Brandon O'Brien

Friday, June 28, 2013 @ 4:11 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 2

Last night ended up being quite the night. I was in the lounge at the hostel working on last night's blog post when I was joined by two of my bunkmates (two Swiss dudes). They showed up with a full bottle of Captain Morgan and ingredients to make mojitos. The three of us ended up polishing off the entire bottle over the course of an hour or so.

We saw one of our other bunkmates (the Aussie) and found out he was planning on taking yet another one of our bunkmates (a girl from Japan) out to go see some live music in some pubs. We decided we'd all go together and make a night of it. We started off at a pub that had some live music on multiple levels. We hung out in the back alley which is apparently where most people preferred to chill. We had a few drinks there and saw some guys dressed up like cats playing some music upstairs.

We decided to head over to a different pub that was about a 20 minute walk away that was supposed to have some really good music playing. Unfortunately when we got there they were closing down for the night so we had to trek all the way back to the Temple Bar area. We made it there and found a bar that might have been called Brogan's. I'm not completely sure but it ended up being pretty cool. We got a few more drinks there and danced to a DJ. It was getting pretty late and I knew I had reached my drinking limit for the night so I headed back to the hostel and proceeded to pass out around 2am.

I woke up at 9am with a splitting headache so I came down to the lounge/kitchen area and had some toast and cereal and slammed a bunch of water. After breakfast I showered and got my laptop out to decide what I'd do today. I figured since it was a nice day I'd go find some park areas and look at some of the old buildings around town.

I put Dublin Castle, Dubh Linn gardens, Chester Beatty Library, St. Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral on my list of what I wanted to see. The Chester Beatty Library was a really cool gallery filled with a bunch of old artwork from asian countries as well as old religious documents and artwork. I decided not to go into the churches because the admission costs are would have been over 10 euros combined.

I got a baguette sandwich at a local grocery store and ate in the St. Patrick's park. After that I just aimlessly walked around until I came across the Temple Bar area and then made my way back to the hostel.

I decided I'd go ahead and figure out where I'm going after Dublin so I ended up booking a bus to Kilkenny and got my hostel situated. Kilkenny looks like a cool place to go and hang out and relax. It'll be quite the difference between the massive amounts of people here in Dublin.

Since then I've just been catching up on emails and doing a little work. It's almost time to head to the grocery and pick up something for dinner.

Teaser photos:

Dublin Castle and Dubh Linn Gardens

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Cool Graffiti

Temple Bar

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, dublin,

Posted from: Ireland

Thursday, June 27, 2013 @ 8:12 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 1

When I landed in Dublin it was overcast and raining and the weather was in the low 60's. I got off the plane and went through customs without any issue. After getting out of customs I went to an ATM and withdrew some Euros. In order to break those bills up into something I could use on a bus fare I bought a coffee and used the WiFi at the airport to check some email. After not being sure where to catch the 16 bus to the city center I went and asked the information desk. Apparently I had to go down to a different terminal to catch the bus. After buying a ticket I boarded and sat back for about 45 minutes while we made our way from the airport to downtown Dublin.

I got to the hostel around 11:20am but couldn't check in until 2pm. I was pretty wet from the rain so I dropped my pack off in their secure storage area and set about finding something for lunch. I just started aimlessly wandering around and eventually made my way to Talbot Street and a pub called Molly's. It was filled with old dudes speaking Gaelic which was pretty cool. I ordered a pint of Beamish Irish Stout and a chicken/bacon panini for lunch. Both were really tasty. I think I like the Beamish better than Guinness!

By the time I finished the rain had subsided so I walked around a little more. I came across some cell phone shops and ended up getting a pre-paid sim card for 20 euros that had unlimited data for a month. After getting that situated I went back to the hostel and checked in. I claimed the top bunk in a 6 bed room then decided to head back out and do a little exploring. I made my way down Grafton street and hit St. Stephen's Green (a really nice park). It was drizzling again but I still had some time to kill so I went over to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. The imagery and skill involved with drawing the pages is amazing! There's also a really neat library as part of the tour filled with old books.

