Brandon O'Brien

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!

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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!

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Posted from: Ireland