Travel Diary

Friday

I had a 7am wakeup call scheduled, but ended up getting up around 6:30am. There was a lot of street noise, so sleeping had been tough anyway at that point. I was packed and ready to go though, so I enjoyed a last bit of rest before heading down to checkout. Rather than put the full balance on my credit card, I had the bright idea of using up my last 80 pounds of currency to defray the cost. That way I’d have no transaction exchange fees later.

About an hour later, I would come to realize that I still had a day in Dublin, where they take ... pounds.

Since the station (Euston) was only 2.3 miles from the hotel, I decided to walk. Ironic, I know, but I could not exactly arrive two hours early by taking the Tube. And I could take more photos if I walked. Why not? I actually passed several theatres along the way, and while I don’t usually take photos from venues where I haven’t seen a show, I did this time, as a few places were ones where I’d seen a production many years in the past.

This time, the walk went fine. In fact the distance was almost the same as when I arrived a few days earlier and had to find that hotel. But now, my Google maps were fully prepared and working just fine. Three were no wrong turns, and I arrived an hour earlier. I had to pick up my tickets from a self-service machine. It was easy. Just enter in the reference code and the credit card used to buy the tickets, and voila! I was a little worried that perhaps I would not have the right card, but the first one I tried worked just fine I had my tickets.

Since I had an hour to kill, I had some coffee and a bacon and egg muffin from Pret A Manger. Outside, I enjoy the fine London morning weather. Not too cold, but not hot either. Perfect day.

When the train came, I boarded just fine and found my seat. It included a table for four people, but I was the only one on it. Sweet. A power supply was included, and free WIFI. I found that out after draining my Skype credits.

The train rolled along the countryside. Is it scenic? Sort of. There are places where it’s really fun to watch the sheep or horses and large green fields. Most of the time, it’s not terrible exiting though and doesn’t make for any fine postcards. I did learn that England and Wales have huge amounts of trailer home projects. I guess I just always thought of that as an American thing.

Despite not much great scenery, I do like this method of travel, however, as it provides time to just relax without the headache of airplane travel.

The train moved fairy slow at times due to another train in front. I was a little concerned about my ferry departure times, but it was out of my hands. At one stop, a boatload (trainload?) of people got on, and suddenly, my free room was gone. Also, babies and small children got on, so the noise level went up considerably. Sometimes, the extra cost for first class does not seem too bad.

Our train was moving slowly. The conductor said a train in front had been delayed so that delayed us. However, there was a ferry to catch. He added that the ferry service would be waiting for the train to arrive so that no one missed it. Okay, then. Problem solved. I could relax.

The final station being reached, we all exited, walked down a corridor, and found the ticket counters for the ferry. I had my ticket already purchased, so I got it scanned and entered the boarding area, after checking my bag.

When the ferry came, it was of course huge, and exciting to board. But I had ridden a ferry from Portsmouth to Caen before and this was similar (though not quite a big). On board, I sat for a spell, then walked around to see what the ship was like. I also made sure to go up and outside to watch the departure from Wales. We were leaving one country and heading to another one. It’s always fun.

Outside the wind was fierce and cold. I got some photos and video and then headed back inside. In one area, there were nice reclining chairs so I sat down and watched a movie (“Fury”) on my tablet. This passed the time just fine and when it was done, I went up and outside again. Now, it was a little rainy and the wind was quite strong. I could see how people could get blown overboard by the wind forcing someone along until he hit the guardrail at the wrong angle. I played it safe up there, as the water below looked pretty darn cold.

At one point I saw a soccer ball floating out in the water. I took a photo, but it moved out of range very quickly, which gave an indication of how fast the ferry was moving. These vessels can book!

It was a cool adventure to go from London to Dublin via train and ferry. It does take a lot more time though. Next time, I would probably fly. It’s fun once.

At Dublin port, we all exited and most had either rides, took cabs, or waited for busses. I was in that latter category. I hoped my three pounds would be enough. It was all I had left. When I turned in my last 80 pounds, I wasn’t taking into consideration that I still had two days of vacation left. Not sure what I was thinking-maybe that the last two days would be comped?

But there was also another problem. When I asked the bus driver how much the fare was, she said, “3 euros.”

“Come again?”

“3 euros.”

“You mean three pounds.”

(No, I didn’t actually say that. Everything made sense right away. Ireland was not on the pound, but the euro. Oops.)

I asked if the pounds would be okay. Nope. Just euros, of which I had none. Those got traded back in Bruges, three days prior. Now what to do? I asked about the distance if walked. She said it was too far to walk. I guess she didn’t know what I was capable of. I pondered the situation. I could take a cab and then pay for it when I arrived at an ATM; however, that sounded like a huge waste of money (cabs most often are). I found a man and his father who had a 10-euro note, but no change was given, so I asked about giving him my pound coins and having him pay my fair. He agreed. This was a very generous act since it saved me a great deal of headache. And he probably made about $1 on the transaction, although it was in pounds and not euros. 

So yeah, one of my first trips would be to find yet another ATM.

The bus dropped us off downtown and I got a fast feeling for the city of Dublin. It was another large city, but certainly different from London. The bus did have WIFI, so I got a quick map to the hotel.

One nice thing was getting to see a gorgeous sunset over the Dublin river. It’s funny, but probably 9 in 10 people know the famous London river, but how many know the name of the river running through Dublin.

It’s the Liffey.

I definitely got some photos from the bridges.

The walk went fairly well, but I found the wrong hotel first. It had the right name, but there were four of them with the same name. I guess there are only so many ways a word starting with “O’” can finish with. They pointed me to the right hotel and I was on my merry way once again.

Finally, I got checked in. The lobby was very nice and the receptionist very friendly. Dublin has great people.

It was a thrill to enter my room. It always is after a long day of travel. A room means rest, or at least the possibility of rest. I did have to go out to take photos, but still, I could rest if I wanted. It was at least an option.

One odd thing--no fridge. And yet two ironing boards(?) Still, it was a very nice room and I found it well worth the money.

In due time, I was downstairs and searching for a Guinness. I found a small pub and had one. My first Guinness is Dublin proper! It was...

Not bad.

But no better than your average Guinness. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a terrific beer. I guess I thought it would taste much better in its homeland. But no, tastes the same, which again...is fine.

I strolled along and took many photos. I also bought candy and beer for the room--despite not having a mini fridge. Around 10pm, I headed back to the room, and then began packing. I never like to worry about packing in the morning as I might oversleep. I got most of my gear prepared.

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