I was starting to get hungry by now so I made my way to a Tesco and bought some ingredients for a stir-fry (chicken, red pepper, garlic, soy sauce, snow peas) and got a cider. I came back to the hostel and met some of my room mates (2 guys from Switzerland and one guy from Australia). I ended up eating with the Australian and two french guys and we talked about random stuff which was cool.

After that wound down I caught up on my journal and started writing these blog posts. Just now the two guys from Switzerland came down and we're going to have some mojitos while a bunch of spanish guys watch the Spain v Italy football match.

So far it's been a great day and I'm really hoping I'll be able to sleep well tonight!

Teaser photos:

The Spire

St. Stephen's Green

Trinity College

Trinity College Library

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, dublin

Posted from: Ireland

Thursday, June 27, 2013 @ 7:48 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 0 - June 26, 2013

Today started out just fine. I woke up normally, had french toast for breakfast, took Canyon on a walk, showered and packed up.

When we got to the airport I went up to the Departures board and saw that my American Airlines flight to Chicago was canceled. All of the other American flights to Chicago were either canceled or delayed by a minimum of a few hours. We ran to the American ticket counter and the lady was able to get me booked on another flight that was delayed and scheduled to leave shortly after my original flight was supposed to. I was fortunate enough to get the last seat on the jet!

The flight ended up being delayed a little bit later and I was in the air by around 5:50pm EDT. I landed in Chicago around 5:40pm CDT and made my way to the International Terminal where I had to go through security again. The whole international terminal was under construction but they still had a little bar set up. I got a beer and checked into my flight. Everything was on time so I made some last minute phone calls then boarded.

They ended up serving some cheese ravioli and salad with a brownie for dinner. After that I put in my ear plugs and proceeded to try and sleep. I got a few hours of rest before they turned the lights back on and started the breakfast service which consisted of orange juice and a ham and cheese croissant.

I'll pick up the rest of the journey in my Day 1- Dublin post!

Teaser photos:

Me and Canyon

At the Indianapolis airport

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Posted from: Ireland

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 @ 11:13 PM in 2013 Europe

18 hours until I get on my plane to start my journey to Europe and I've finalized everything I'm bringing and I've tied up all the necessary loose ends here. The last major thing I needed to finish today was to handle my vehicle registration renewal issue. My NM license plate is set to expire in November 2013 but since NM requires an emissions test for each renewal it makes things difficult. In order to get my license plate renewed I needed to run around town today to get a VIN inspection and some documents notarized. Then, when I get my license renewal form I have to send all of that along with the renewal form.

I also had to pre-write all my checks for the bills I don't have set to auto-pay as well as all of my business estimated taxes that will be due while I'm gone. My parents will simply throw the envelopes in the mail on the specified dates and everything should be good to go.

Since the last test pack I did a few weeks ago I changed a few things up. I ditched my Nikon D50 in favor of a Canon G15. The DSLR simply took up too much room and the technology crammed into the G15 is so much better. Due to feedback from other travelers I also picked up a couple more pairs of boxers and decided I'd bring a pair of jeans as well as a dress shirt.

That's it for now. It's almost time for this crazy journey to start!

Teaser photos:

Everything I'm Taking

Everything I'm Taking (w/ captions)

Everything packed w/ what I'm wearing on the flight

Tags: preparation

Posted from: United States

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 10:17 AM in 2013 Europe

After my "test packing" post I started to think a little bit more about what I had packed. I really like my Nikon D50 but the sad truth is the camera is 8 years old and the lens already has some focusing issues and the whole thing takes up a lot of room. I did some research into some compact point and shoots and ended up purchasing the Canon Powershot G15. The G15 is basically a DSLR crammed into a point and shoot body. There are full manual controls for setting the fstop and shutter speeds plus it has full 1080p movie shooting modes. It feels very sturdy when holding it and the rear LCD is amazingly clear. I'm going to be much more inclined to carry this around than lugging around my giant D50.

I also went to REI and purchased a couple more pairs of quick drying boxers. That should be everything I need to change up for now. 8 days to go!

