(Barely) Made it to Dublin

Well, I made it to Dublin. Took some doing. Got a great airfare out of Toronto with the caveat that I needed to take a ten hour layover in St Johns. So I figured: Bonus, free day in Newfoundland.

St John's is a pretty city filled with nice people. Smelled like the sea. And a fair bit of weed. They like to blaze out there.

Went up to Signal Hill, the big central attraction which has a beautiful view of the harbor and the city and has historical significance not just for being a former fortification but the place where Marconi first heard the telltale beeps of the wireless coming across the ocean. It was a good day even though I was exhausted at the start of it thanks to my overnight at Pearson, but I slept most of the flight out.

They almost didn't let me in to Ireland. My fantastical dreams of meandering around Europe indefinitely got dashed pretty hard by the customs officer. Apparently they don't love people who show up with no established exit time or ticket. My pre-paid hotel was enough to convince her but UK and Euro officials may not be as forgiving. As a result I'll be booking a flight home for mid-September which should give a month to see continental Europe. Not as long as I'd like but enough to see what I want to see. Of course, other customs officers might not even ask the question but if they do I need to have an answer.

Anyways all I wanted to do was sleep when I finally got to the hotel. So of course they had no rooms available until 3. I got on local transit, bleary-eyed, and went to see the city. Took a tour of Dublin Castle, and wandered around the city core. It's a city with a lot of history but just like everywhere else globalism has poured in. I was dwelling on this during my lunch at the Hard Rock cafe.

Eventually I got back and slept for several hours. Then I woke up and wrote this.

Tomorrow I take a tour out into the wilds of Ireland.

Comments

In the Shadow of Honest Abe

The first thing you notice about Washington is that it's short. None of the buildings are over 12 stories max -- something to do with making sure the Capitol Building isn't overshadowed. Coming out of New York it certainly has a different vibe, giving a small city feel to what's a pretty big city. It rained all day today, but I was determined to get some shots of the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. Mission accomplished. Still, the way the rain was falling the front of my shirt was soaked through by the time I got to ol' Abe. The Lincoln Memorial was, for me, the real object of the trip. Even in a cold wet spring day, the sight of the greatest American President carved out of several tons of white marble perched on his chair and literally larger than life still gives one the feeling of being in the presence of greatness. His words etched on each side of the memorial are still as eloquent as the day he spoke them. After I got

Florida in the Key of West

Yesterday was not a pleasant day. 10 hours of driving only to end up at the Best Western in Jacksonville, just so I could stand around waiting for my laundry to finish because the hotel in Key West that I'm staying in for 4 nights had no laundry mentioned on their website. So it's 10:30 at night and I'm sweating on the second floor between the world's loudest dryer and the local ice machine for an hour. And that's following 30 minutes of washing. I even had to hang dry some stuff because even after an hour it still wasn't dry yet. It's times like that that make me question whether or not this trip was even a good idea. It usually happens in the waking moments before sleep when I'm lying in my rented bed in the middle of a town where I know no one. Why am I here? Am I learning anything? Is this just a giant waste of time and money? And then there's times like the Wendy's. I got in too late in Jacksonville and the hotel was far enough

A long time coming but I'm finally here

So I made it to New York. That's the long story made short. Here's the story at longer length: I got out of the house and on the road about an hour later than I expected to, but judging by all the maps I was looking at I would still be able to make it within a reasonable amount of time. The thing about trips though is you always forget something. I knew that once it was too late I would realize I forgot something that I absolutely needed. That's just the way it goes. I was dreading the border most of all, it would have really sucked to have to go through a hassle just cause some border guard is having a bad day. As I was approaching the Queenston/Lewiston crossing I picked a spot with two cars in front of me. The first car got the point. As in please park over there sir so we can ransack your car . The second car also got the point, and now I'm thinking is this the designated point guy for the day?! Am I gonna cavity-searched cause it was his turn to search everybody?

Interstate Journal

Search This Blog