Andy in The Netherlands: Day 131 - 138

It's been more than three weeks since I last blogged, but I'm back home in Holland and I'll try my best to have the entire trip up on the blog by the end of the weekend.

Day 131 - Dublin

I arrived in Dublin after a short flight and took a bus to meet Adrian - the first time I'd seen him since January. We dropped my stuff off at his lovely cousin Sheila's apartment and then hopped on the tram to St. Stephen's Green. From there we cruised around Grafton Street and ended up wandering all over - Temple Bar and O'Connell Street included. We were being remarkably indecisive about where to eat (this will be a theme) and ended up being drawn in to a chain fast food place, Supermac's, because they were advertising an "Obama Burger" that ended up being a fine burger, but we came away with little clue as to why it was named after our fair Head of State. Afterward we went to Madigan's pub on O'Connell street to pay homage to my middle name and mother's side of the family (we later heard Madigan's is a chain?) and had a couple pints.

Afterwards we walked back to St. Stephen's Green, passing a kid in an MSU hat who Adrian booed, and sat in the park people watching until the 9 pm bell was rung to vacate. We wandered around for a while more before heading back to Sheila's and watching A Time To Kill on TV with one of her roommates, which turned out to be quite good. The night was capped off with some curry fries from a place nearby.

Day 132 - Dublin II

We started the day off inauspiciously at 2 with lunch at an Indian place that was recommended to us. I enjoyed my lamb korma but Adrian can't stop talking about how terrible the food was there (in fairness, it was strangely sweet), and each re-telling of the story makes the pretty decent food more and more inedible. Afterward we met up with Cory, in town for a day before heading off to his Summer in Berlin. We made our way to the Guinness Storehouse, and did the tour, complete with pints in the gravity bar.

Afterwards we didn't have much idea of what to do, so we wandered back towards the centre of town and ended up deciding a movie was a better killer of a few hours than a pub, so we saw Pirates 4, which was entertaining enough but kind of dumb at this point. Cory had been to Dublin before and wanted to go to this hipster bar called the George Bernard Shaw, so we walked more or less 100 KM to find it. When we finally did locate the place the bouncer accused my Michigan driver's license of being fake but let me in anyway, which was amusing. I wanted to ask him why I would get a fake ID that didn't say I was 21, but decided against it and followed the guys in. It was certainly THE hangout for Dublin's hippest alt-kids, and after spending all of the money in the world (Ireland on a whole was preposterously expensive) stopped off for a late night meal before taking a cab back to Sheila's.

Day 133 - Dublin III

We ventured out into the rainy morning for some breakfast, and ended up getting absolutely delicious corned beef and potato hash from a place called Dillinger's - the only negative was ordering a ginger beer only to have it come in a 113 ml bottle. Completely absurd. We had a window seat and saw a guy walk past in a University of Michigan hoodie that I'd never seen before, which was strange, and perhaps the first time in Europe I'd seen someone wearing a legitimate UofM article of clothing. After breakfast Cory scrambled off to Berlin, and Adrian and I lounged around for a while watching the Nadal-Federer French Open final. BBC2 did an amazing job with their coverage, FWIW. Very artful.

Later in the evening we took a regional train along a very scenic coastal route to Bray, where we met up with a bunch of Adrian's family, including his parents, and then drove out to the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt where they were staying. This was my first taste of how beautiful the Irish countryside is, complete with the majestic Sugar Loaf mountain. We skipped Gordon Ramsay's restaurant and went to the pub downstairs instead, where I got terrific fried chicken and chips. We had a mini-moment when we thought the people sitting behind us were Aston Villa's Steven Ireland and his girlfriend, but it turned out we were a little overexcited and misidentified them.

Day 134 - Galway

After delicious chicken sandwiches from a nice gourmet deli called Donnybrook Fair (more from DF later) and missing our train due to unforeseen delays caused by a marathon in Dublin, Adrian and I boarded a bus to Galway, a popular town on the western coast. The bus ride was pleasant enough, but really long, and we pulled into Galway in the late evening. Adrian's cousin in Galway was unable to meet up with us after sustaining a concussion, so we had to check into a hostel when we arrived, and ours was on the main strip of town. The guy at reception, funnily enough, played with his band in Detroit, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids while on tour with Tyvek. They played somewhere in Corktown that's unfamiliar, but he remembered the Michigan Central Depot well, unsurprisingly.

