Month: April 2018

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Ireland 2: Day 9

04.18.18 | Limerick Hotel | 21:14

This morning, I had to take a bus and two trains to get from Dingle to Limerick. It was an early morning, and I guess I wasn’t quite awake, because as I was about to board the first train, I realized that I had left my large duffel bag on the bus! I raced across the parking lot to the bus station and told the attendant what I had done. She told me that this bus had already left to it’s next route, and so there was no way they could retrieve it until it came back to the Tralee station.

This is horrible! Now I only had the clothes I was wearing, and in my pursuit of the silver lining, I was thankful that I had my money, credit cards, and passport in my backpack, which I hadn’t left behind.

Then the attendant told me to cross over to the management office and give them a description of the bag, and I told her that it probably wasn’t worth it because I’m not finished up in Tralee I would be going to Limerick. She then told me that there was no way they’d send the bag to meet me.

I crossed the street, hoping that she didn’t give me the correct information. When I got to the office, I explained my predicament. A manager told me he’d be right back, and he walked over to a bunch of busses, leaving me near the office.

All of a sudden, the angels started singing and he came back with my duffle bag! The attendant was wrong. The bus hadn’t left, was just moved to the other side of the parking lot! I told the manager that he is my new best friend. He laughed at me, but I think it wasn’t a, “you’re funny” laugh. It was more of a, “bless your heart” style of laugh. I thanked him and ran back across to the train station, boarding my train about a minute and a half before it left the station.

Now I’m in Limerick. This is a cool city! I was slightly worried because the clerk at the Dingle hostel told me that Limerick was boring and I should have gone to Killarney instead. I’m glad he was wrong, but then again, it doesn’t take much to entertain me. Dinner was at Cornstore, which is a restaurant that I also at at when I was in Cork. Apparently there’s two locations. The Cork version was incredible (albeit a little overpriced). I thought I’d give this one a try. Amazing!

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Ireland 2: Day 8

04.17.18 | Dingle Hostel | 20:14

This morning I got a bit of a late start, as I was waiting to see if it was going to be a stormy day or not. There was some rain, but it only lasted for about an hour or so. Even though the wind was still mad, I decided to walk through town. I ended up at the marina on Dingle Bay.

After a bit, the wind just wouldn’t die down. I was getting sprayed with salt water. I decided that maybe it was another day that I was going to read from my book. I would have liked to go hiking on a proper trail, but it was still quite overcast and I could see storms in the distance. It’s best that I stay close, so I don’t get dumped on.

On my walk back to the hostel, and recorded another live video on Periscope. https://www.pscp.tv/w/baZAQDkzNzkzNXwxQmRHWVJSREFwWEpYKN8z45q-aM7GvEDtQ5tPJ3bmlwWvur_0MkU_b5jBews=?t=6s. It’s awesome that I’m starting to get a few more followers on Periscope. I like that the app pinpoints you on the map, and people who you’ve never even met can choose to watch your video and follow you.

Dinner tonight was at a really great seafood restaurant. I had some good muscles as a starter, and then two kinds of fish… I don’t remember what kind they were, but they were really good! I just had to take off the skin… it’s always too “fishy” tasting.

On my way back to the hostel, I took a few pictures of the homes and businesses in the town. I love all the colors! I leave tomorrow morning for my next destination, but I’d love to come back one day- hopefully when there is nicer weather.

Ireland 2: Day 7

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Kent Station in Cork

04.16.18 | Cork > Tralee | 09:12

This next leg of my journey is my dear friend Colee’s fault. From the time I met her (in the late 90s, while living in Logan, Utah), she always said she wanted to go to Dingle, Ireland. This is because she grew up in Dingle, Idaho. When I was planning this part of my trip, I remembered her saying this. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t get there before her and rub it in her face? To Dingle, I go! By the way, this is an item on my bucket list!

As with most new places that I visit, I didn’t Google any information. I don’t want the surprise spoiled. I’m pretty sure there’s not much going on in Dingle, though. I’ve been told it’s absolutely beautiful if I’m into hiking. Since I am, let’s just all cross our fingers that the weather allows me to do some exploring over the next two days.

