(no subject)
My trip to Ireland in a nutshell...
December 26 - Departed the country (7pm EST). I watched Little Miss Sunshine and had a dinner of chicken and red peppers. Slept a little, too.
December 27 - Landed in London (1am EST). Got yelled at by passport control for putting "student" as my occupation and for not having a copy of my return ticket. Departed London and arrived in Shannon (6am EST). Took bus from Shannon to Limerick to Clonmel and then to Kilkenny. Called several taxis from a gas station and eventually got to my first hostel (4 pm EST). The first hostel was a castle. After getting inside the castle the only way I could tell I was in one was that there was a spiral staircase. This place was also supposed to be haunted and I was looking for something I could read at the hostel about the hauntings. Anyway, I really wanted to take a shower after being on the move all day, but there was no heat in the bathroom. I gave up and went to bed because I had to be up in the morning to catch a bus to city centre (3 am EST).
December 28 - Managed to make it out to the bus on time. To be sure I was at the right stop I asked a woman who was also waiting. She said I was at the right stop, but lectured me about traveling alone. She told me Ireland was dangerous and that I was going to get murdered on my vacation. Yeah... Made it to the bus station, got on a bus to Waterford, and did a some needed shopping. Out of all the things they lost from my luggage was my deodorant. I found a non-aerosol and thank goodness. So, back on the bus until I got to Cork. The hostel was very easy to find and the room was great. There were six beds and an en suite bathroom. Ah, it was so good to take a shower. It was a push button shower like sinks you find in public bathrooms, but the water was hot and clear. Then I headed downstairs to make use of their internet cafe. While sitting at the computer I met two girls. They were Jen from Canada and Adi from Israel. Jen was leaving that night and Adi in the morning. After Jen left Adi and I got dinner at one of the restaurants. We had burgers and chips. When we returned to the hostel we watched Meet Joe Black in their cinema. Later that night I met my one roommate, Maria. She told me about how to meet people in the hostel and some places to visit. I took her advice and went to the kitchen to meet people. I met a group from San Fran and a guy from West Virginia. We sampled a whiskey and chatted for a while. Not bad for the first day at the hostel.
December 29 - I dressed smart and headed out to Kinsale for the day. The wine museum was closed, so I walked around looking at shops and taking photos. After a while I stopped for lunch at a bistro called Vista. I ordered pan fried smoked haddock and it came with a cucumber & beet salad and potatoes. I also had a glass of Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005 with my meal and ended the whole thing with coffee and a scone. I left Kinsale just in time because it started raining. The rest of my day was spent at the hostel reading House of Leaves.
December 30 - It was beautiful in the city. I bought my day return ticket to Blarney and waited for the bus. While waiting I met Malory, Alison, and Amy. They were also going to Blarney and when we got to the castle we toured the grounds together. We went to the top of the castle to kiss the stone, took lots of photos, and attempted the wishing steps. We had a great time and rode back to Cork together. Back at the hostel I met my new roommates Alex and Sharon. They were surprise I'd never been to a pub for a pint so they dragged me out into the night. We were joined by another one of my roommates at the pub and started our crawl. At the first pub I had a Pinto Grigio and a Bud. The next pub I had a Murphy's. We called it an early night and made our way back to the hostel.
December 31 - New Year's Eve! My originals plans for the night didn't work out, but I still had a great day. I spent the morning shopping for wine and food for the night. I picked up a cheap sparkling wine and a decanter of port from Marks & Spencer. That afternoon I spent a lot of time reading and re-packing my bags. That night I went to the kitchen to drink my sparkling wine. It wasn't quite midnight, but Ireland was five hours ahead of Massachusetts anyway. The French were in the kitchen that night having a party and invited me to join in. They gave me a Stella Artois and a white ale. Great start to a new year.
