Today I woke up as usual and got ready and packed. I had a little break at the guesthouse and then slowly made my way across the bridge to the train station. The train, when I was checking, is suppose to be cheaper than the bus. But now, I'm not so sure. The train cost €28 from Waterford to Dublin and takes 2.5 hours. At Waterford, they let us in the train early, 10:25, and it doesn't leave till 11:00. OK, at first this train had two cars, but when got off the train at Dublin Houston, it had four cars. I think they pick up two cars in Kilkenny. At Kilkenny, the shut the power off for a minute and then back on again, and we were traveling in a different direction. I don't know how the train systems works in Ireland since this is my first and only train ride here.
Anyways, I got to Dublin at 13:30, after asking for directions, I made my way to a hop on hop off tour bus stop by the rail station and rode that to the guesthouse since the route is by the place. It save some money since the tour bus ticket is good for 48 hours, and I could use it tomorrow to tour Dublin some more. At the guesthouse, there was a lineup when I arrived. Check in isn't till 14:00, and I guess everyone was waiting. When I finally got my room, I huffed it up the stairs. I'm on the top floor, 4th floor, and the stories of these old Georgian houses are tall. Maybe 4 floors is equivalent to 6 floors at home. They have tall ceilings. I don't think there is an elevator in the guesthouse. Doesn't matter to me, you get what you pay for, and Dublin is not a cheap place.
After setting down my stuff, I made my way to O'Connell Street and hop on the bus. I rode it around till almost the last stop. It was raining off and on so I didn't get many good pictures. I was tempted to go to the Guinness Factory and Storehouse but decided not to. The place, I got to say, is surprising very, very big. At least right now, I know where approximately where everything is. I thinking about joining the free walking tour tomorrow which is approximately 3 hours long so lots of see in Dublin. After getting off the bus, I took some pictures of some of the bridges connecting north and south Dublin. There are a few some are just food bridges. I crossed over to the south at Ha'Penny Bridge, named for the halfpence toll people used to pay to cross it. Then I was essentially in the Temple Bar district. There are a lot of colourful pubs there but I couldn't find the famous Temple Bar pub. I walked around then essentially walked myself out of it and ran right into Trinity College. I walked around the outside of Trinity College. To go inside some buildings, you have to pay or do the tour. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow when I have time. They filmed some scenes of Harry Potter in there. I forgot where right now.
Then I walked around O'Connell Street which is the grandest street according to Rick Steves. There are a lot of monuments and statues on this street and a lot of history. What I find the Ireland is that people just give nicknames to their statues or monuments instead of using its real name. For example, the 390 foot tall stainless steel Millennium Spire that was suppose to be completed in 2000 but instead it was completed in 2003, has several nicknames including the Stiletto in the Ghetto. All around the touristy areas there are a lot of souvenirs shop particularly on named Carroll's. There are two on O'Connell Street almost across the street from each other. So, knowing this I bought souvenirs of almost everyone. If I miss you, I'm sorry. I can only fit so much in my luggage.
After spending a lot of money on souvenirs, I went back to the guesthouse to repack my luggage to see if everything fit. Surprisingly, everything fit except that now I have to buy a larger carryon bag due to Ryanair restriction of allowing one carryon item. If I was allow the two like in the Canadian airlines, I would have no problem. I hope I can find a cheap, big hand luggage somewhere tomorrow.
After the repacking, I headed out to find dinner and maybe you guess it. I had fish, haddock, and chips. I was going to chose something else but it's the cheapest thing I can find on my short walk that was not a McDonalds or Burger King. After dinner, instead of heading to Temple Bar or a pub, I went to see a movie. Yep, I went to watch a movie in Dublin. Since the cinema is close by, I watched 'Hunger Games', which was pretty good. I just started reading the book on the train ride this morning. I'm already at Part II in the book. The price of admission is pretty much comparable except maybe it is slightly cheaper here by less than $1 than in Calgary.
After the movie, I just returned to the guesthouse and am staying since was already almost 23:00. There were some pubs along the way that have live Irish music but I was getting a little tried.
Tomorrow's agenda: Touring Dublin
"What I find the Ireland is that people just give nicknames to their statues or monuments instead of using its real name."
ReplyDeleteSo what was the theme of the statues and monuments? A mix of new and old stuff? Historic figures or modern art?