Day 12 Dublin, Ireland

I'm Fat.

Ok, thought I'd just get that out of the way. I'm almost tired of eating...is that possible? I was thinking ahead when I brought clothes with elastic waist bands. Sheesh. Breakfast is killing me. When you are used to yogurt and maybe a granola bar for breakfast and now your plate is full of pastries covered in butter and syrup every day my stomach will have to be re-trained when I get home!

Today was nice because we didn't have an excursion. So we leisurely got up and caught the shuttle into Dublin. The sun is shining and we almost didn't take our coats, but at the last minute we shoved them into the bag. We caught a shuttle bus into town where we immediate caught the red hop on hop off bus. The narration was in English and you could use the headphones if you wanted to. The ride was about an hour and a half. We sat on the top and the air was brisk, so we put our jackets on for a brief time. Traffic in Dublin is atrocious, but the big double decker managed its way around as best it could. The sights were nice and it was interesting, but lots of talk about writers and other famous people that lived here or there and I didn't know who they were, so it wasn't as cool for me personally as some of the past bus rides we've been on. Still, there is absolutely no way you can cover that much of a town on foot, so it was well worth the 10 euros (Note: The people from the ship are only charged 10 euros at stop number 5 where the ship's shuttle drops us. If we had gone to another stop we would have been charged 19). We hopped off just a few stops short of the entire loop to do some shopping in a pedestrian area. My main goal today was an Ireland Starbucks mug. There are Starbucks on every corner, so that was easy. My second task was to figure out if I needed to reload my SIM card because I'm picking up Vodafone but I'm not getting data. So I popped into a Vodafone store and apparently my card I bought in Germany would work in mainland Europe, but not in the UK or surrounding islands. Plus he told me there was no need to buy an Ireland one today because I'd have to reload in the UK tomorrow. So I'm going to pick one up tomorrow and see if I can get data. It's only about 15 euros and should work now for a couple of days. At the Vodafone store Guy asked for a good place to get fish and chips (Guy's #1 goals today). The guy told us of two places, one was like a fast food joint that we had just passed and the other was a restaurant called The Church. It was in an actual old church. We're in!

So as we walked down the road toward The Church we shopped along the way and didn't see too much that interested us (there has been minimal shopping purchases on this trip). When we got to The Church it was packed and we opted to sit outside on such a lovely day. Well let me tell you, when you sit directly in the sun and are getting ready to eat hot fish and chips, the inside of the restaurant looked pretty good! So they moved us and our cokes inside. Our server was sweet and Guy ordered the fish and chips (which came served in a tiny frying basket) and I had an open faced goat cheese sandwich with pickled onions on top. Delish! I took a few pictures while inside the restaurant. It was a legit little old cathedral and apparently the guy who started Guinness beer was married in there when it was still a real church. It was actually pretty fun and was lovely inside, but there was a big bar in the center of the building and it almost seemed sacrilegious. I suppose the church isn't the building, but instead the people who are in it. So if the people aren't meeting there, then it isn't a church. But I still couldn't wrap my head around it as I stared up at the giant organ pipes on the wall next to the stained glass windows. Definitely different! But as we ate I downloaded my photos using their free wifi. I still didn't get all the way through Cork, but I'm working at it every chance I get.

After lunch we walked the area that we didn't see on the hop on hop off bus and walked over a white bridge spanning the river that was for pedestrians only. Apparently years ago they charged people one cent to cross, like a toll. So one day two guys walked up and wanted to know if they charged for cargo across the bridge. When the money collector said no, then one of the guys jumped on the other one's back and they went across for a penny. So when we went across I asked Guy if I could jump on his back. He just stared at me, so I took that as a no. At this point everything on my list of "to-dos" was covered (which included buying some decent shampoo and conditioner as the ships is pretty stinky and not doing the trick) so now I just needed to buy some Ireland souvenirs. We found a great big place that was the ultimate jip joint. I got a little shopping basket and proceeded to fill it with trinkets. Small things that would pack easy. Still, my shopping has been pretty sparse. But that is ok...sometimes I bring too much stuff home.

Back at the pick up point we caught our shuttle back to the ship. It was just after 5pm, so while the boat was still docked I changed and got a quick run in while Guy sunbathed and read his book. It was nice. I quickly got ready for dinner and the eating thing started again. Waldorf salads for both of us. Guy and I both ordered the meatloaf and Ilyana quick said "NO!!".  She said "You know I love you both, so that is why I'm telling you that the passengers are saying it is just "eh" ". We died laughing but we know she knows, so I ordered the veggie pot pie and Guy ordered the chicken Kiev. Both were good. Dessert was chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream for me and Guy ordered the blueberry tart. He only ate half as he was stuffed, but I couldn't even begin to eat anymore.

So that was our day. Not totally in love with Dublin. We knew it was a huge city, so that was no surprise, but they are putting in light rail train tracks all downtown, so there was construction everywhere. It is the fastest growing city in Ireland, so for transportation needs they are putting in the trains. That will be great a year from now, but today it is a mess. Another couple told us they took the Guinness tour but said it was just so-so. The city overall was very clean and lots of fun pubs if you are into beer drinking - you'd be hitting the jackpot. And in all fairness, being here for only 7 hours probably doesn't make us the best judges. But nothing seemed to calling us for a return trip.

P.S. Heard from Sydne today. She has been to Prague and now has reached Budapest. She is in love with both places. She comes to Dublin next, so I'm curious as to her take on the city as she'll get a better feel for it since she'll be staying here for a few days. I'll get the scoop on the pub scene for sure. :)

Tomorrow: Liverpool, England...home of the Beatles. And an excursion to Wales where we will visit the Conwy Castle, the town of Conwy itself, the market town of Lianrwst and the resort town of Betws-y-Coed. Yes, I've double checked the spelling. Maybe tomorrow I'll learn how to pronounce them! Yikes...sounds like a full day!