January 1 - Check out was at 10:30am and I headed out around the same time. I got the bus to Limerick and waited for a little bit for my bus to Shannon. It was really cold that day compared to the rest of my days in the country. Even though it was chilly there was a rainbow that appeared in the sky in Limerick. The bus ride from Limerick to Shannon was very short. When I got off in Shannon I had little trouble finding the B&B. I was so happy to see a real bed, towels, and a television in my room. I spread out my things and watched several hours of Futurama. The owner of the B&B came by my room to take my request for breakfast and to give me two cans of Bud. I drank one of the cans and had no problem getting a good night's sleep.
January 2 - Breakfast was wonderful. I had the traditional Irish breakfast with coffee, orange juice, and cereal. A couple from Germany was also at breakfast. They were really interested in how the USA school system worked and about the places I had seen on my vacation. After breakfast I headed out to Bunratty. When I arrived in Bunratty I bought postcards and entrance to the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. I took lots of photos of the grounds and some of the art inside the castle. When I went to the gift shop I bought some shot glasses and a teapot for myself. The teapot says, "There is a black sheep (even) in the whitest folk." It was still bright out, but I had to return back to the B&B to write out my postcards. I didn't finish writing my cards until it was too dark to find a box. That night I watched the Simpsons for a few hours and packed my things fully.
January 3 - Time to return to America. I had a simple breakfast of eggs & toast and the owner of the B&B drove me to the airport. After clearing airport security I spent a lot of time listening to my sister's iPod. The flight from Shannon to London was short. Security at London sucked! I spent about an hour waiting in line so they could have me walk through a metal detector. Then I waited in another line so I could get my shoes scanned. I sat in the middle of the duty free shop with other visitors putting my shoes back on. My flight wasn't for a few hours so I grabbed lunch at Boots. Finally, my flight is updated from, "please wait," to, "now boarding," instead of, "go to gate." I quickly walked to the gate and boarded the plane. On board I watched Accepted and Hoodwinked. The meal was chicken and pasta. Took longer to get home then it did to get to Ireland, but I was home. Customs only told me to wash my shoes when I got home and I was clear. Home was a great thing to see after being away so long. I stayed up as late as possible to adjust my clock, but still got up at 8am the next morning and all the mornings since my trip.
PS - Photos of my trip are posted on this lj account.
December 26 - Departed the country (7pm EST). I watched Little Miss Sunshine and had a dinner of chicken and red peppers. Slept a little, too.
December 27 - Landed in London (1am EST). Got yelled at by passport control for putting "student" as my occupation and for not having a copy of my return ticket. Departed London and arrived in Shannon (6am EST). Took bus from Shannon to Limerick to Clonmel and then to Kilkenny. Called several taxis from a gas station and eventually got to my first hostel (4 pm EST). The first hostel was a castle. After getting inside the castle the only way I could tell I was in one was that there was a spiral staircase. This place was also supposed to be haunted and I was looking for something I could read at the hostel about the hauntings. Anyway, I really wanted to take a shower after being on the move all day, but there was no heat in the bathroom. I gave up and went to bed because I had to be up in the morning to catch a bus to city centre (3 am EST).
December 28 - Managed to make it out to the bus on time. To be sure I was at the right stop I asked a woman who was also waiting. She said I was at the right stop, but lectured me about traveling alone. She told me Ireland was dangerous and that I was going to get murdered on my vacation. Yeah... Made it to the bus station, got on a bus to Waterford, and did a some needed shopping. Out of all the things they lost from my luggage was my deodorant. I found a non-aerosol and thank goodness. So, back on the bus until I got to Cork. The hostel was very easy to find and the room was great. There were six beds and an en suite bathroom. Ah, it was so good to take a shower. It was a push button shower like sinks you find in public bathrooms, but the water was hot and clear. Then I headed downstairs to make use of their internet cafe. While sitting at the computer I met two girls. They were Jen from Canada and Adi from Israel. Jen was leaving that night and Adi in the morning. After Jen left Adi and I got dinner at one of the restaurants. We had burgers and chips. When we returned to the hostel we watched Meet Joe Black in their cinema. Later that night I met my one roommate, Maria. She told me about how to meet people in the hostel and some places to visit. I took her advice and went to the kitchen to meet people. I met a group from San Fran and a guy from West Virginia. We sampled a whiskey and chatted for a while. Not bad for the first day at the hostel.