After wandering around indecisively looking for food (in our defense, everything was so expensive!) we settled on a nice little pub where I got a really good (and filling) shepherd's pie. Our frustration with European drink sizes continued, but it was assuaged by the ridiculous 80s pop the bar was playing. After eating we walked down by the canals that led out to sea, and walked around the very scenic docks for a while before calling it a night. Surprisingly, most of our hostel room was already asleep when we came in early in the night - a sign that surely drink prices are too high for travelers in Ireland!

Day 135 - Galway II

After toast and jam for breakfast we hopped on a crowded tour bus for a trip to the Cliffs of Moher. The tour guide was pretty awkward at first and told some rather terrible stories, but once he got his groove he was funny and knowledgeable. We first stopped at the Ailwee Caves, which was cool, and got some great views of the very striking landscape of the Burren region. The Burren is home to all kinds of wildlife, and is easily recognized by its limestone mountains. We cruised through assorted sites of mild importance, until we finally arrived at the Cliffs of Moher, which were pretty spectacular. I'd seen a lot of pictures but they just cannot prepare you for the sheer size of reality. The countryside in general was very gorgeous - incredibly green, and yet barren and romantic.

We got lunch at a pub nearby - a great seafood chowder for me - and then headed back to Galway. At the hostel we hung around for a while, talking to a kid from Connecticut that had a mutual friend with Adrian, and a PTSD-ing Brit apparently on the run from the law and seeking refuge in the bars of Galway. Adrian and I were pretty poor at this point, and decided for a meal on the cheap at McDonald's, which was predictably disappointing. After grabbing some ice cream we went back to the hostel, before getting bored and venturing back out to the river. We saw a seal, which was awesome, before retiring to our new, hilariously loud room. Sleep was interesting.

Day 136 - Galway III

We checked out of our hostel and booked a tour to Connemara. Since we were the only people for the later tour the company ended up driving us out an hour into the countryside to meet up with the earlier tour group, which struck me as an un-European way of handling a customer service issue. Connemara was absolutely breathtaking. Mountains, lakes, sheep - it didn't matter that the weather was once again cold and rainy. We went to Kylemore Abbey - a 19th century mansion in a valley, surrounded by mountains and complete with giant walled gardens. After a disappointing lunch of spinach & salmon quiche and broccoli soup we headed back towards Galway, stopping at Ireland's only fjord on the way.

We took a bus back to Dublin upon our return - a ride that turned out to be pretty terrible with a screaming baby and tweens watching anime at full volume on a laptop. We grabbed some food when we returned and then took the trains back to Bray. We reunited with Adrian's parents and spent the night at the Ritz - on a rollaway bed, that is. It was all very nice and gracious of Adrian's family, so if this makes it to any of the Flynns, thanks for your hospitality!

Day 137 - Dublin IV

Breakfast was the most delicious scone I've ever had from a small bakery in Eniskerry. Since it was the day of the wedding I split off from Adrian and headed back into Dublin as he headed out into the countryside. Back at Sheila's I watched some classically British TV (a replay of England-Switzerland and Top Gear) before heading back to Donnybrook Fair for another tremendous sandwich (I would go back there for 5 consecutive meals). I took a train from Ranelagh to St. Stephen's Green and read Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down in the park. I did more stolling around Grafton Street, walked around the beautiful Trinity College, and headed back to Ranelagh when the rain got too heavy to make sightseeing viable.

I spent the rest of the day reading, eating sandwiches from DF, and watching American TV comedies with Sheila's British roommate. After a bunch of days of sightseeing and spending all of my money, it was nice to just have a day to take it easy. Much like the next day.

Day 138 - Dublin V

I woke up with more Top Gear and DF, this time enjoying my ham, brie, and cranberry sauce baguette in a park near Sheila's apartment. Afterwards I took the Metro into town and visited Dublin Castle and Christchurch Cathedral, which were both impressive. I was desperately in need of a new pair of jeans (my trusty pair has a massive hole in the crotch from bike riding!) and checked out a few stores, but even H&M was overpriced. I was also looking for Madigan stuff in the Dublin gift shops but couldn't find anything. After yet another (I wasn't kidding - it was a tremendous value) DF meal I settled back in at the apartment, finishing A Long Way Down a little more than a day after I started it. It felt really good to be reading again.

Adrian and Sheila got back late, and it was good to have Adrian back and hear some good stories from the wedding. This was my last full day in Ireland, and I have to say that I was ready to move on with the trip at this point. The countryside is gorgeous and the people are really nice, but the weather and expense of everything were a big drag, and it was time to move on to Barcelona.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Ireland.