Dublin - Day 1

We had to leave London today. We were alright with leaving, but we're sad that there was still so much to do! While on our ride to London - Heathrow airport we sat with an elderly couple from Australia. They were in London headed to Vancouver. Many Canadians had been in London for Canada Day Celebrations which were June 30 – July 1.

Once we got to our gate to head to Dublin, I met Kate and her husband Henry. Kate and Henry had to of been at least 70 or 75 years old. Henry sat in his wheelchair doing Sodoku while Kate told me where she grew up and how her and Henry had only been married for 7 years. They were heading to Wales where Henry resided before they got married and where they both live now. They were very cute!

Once we got onto our flight Greg and I realized we would have to sit by someone. We ended up sitting next to a young man named Keith. Keith had been traveling from Ireland via motor bike through Africa. He was trying to make his way with a friend (or mate as he called him) from the northern tip down to South Africa. He and his friend were planning the trip to be only 4 months. They found that after 6 months they only made it to Nigeria so he had to come home to Ireland to visit his mum.

Once we got to Ireland we needed to find our luggage. We were aggravated with looking for the turnstile with our flight so we went to exchange our money for a break and to gather more patience. While we were there it was obvious that the gal in front of me was from Canada or US. I wanted to ask her where she was from, but I wasn't really in the mood to make small talk. The a young man approached the girl with a ton of luggage. Looking at him I chuckled because he was wearing a Tigers hat and t-shirt!

I had to ask if they were from Detroit, they answered yes... Then I asked where, they answered a small town called Warren... I didn't want to creep them out so I shared with them where in Warren we lived and then we learned they live 5 miles away! Here we are in Dublin Airport chatting with a couple who live only a few minutes away!

We chatted for 15 or 20 minutes and then swapped hotel numbers so we could hang out during the week! Greg and I then ventured off to find our luggage. Once we accomplished that - we hopped on the express bus to the stop near our hotel. On the ride we got to get a brief tour of Dublin and see where the main shopping roads were and where the action was. We got off the bus stop at the main bus station that is across the street from the Custom House (see the image above). After a short walk we arrived at our hotel that sat right on the rive Liffey. It seemed like a very nice hotel. Then we learned they had no record of our reservation.



My initial reaction was let me go potty then I will deal with this. Greg's reaction was let me just sit down for a bit then he will deal with it. So we did that while they dealt with it. We had all of our documentation... so they took care of us nicely. We were fine with waiting 5 minutes while they did that. They were shocked by our patience and politeness, which made us feel good and weird at the same time. What type of reactions were they used to? We enjoyed our view of the river for the week and the yummy breakfasts that were included!

London - Day 4

We were both very tired this morning. After talking with the very helpful men working as concierge and Ian the door man at our hotel, we decided to do our laundry.

The Laundromat - oh I'm sorry, it's Laundrette and it was only a 5 minute walk. It was the cutest little launderette! The woman working there was so nice to us. She was older and I think she just enjoyed our company. Other people would come in and just leave their laundry to wash or dry, being a paranoid tourist, I was not about to leave my clothes unattended to. Between the woman working the laundrette and a local man from France, they both gave us all the tips we needed to get the laundry done fast and efficient. The local man insisted on showing me how to use the laundry spinner that would spin all of the water out of our clothes so we could dry them for less time and less money.

Later that evening, we took the subway over to the Tower Hill Station. It was quite an easy trip on the subway right off the Circle or District Lines. We met up with a guy named Shaughan (Shawn) who was a wonderful tour guide for the Jack the Ripper tour. We retraced the steps of Jack the Ripper and his victims. Shaughan was an awesome guide and just really got into the role. We walked all over town and then took the subway back home where we spent another evening in search of a late night dinner.

You know, 9 pm is late eating for folks in London...

The Honeymoon is Booked!

It is official on Sunday, June 30, 2008 Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Hall will be in the air over the Atlantic Ocean heading to London England. Once our trip is over in London, we will then head to Dublin Ireland.

We have our flights and hotels booked. We may book a few day tours but otherwise we plan on exploring the countries on our own as we go. There are a few things that are "must do's" for us...

1. Stonehenge
2. Kissing the Blarney Stone
3. St. Patrick's Cathedral
4. St. James Gate / Guiness!
5. The London Eye
6. Parliment
7. The Royal Air Museum

There are so many other places we want to explore, but we will just have to see what we are able to accomplish in such a short time!