The train doesn’t go all the way to Dingle. For this reason, once I get to Tralee, I’ll have to find the bus that will take me the rest of the way. I’m so glad I decided to keep my phone on during this trip. In the past, I really wanted to avoid any international fees with AT&T, so I kept my phone in airplane mode the entire journey and only connected to WiFi hotspots. I’m really not sure how I survived without my G.P.S. directions.

Tralee > Dingle | 10:58

My train arrived just before the bus to Dingle was scheduled to leave. I was initially planning on waiting in Tralee for about three hours. This means that there is no time to get something to eat.

Dingle, Ireland | 21:39

When I got off the bus, the wind and rain were so strong that my umbrella was instantly destroyed. I’m not talking about just being flipped inside out, but then a bunch of the little metal spokes (I don’t think that’s what they’re really called) got busted. My umbrella is now in umbrella heaven (or maybe umbrella hell, depending on the life it has lead).

I had no way of getting into the hostel, so I walked down the street and found a restaurant called The Wren’s Nest. I enter and order an egg salad sandwich. The guy makes it right there, over a little George Foreman-type grill. There was no kitchen to go in to prepare the food. He just did it right in front of me- it was the weirdest thing!

Ireland 2: Day 6

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04.15.18 | Cork, Ireland | 17:44

Even though I could hear the rain coming down all night long (I sleep light in hostels when strangers are sharing a room with me), I decided to go to church. The wind really made the walk miserable, and I had to keep my umbrella at a 90-degree angle just to keep the rain from pelting me. I made it through the first half, but then I just wasn’t having it. My mind was everywhere, and I was restless. I was having the most challenging time sitting still. So finally, I gave up.

There was no way I would walk all the way back to the hostel, so I cheated and called a taxi. The taxi service here has an app, much like using Lyft or Uber back in the states. You set up your pick-up and drop-off locations, and you can even pay through the app itself. It’s convenient, and this will give Uber a run for its money if it ever makes it down to Cork. Plus, I like not having to carry tons of cash with me.

When I got back to the hostile, I kept walking to find a late lunch. After eating some barbecue, I came and took about a three-hour nap. I am now contemplating dinner. It’s not that I’m even close to hungry yet, but I know I will be later. No use buying groceries since I’m headed to my next location tomorrow.

Ireland 2: Day 5

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04.14.18 | Cork, Ireland | 22:33

The name of this hostel is Bru Bar & Hostel. When you first walk into it, it’s just a bar. A rather lively one, at that. At night they have live music and they seem to pack the place. You walk to the back of the bar area and there are stairs that lead up and back to the hostel rooms. Not very many frills to this place- I got a shared bedroom with four beds in it. So far, I’ve stayed here with a couple from Canada, and a guy from Brazil. The Canadian couple is here touring, like myself. The guy from Brazil is here working, and he’s staying here while he waits for some flat situation to open up.

I was looking at the map and I saw that there was a nearby castle that had been restored. Blackrock Castle is now officially called Blackrock Castle Observatory. Yes, it is now a planetarium. The walk to get there was wonderful, but I wasn’t really in the mood to learn about starts. Still, I walked through, and ended up getting a while schpeel about the night sky. At least I learned something. My only objection is that the guy who was giving us the demonstration was talking more about Star Trek than actual stars. He also confessed that he stumbled into this job and that he actually majored in geology.

The walk over felt like beautiful spring morning- there were row teams from the high school and the university out going back and forth on The River Lee. It was really cool to watch as I made my way to the castle.

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Ireland 2: Day 4

04.13.18 | Cork Hostel | 21:30

I just made it to Cork. Since I can barely remember this city, it’s like I’m here for the first time. My only memory is singing karaoke somewhere, and that I stayed about a 20-minute walk to get to my hostel.

This time I learned and staying right near the city center. Cork is a great little city, but I think I heard someone say that it’s the third biggest city in Ireland… that can’t be right though. It seems big, but not that big. Perhaps it’s one of those cities that are spread out a bit. That would explain it. All I know is that Apple employs thousands here.

