Day One: European Adventure

As many of you know, Molly and I took off for Europe for my birthday. The plan was to be gone for ten days and to see as much as we could while escaping the cold and the big city. A break from New York was much needed.

The planing for this trip started last summer sometime when we decided that spending my birthday out of the city would be a great way to turn the big 30. The plan was to fly into Dublin and then make our way down to Italy and warm sun. We were not exactly sure where we would travel and how we were going to do it, just leaving was the important thing. Originaly, we wanted to end up in the five towns of the Cinque Terre which is located on the northwestern part of Italy's coast. We were going to hike from one town to the next on a trail that connects the five, but after a little research we realized that it was going to be very cold with the winds off the ocean and the nothernly latitude. We switched towns and chose the Amalfi Coast instead. Located just south of Pompeii and Naples, it is know for its lemons, grand vistas, and houses that are built into cliff walls.

We left New York at 8:00 PM on Friday. Both Molly and I were able to get out of work a little early so that we were able to get to the airport a little early and enjoy some dinner before the five hour flight to Dublin. The flight was quick - we took Aer Lingus and flew direct into Dublin where we caught the bus and headed into the city center. Both Molly and I have spent a lot of time in Dublin - she lived there for four months and I have traveled there enough times to know the city very well. We got off the bus at Trinity University and headed down to the Temple bar area where our hostel was located.

The hostel is located right next to one of my favorite pubs, Oliver St. John Gogartys: good food, good music, and good pints. Unfortunately, it has become a very touristy spot, but that's ok, it was still fun. Our room was not going to be ready until later in the afternoon, so once we checked in and dropped off our bags, we headed to Bewley's coffee shop. Bewley's is one of the oldest businesses in Ireland: a coffee shop, resturant, local literary center. James Joyce and Samuel Beckett used to enjoy the friendly confines. Plus, the coffee is really strong, which is what you need when you plan on making it through the first day with jet lag.

We enjoyed a very slow breakfast, trying to figure out what the heck we wanted to do. Molly and I decided that the best thing was to take a slow day, go and visit her old house and send emails to people to let them know we made it safe and sound. A stroll through St. Stephens Green and a stop at the Barge were important.

The sun was shining so our walk was great. When in Dublin, with no place to go, pubs tend to be a nice place to call home. At the Barge Pub, we were able to rest, enjoy the sun and get adjusted to being in a forgein land. I was very content.

Yes, pints of Guinness may have been consumed on this trip. But in our defense of mid-day pints, it was chilly outside and it is always warm in the pub. We were just doing what the locals do: breakfast, lunch and dinner at the pub. Next we headed over to Mollys old house on Fortesque lane. It was just a short stroll away.

We were not all that sure who was now living in the house, or wether it is still owned by the people at University College Dublin, so we didn't knock on the door, but Molly did listen to the door and look in through the key hole. The spot where the bulldozer ran into the house and chipped the bricks is still there.

Her house was down what can only be described as a somewhat sketchy alley, but it was a nice place.

From there, we decided to take one of the City Bus Tours, which makes stops at all the main sights around Dublin. It was the perfect way to kill time, see some of Dublin, and sit down when we were fighting off sleep. After riding the bus for nearly an hour, we were both about to pass out from exhaustion, so we got off and went back to the hostel. Luckily, the room was ready and we took a much needed nap before dinner. Our room was a cozy hostel room with bunk beds and a wonderful view of the pub (it was a little loud at night, but we were so tired the first few days that it didn't matter).

After our nap, we embarked on a mini pub crawl. We went to some of our favorite pubs in Temple Bar: Gogartys to watch some Ireland/Italy Rugby (Italy won), the Old Stand, O'Neil's for some carvery food (with three kinds of potatoes: mashed, roasted, and cream!), The Auld Dubliner, and, of course, we finished the night at Gogartys with some good Irish music.

Considering the jet lag, we did pretty well for our first day - even made it until 10 PM before collapsing.