the kitchen eating area with Michelle who had a bottle of red wine and it took her about 20 mins to uncork it, was crazy.....she definetly enjoyed it after all that work.
I also met LeeAnn from Australia, she is looking for work, apparently Aussies can pay for thier own work visa to work in Ireland, so she was staying in the hostel for awhile until she could find a place to live and then she was going to search for a job. Thought that was pretty cool. So the 3 of us, sat and chatted for a bit and off to bed.
Day 10 Thur. Apr. 30
Up to rain again, but it cleared up, seems to remind me alot of Bermuda, but not the same temperature of course, just that it may start out raining and then it clears up.
So I went down and had a quick bite to eat. Back to my room and met the last roommate, she was French, she was leaving the next day, didn't chat much. Gathered my things and went down to log online and get some information of what to do for the day.
I finally left and went on my adventures, I found my way to O’Connell street again and walked through to find the DART station (train station ) and after what seemed like forever, I found it and looked up information to get a train to Belfast. I ended up getting a day pass and took a trip down the South to Bray.
It was a short ride there, but some nice scenery on the way, and Bray golf course.
I got to Bray, got off and took a walk down the ocean front and took some pics and then walked to town.
this the ocean front and at the top of that cliff is the pic of the crosses
this is looking in the other direction from the ocean front
this is bray city centre, and just thought I would take a pic of a barber shop for the boys...lol
and then I went back to the train and back to Dublin. Found my way back to the hostel, grabbed some groceries for dinner and a snack and sat with LeeAnn while we were online and I researched for the next few days and my travels up to Cork, Limerick area. I also met another girl who was her roommate, Laura from Netherlands, she is touring around Europe too. She has already been Portugal, and she is going to England, Spain, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. So, we sat and chilled for a bit and chatted, she gave me some tips for my visit to Netherlands and for Portugal.
Then finally went to bed.
Day 11 Fri. May 1
Up to rain again yet again. Another roommate left today, so for now I had the room to myself, but that can change by the time I get back. Went down to brkfst just in time. Then back to my room grabbed my puter and down to the church. Checked my emails and got a reply from the hostel and went ahead and booked for the next 4 days, also looked up the bus and train service to get to Ennis, was having trouble so I decided to go down to the station.
I walked down and timed myself so I knew how long it will take me for tomorrow. Took about 1/2hr, got there and booked a bus for 19 euro. I left there and ended up going on a little journey to somewhere I had no idea, but I did find my way back to O’Connell st. I walked around again, and finally went to the Dublin Castle and Dublin City Hall
St.Patricks Cathedral
I walked around back by Temple Bar again which is across the Liffy River which runs through Dublin, here are a couple pics of that....there are several different bridges crossing over, very neat.
Then, too funny, I went to the Euro 2, (like a $ store) and got some things.
I was hungry so I found a little spot to eat and it was chicken with a pepper sauce an the chicken was a little sketchy, so didn’t eat much. Went back to my room and took a quick nap, I awoke to some new roommates, older women from England and they were cycling, they came in with all their garb. Then I went down to log on my puter and check emails, etc. and sat with LeeAnn and Laura, again and we chatted for awhile. Then off to bed for me as tomorrow was another travel day.....heading up to Ennis, it further up the countryside, a little closer to some other landmarks I would like to see.
I will return with another post of all the great things I see up that way.
until then,
as they say in Ireland .... CHEERS!