The River Lee^The River Lee

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Ireland 2: Day 3

04.12.18 | Dublin Hostel | 20:46

This morning I met a girl named Shannon. I believe she told me she was from Michigan. I could be wrong about that, however. Over breakfast, she told me all about bullet journaling. This is kind of a easy way to record your goals, and daily events. I really can’t explain it, but I think I want to learn more about it and figure out whether or not it’s for me. I think that it could help me in organizing my thoughts.

Today turned out to be incredible! I decided to book a day trip with a company called Wild Rover (http://www.wildrovertours.com). We left Dublin at 08:10 for the first leg. This was a 63 mile ride down to the medieval city of Kilkenny. There were some buildings and parts of the town that have been preserved since the early 1300’s! It was so cool!

Kilkenny is where Alice Kyteler was born in the year 1263. Kyteler was the very first Irish woman who was ever accused of witchcraft. Lucky for her, she fled to England in 1324 before they could burn her to death on a stake. This was all happened because her own kids accused her of using poison and witchcraft to kill her first three husbands (she was married four times).

Next, I walked to the far end of this small city, to St. Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower. The tower was fun to climb, as the steep steps were almost like climbing ladders. The view from the top was the perfect 360 degree view of Kilkenny and the surrounding area.

Afterward it was amazing to walk around the cathedral, because there were so many graves! If this is our first meeting, you need to know that I love graveyards. They fascinate the hell out me!

The second leg of this tour was through the Wicklow Mountains to Glendalough. When we arrived, we all hiked through the most beautiful valley to the upper lake. On my journey, I recorded some live video on Periscope, but it would take me way too much time to upload it onto this blog (the last video took way too long, and it was only a five minute recording! This recording was over 15 minutes!).

This is one of those parts of Ireland that is so beautiful! I probably saw 37 shades of green! Perhaps I’ll return to this valley at a future date. It was very touristy, but that understandable because of the views!

The third and final leg of the journey was to visit Richard Cullen, an Irish sheep farmer and watch him herd sheep with his border collies, Bruce and Jerry. This was really cool to watch! I’ve seen this on TV before, these dogs are so well trained and disciplined! After watching this, Richard brought us all over to the shed where the newborn lambs were kept. They brought four of them out and let us all cuddle and play with them. The twins were literally born yesterday! They were so cute!

As you can see, today was perfect! The travel has wiped me out, and I’m going to sleep well tonight! Tomorrow I’m off to my next destination.

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Ireland 2: Day 2

04.11.18 | Dublin Hostel | 20:24

Dublin is such a great city! After breakfast, I just went out and explored. I didn’t want to pull out a map or any directions, so I just left the hostel and wandered in the city. I walked through the temple bar area, but just kept walking. I love doing this- I always try to get lost. Then when I do, I’ll usually just pull up the directions on my phone to get found. That’s what I did this morning.

When I was searching for dinner, I walked into a restaurant and found some guys playing traditional Irish folk music. I stopped and recorded one of their songs on Periscope. They did such a great job!

(I will upload my Periscope video when I have a better internet connection.)

After the performance, I found a great restaurant for dinner. The one with the players was so full and they didn’t have any tables available. I had some lamb shanks… at least I think that’s what I was eating. At any rate, I know there was some part of a dead, cooked lamb on my plate. It was very good!

Scotland 6: Day 42

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04.09.18 | Edinburgh Flat | 13:29

So far, today has been excellent! I found the coolest little cafe for a snack. I wish I’d discovered this place years ago, I’ve probably walked past it at least a hundred times. I got a fruit tart thingy and some hot chocolate. It still amazing me that people take the time to make the little design on top of the hot drinks. I almost hate to drink it, because I don’t want to destroy their artwork.

I went back to see the street performer do his act again. I recorded the entire thing on Periscope, and so it’s about a 45 minute video. I’m not going to upload the entire thing here, but you can definitely check it out. The guy was pretty funny, but you could tell that he’d practiced the same jokes over and over again. Something about his delivery was off. Still, he’s a great performer! To see my Periscope feed (and follow me!) go to https://www.pscp.tv/DavTravels/follow. I’m going to start doing more live videos over there.