Tags: preparation,

Posted from: United States

Monday, June 10, 2013 @ 7:27 PM in 2013 Europe

In preparation for my trip abroad I created a spreadsheet where I made a list of all the cities / countries I wanted to visit and then estimated how much time I might want to spend there. Then today I learned about the Schengen Zone. This is a group of 26 European countries that have opened their borders to each other to make it easier to travel around. Travelers from the USA can show up and stay in the Schengen zone for up to 90 days in a span of 180 days (3 months within a 6 month period). Looking at my spreadsheet I currently have 98 days estimated within the Schengen zone. That means I have to re-evaluate some of my plans but that shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Ireland and the UK are all outside the Schengen Zone so at least the start of my trip will be in the clear. Morocco is also outside the zone so that's in the clear too. I just have roughly an additional 50 days to burn outside the zone so if anyone finds any cheap flights to SE Asia or South Africa, let me know!

Anyway, glad I figured this all out now before getting into trouble by overstaying the 90 day period there. If anyone else is planning on visiting Europe for a long period of time, it's something to keep in mind before planning everything out!

Posted from: United States

Monday, June 10, 2013 @ 9:53 AM in 2013 Europe

It's only 16 days before I jump on a jet for Dublin, Ireland so I decided it was time to lay all my gear out and take some photos. This was the first time I laid everything out to see what I'm taking and then to try and pack it all into my backpack. 40 liters sounds like quite a bit of room until you start laying everything out and then look at how much stuff you have. The stuff that takes up the most room by far is my clothes. My DSLR is a little awkward to fit just because of the shape.

You can see a full list of everything I packed by visiting the Preparation link at the top of the page. The last photo also has everything identified with numbers.

I'm getting really excited now. These last couple weeks are going to blow by!

Teaser photos:

Everything unpacked

Starting to consolidate

Everything in the pack

Detailed list of what I'm bringing

Tags: preparation,

Posted from: United States

Monday, April 22, 2013 @ 9:49 AM in 2013 Europe

I reserved a bed in a 6 bed suite at the Times Hostel - College Street in Dublin for my first 5 nights in Europe. I'll be staying there the night of June 27 through July 2nd. After reading reviews and looking at all the sights I want to see in Dublin, it looks like it's in a pretty prime location. It's next to Trinity College and is within easy walking distance to several big sights.

The hostel is also on a main bus line from the Dublin airport and will only cost a little over 3 USD to hop on board. After spending 5 days in Dublin I'll probably head west toward Galway, but who knows at this point!

Posted from: United States

Monday, April 22, 2013 @ 7:59 AM in General Travel

I've been living in Albuquerque, NM for seven and a half years and hadn't been out to see the Grand Canyon yet. Two of my friends, Luiz and Orville, tried to go last year but ended up being in Flagstaff during the local college's homecoming festivities and ended up partying instead of seeing the canyon.

We decided that before I took off for Europe I should at least see some of the sights closer to home so we planned a trip to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. We packed up my car on Friday afternoon with plenty of beer and some lunch food and started the drive. With the time change, we made it to Flagstaff around 9:30pm, checked into Hotel Monte Vista, had a beer in the room and then went out to get some beers at the local places.

The first bars we hit were the ones in the hotel. They were a little crowded so we had our beers and moved on. We ended up making it to Flagstaff Brewing Company to have our final beer of the night. It seemed that on Friday night, FBC was a little more geared toward a different type of crowd than we were expecting for a local brewery. We went back to the room around midnight and went to sleep.

Tyler ended up waking up at about 5:30am so he got the rest of us up at 6. We had a morning beer in the room and decided we might as well get breakfast and head out to the Grand Canyon to get an early start for the day. We ate breakfast at a place called Mix. The food was all really tasty and a great way to get the day started.

The drive up to the Grand Canyon is pretty scenic and goes by quickly. When we got to the Grand Canyon we got stuck in the slow line to pay our $25 entry fee, but once we got past that we headed to the Mather Point Rim Trail to get our first glimpses of the canyon. We couldn't have asked for a better day. It wasn't too windy, there were no clouds, it wasn't overly hot or cold and the haze was at a minimum. We walked the rim trail and took a bunch of photos and then decided we'd drive East a little bit and find a more secluded spot to have some beers and eat lunch.