December 29 - I dressed smart and headed out to Kinsale for the day. The wine museum was closed, so I walked around looking at shops and taking photos. After a while I stopped for lunch at a bistro called Vista. I ordered pan fried smoked haddock and it came with a cucumber & beet salad and potatoes. I also had a glass of Saint Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005 with my meal and ended the whole thing with coffee and a scone. I left Kinsale just in time because it started raining. The rest of my day was spent at the hostel reading House of Leaves.
December 30 - It was beautiful in the city. I bought my day return ticket to Blarney and waited for the bus. While waiting I met Malory, Alison, and Amy. They were also going to Blarney and when we got to the castle we toured the grounds together. We went to the top of the castle to kiss the stone, took lots of photos, and attempted the wishing steps. We had a great time and rode back to Cork together. Back at the hostel I met my new roommates Alex and Sharon. They were surprise I'd never been to a pub for a pint so they dragged me out into the night. We were joined by another one of my roommates at the pub and started our crawl. At the first pub I had a Pinto Grigio and a Bud. The next pub I had a Murphy's. We called it an early night and made our way back to the hostel.
December 31 - New Year's Eve! My originals plans for the night didn't work out, but I still had a great day. I spent the morning shopping for wine and food for the night. I picked up a cheap sparkling wine and a decanter of port from Marks & Spencer. That afternoon I spent a lot of time reading and re-packing my bags. That night I went to the kitchen to drink my sparkling wine. It wasn't quite midnight, but Ireland was five hours ahead of Massachusetts anyway. The French were in the kitchen that night having a party and invited me to join in. They gave me a Stella Artois and a white ale. Great start to a new year.
January 1 - Check out was at 10:30am and I headed out around the same time. I got the bus to Limerick and waited for a little bit for my bus to Shannon. It was really cold that day compared to the rest of my days in the country. Even though it was chilly there was a rainbow that appeared in the sky in Limerick. The bus ride from Limerick to Shannon was very short. When I got off in Shannon I had little trouble finding the B&B. I was so happy to see a real bed, towels, and a television in my room. I spread out my things and watched several hours of Futurama. The owner of the B&B came by my room to take my request for breakfast and to give me two cans of Bud. I drank one of the cans and had no problem getting a good night's sleep.
January 2 - Breakfast was wonderful. I had the traditional Irish breakfast with coffee, orange juice, and cereal. A couple from Germany was also at breakfast. They were really interested in how the USA school system worked and about the places I had seen on my vacation. After breakfast I headed out to Bunratty. When I arrived in Bunratty I bought postcards and entrance to the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. I took lots of photos of the grounds and some of the art inside the castle. When I went to the gift shop I bought some shot glasses and a teapot for myself. The teapot says, "There is a black sheep (even) in the whitest folk." It was still bright out, but I had to return back to the B&B to write out my postcards. I didn't finish writing my cards until it was too dark to find a box. That night I watched the Simpsons for a few hours and packed my things fully.
January 3 - Time to return to America. I had a simple breakfast of eggs & toast and the owner of the B&B drove me to the airport. After clearing airport security I spent a lot of time listening to my sister's iPod. The flight from Shannon to London was short. Security at London sucked! I spent about an hour waiting in line so they could have me walk through a metal detector. Then I waited in another line so I could get my shoes scanned. I sat in the middle of the duty free shop with other visitors putting my shoes back on. My flight wasn't for a few hours so I grabbed lunch at Boots. Finally, my flight is updated from, "please wait," to, "now boarding," instead of, "go to gate." I quickly walked to the gate and boarded the plane. On board I watched Accepted and Hoodwinked. The meal was chicken and pasta. Took longer to get home then it did to get to Ireland, but I was home. Customs only told me to wash my shoes when I got home and I was clear. Home was a great thing to see after being away so long. I stayed up as late as possible to adjust my clock, but still got up at 8am the next morning and all the mornings since my trip.
PS - Photos of my trip are posted on this lj account.