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!
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!
Labels: adventure, craziness, dublin, fun, honeymoon, ireland, rest
Posted by Shannon at
10:04 PM
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Time for a day trip! We booked a trip through our hotel to head out to Canterbury Cathedral, Leeds Castle, Cliffs of Dover and Greenwich. It was a nice trip. It was a good day because it rained on and off and we were able to be inside touring the various places. We were both in awe of Canterbury Cathedral and Leeds Castle. They were both breathtaking. We were grateful to be surrounded by such history and have everyone around us appreciate it too!
Later, we headed over to the Hard Rock Café London. Apparently this Hard Rock is the first one ever. What would a trip be without me randomly talking to people? We made quite a few new friends this evening. Sergio our bartender and Emily our waitress were wonderful.
We headed over to the Big Bus Company stop where we proceeded to take the Hop on Hop off bus all around London for the day. It was a great way for us to get to see a large number of things. We then took the bus over to near Millennium Pier where we took our free boat cruise along the Thames River. Our tour guide was hilarious and very knowledgeable of the buildings along the river.
We got to London Heathrow and had a minor issue with Dot 2 Dot transfer. The women at the desk were super helpful to us and got us taken care of after a few phone calls. The Dot 2 Dot showed us all around London while dropping people off. It was alright with us since we were over tired and so excited to be there!
We walked through the very beautiful St. James Park which was right near our hotel. We crossed the Westminster Bridge and walked along the Thames. There were street performers near the Aquarium. There were quite a few different performers but Greg’s favorite was the gymnastics performer. He was a lot of fun and got the audience to participate.