The Good, The Bad, and the Irish

I’m posting this in two of my blogs – both my main page and my travel page (which if you haven’t checked out – see the link on the side of the page) since I think this is something you all may enjoy. Photos will be posted on the travel blog soon, I just need to upload them and then find the time.

I just got back from a trip to Eastern Ireland – mostly Dublin and the outlying villages. Danny and I went for our one year wedding anniversary for a longish weekend (Thursday till Tuesday) and enjoyed every minute. The whole time I was there I was making mental notes of things you should know if you go, especially to Dublin, with that I give you:

The Good, The Bad, and the Irish.
Dublin, Ireland
30 April – 5 May 2009
1) Don’t expect to see lots of Irish food.

I was warned of this before we went to Dublin. The city is extremely cosmopolitan in it’s own way. There were loads of Italian places, Indian, Moroccan, Mexican, and other middle eastern foods. All I wanted though was things like fish and chips since it’s hard to find anything decent over here other then a Gordon fisherman’s fillet with some nasty fries. We had some great new style Irish food at a place called SoHo and even better traditional Irish food at Oliver St. John Gogarty Pub in Temple Bar. Oh and the Indian food there – off the chain.

2) Before you go to Dublin, take physics class or advanced calculus, you’ll have a better chance of understanding the bus system.

Ok. Maybe that’s a bit of overkill but you know what, that bus system is HARD to understand. I’m sure if I lived there I’d pick it up but there are all these numbers, a’s and b’s and x’s! Different stops have letters and it is all Greek to me. I mean what happened to different colored routes, or colors with the alphabet??? Danny and I got lost a few times on the bus, but luckily they run regularly. It is a great way to get around the city, but damn is it confusing.

3) No one will stop for you when you’re crossing the street. If you thought you were in a rush – you are nothing to the person in the car.

When Danny and I went to Puerto Rico (the trip from hell) in September we found out that there are people that actually stop to wave you across the street. Everyone there does it. Well, no one in Ireland does. I was nearly clipped by a bus a few times, the cars drive fast because they don’t want to be held up at a red light, so if your crossing without a signal – RUN and if you are jay walking RUN. No one here has time for you and your walking.

4) Guinness still sucks.
I’m not a beer drinker in the first place, but Guinness is one of those things that I figured I had to have while I was over there. Well it still tastes like foot.

5) Jameson Whiskey – you’re only true friend.

I know this is true anywhere you are, but Jameson is the only whiskey I like because it doesn’t taste like burning. It’s nice and sweet. I have learned on this vacation that it’s even better in hot chocolate and even better then that in cranberry juice. It’s the best thing ever.

6) Rambler Passes, buy them.

Rambler passes give you unlimited travel on the bus systems in Dublin and the outlying areas. This is great because if you screw up and end up where you don’t need to be, you don’t need to shell out another 1.60 Euro to get back to where you need to be. You only need to do about 8 rides to make it worth it, even less if you use it to get to the airport.

7) Go outside of Dublin
Because we didn’t have much time in Ireland we basically stayed in Dublin for 3 out of our 5 days. I didn’t want to rush it, didn’t want to try to see more then we could handle. Although Dublin is a pretty cool city – it’s not Ireland. It’s like going to New York City and judging the rest of the states on it. Out in the country, the air is more fresh, the people are nicer and are ready and willing to talk. They don’t mind Americans as much as long as you aren’t acting like an arrogant asshole (I’m going to just say that goes for ALL people as visitors to other places). I loved going to Bray and hiking around a mountain to one of the other towns. It was the best experience of the trip, and when I go back to Ireland, I’ll be doing more of that, small towns and hiking boots.

This has to be one of the best trips I’ve taken in a long time, a little city, a little country and just a lot of fun. Anyone who hasn’t been to Ireland I urge you to get your passports and get on the plane and just go. You’ll thank me later.