After a 10 minute drive along the rim we came to a really nice and empty overlook area that had some unofficial trails along the side. We grabbed our cooler and found an absolutely spectacular area to chill and have our Grand Canyon beer. The beer we decided on was the Oskar Blues Dale's Deviant Ale. It was a really good beer and tasted even better with the awesome views we had. The wind started to pick up a little bit so we enjoyed the view and finished our beer then headed back to the car to eat lunch.

Tyler packed about 5 different kinds of lunch meats and a few different kinds of cheese. We had some delicious sandwiches and opened a bomber of Laughing Dog's Rocket Dog Rye IPA. I had higher hopes for it but none of us were really digging the flavor. It could have been that the strong Dale's was messing with our taste buds though.

After eating we got back in the car and headed back to Flagstaff. Once we got back into town we started hunting for some Coconut water to help re-balance our systems a bit before starting the real drinking activities. We finally found a Safeway and got to use the restrooms (we all had to go really really bad) and got our coconut water and then went back to the hotel.

After another couple of beers in the room we started our adventures around Flagstaff. The first place we hit was the Madrid Tapas y Sangria bar where we each got a beer and split some tapas. Next we went over to Mother Road Brewing Company for another round when we decided we needed a pick-me-up. The bike shop next to Mother Road was selling espressos and coffee. We ended up trying some of the cold-drip coffee and it definitely did the trick. After that we headed over to Lumberyard Brewery where we had another round and something resembling poutine to snack on.

It was starting to cool down a bit so at this point we went back to the hotel to get our jackets. We got there and finished off the last of the four bombers we brought (a nice oatmeal stout) and then headed over to Uptown Billiards where we played some pool and had two more rounds. We were all in the snacking mood again so we took off and ended up coming across a sign for $9.99 one-pound buckets of shrimp at San Felipe's Cantina so we stopped and got a couple of those and another beer.

We were all feeling pretty good so we asked the waitress where we should go and she mentioned Hops on Birch being a chill place, so that's where we set off to. They had a pretty good beer selection so we got another round there and hung out for a bit. By now we were starting to fade a little bit so we thought we needed some more food before another rally. We tried to get into a Thai place but they were closed so we found another one and ordered some appetizers and waters.

That helped a bit so we went to the hotel bar for another round. Luiz and I ended up hitting our walls and couldn't even finish our beers so we headed up to the room to pass out. Orville and Tyler stayed down for another 15 minutes or so before heading back up. It was a long day but we did and saw a lot.

On Sunday morning we woke up, started packing everything up and then got some breakfast at Criollo Latin Kitchen. I had a really good breakfast burrito and everyone else liked their food. After having some food in our stomachs we got in the car and headed home. We were hoping to hit a liquor store on the way out of town to pick up some Dogfish head beers but we couldn't find one that had it. The drive home was pretty uneventful. When we got back, Luiz and I swung by a new Vietnamese place and got some Pho to go.

It was a really quick weekend but everyone had a lot of fun. Flagstaff is definitely a cool place to go if you want to see some cool sights and hang out in a really chill town.

Teaser photos:

Grand Canyon South Rim

Grand Canyon South Rim

Luiz, Tyler, me and Orville

Enjoying a Dale's Deviant Ale

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Posted from: United States

Tuesday, April 16, 2013 @ 4:43 PM in 2013 Europe

After doing a little bit more research and hearing some horror stories, I decided I needed to get a Chip and PIN card for my time in Europe. Unfortunately the pickings are pretty slim right now in the US for a true Chip and PIN card, but I came across the Andrews Federal Credit Union GlobeTrek Visa card.

This card has a true Chip and PIN (AND a Chip and Signature) capabilities. I just applied for the card today so hopefully I'll be getting it in the mail within a few weeks. The card has no annual fees and no foreign transaction fees which make it the best choice in available Chip and PIN cards in the US.

Some of the horror stories I read about people that only had their magnetic swipe credit cards (like pretty much every card in the US) included not being able to get tickets in train stations, not being able to pay for gas, not being able to pay for groceries and more. Rather than deal with that frustration I decided to do the smart thing and get the Chip and PIN card.

Once I'm over in Europe I'll keep everyone posted about how it works.

Posted from: United States