So, I’m not much into buying souvenirs, I’ve always looked at the pictures I take as my souvenirs, so I haven’t had to spend very much money on these trips. I decided a few years back that I love skulls. It’s not to the point of obsession or anything like that, but I just think they’re cool. At home, I’ve got a few ceramic skulls from Mexico, and I decided that I would build that collection. Today I bought a new one. To be honest, I wish it was legal to own a human skull.

19:23

Tonight I had dinner at The Witchery. This is my absolute favorite restaurant in Edinburgh. It’s overpriced, with small portions, but it’s all about the ambience! I don’t often eat at fancy restaurants, but it’s fun to get dressed up and go out. This would be the ultimate restaurant to take a date… I’ll have to do that some day.

First Course: Grilled Isle of Mull Scallop, Cauliflower Purée, Curry Sauce, Apple and Coriander
Second Course: Jambonette of Perthshire Guinea Fowl ‘en croute’, sweet corn, basil, potato purée
Third Course: Pear William tarts tatin, star anise, milk ice cream

It is with great sadness that the Edinburgh part of this journey is ending tomorrow morning. Tonight I’m packing up all my stuff, and getting everything ready so in the morning, all I’ll have to do is shower, grab my stuff, and head to the airport.

Even though I’m not quite ready to come home yet, It’s time to go somewhere that I haven’t been in 11 years…

Ireland 2: Day 1

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04.10.18 | Dublin Hostel | 18:28

Now it’s time for an unexpected turn. Back in October, I was perusing the internet, looking for a cheap ticket home (I’d already found a smoking’ deal on my one-way flight to Scotland). When I found a great deal, I quickly grabbed my credit card since I thought the deal wouldn’t be going on for long (it was THAT good!). It wasn’t until I received the confirmation email that I realized that I’d accidentally purchased the ticket from Belfast… yes- Belfast is in Ireland. No biggy- I just booked a flight from THE WRONG COUNTRY!

As luck would have it, I hadn’t yet booked the last part of my accommodations, so I decided that I’d spend the last part of this trip in Ireland. It’s been 11 years since I was last in Ireland, so it’s about time! Welcome to this next chapter of my journey. I am going to call it “Ireland 2”.

I managed to get a relatively cheap flight from Edinburgh got Dublin on Ryan Air. I can’t’ remember exactly how much it cost me, but I do remember it was a good deal. On future trips, I’m going to keep a better accounting of how much everything costs, that way I’ll know exactly if someone asks me.

Dublin is a great city! Since it’s been so many years since I was last here, it’s almost like I’m here for the first time. This is great because I plan on going out tomorrow and being a total tourist. It’s been raining today, and I had to go buy another umbrella because my last one was left at the flat in Edinburgh.

So far, I’ve had a chat one kid who is from Indiana. He is traveling internationally for the very first time, and he’s by himself. I think he’s a little bit overwhelmed because he’s decided to do the U.K., and parts of Western Europe as well. I told him to just relax and try to take one day at a time. I also told him he needs to start keeping a blog or at least record his experiences in a journal of some kind.

When I first got here, I was so hungry! The desk clerk told me that I needed to go eat at O’Neill’s Pub & Kitchen. This restaurant was a buffet style of service, but it wasn’t really a buffet at all. You walked to the line, and you could see all the food in front of you, and you just ordered. I had some shepherd’s pie and it was absolutely amazing!

21:08

Tonight I walked over to Temple Bar, which is not only a bar, but it’s a section of Dublin. I will admit that it’s a very tourist-packed area, especially if you like to drink. I don’t, but what I do love is the brick streets, and the lights at night, and the crowds that gather. People-watching is a whole different ballgame when the people you’re watching have had some alcohol.

Since I didn’t have any dinner (was still fine from O’Neill’s Pub & Kitchen), I thought the healthiest option would be to have a milkshake made with Kinder candy bars.