Again the work day started early, and I had a long day to look forward to. This was to be the final day of the project work ... and it was again a very long one seeing me working until about 10pm.
But that's when this just get going in Dublin ... so the night was young ... the project finished successfully ... and there was much enjoyment to be had. There just happend to be a going away party for a few lads that worked at Intel (no one that I had met before) ... but that's no excuse not to join them for a few drinks.
I drove on back to the hotel and parked the car ... went up to my room to freshen up a bit ... then walked over to the pub called the Porterhouse (different location than the one I had visited earlier in the week). Apparantly this pub used to be called "Judge Roy Beans" or something like that ... but I'll call it good fun ... not because the pub was exceptional, but the company was outstanding. I wound up meeting a few new friends; Baz (short for Barry), Anthony, Cathy, Rob, and Brian. Now you have to understand that when I showed up at the pub, at roughly 10:30pm, I was ready to pass out from exhaustion. It's amazing what some good conversation, and a bit of liquid nutrition (read: beer) can do for someone. After about 3 pints ... I was feeling my oats ... and the pub was closing ... and then things got fun!
It was probably about 1:30-2:00 am and "we" decided to go to another pub/night club. The apparantly infamous Viper Room was the stop and after paying a cover charge(!!) we cruised into a totally EMPTY and DEAD night club. Not a problem in my mind since we still have the good company ... and the music is thumping. I kept being re-assured that the place would pick up as the rest of the pubs started closing ... oh ... and I also got introduced into a lollipop of a drink. It's called a Fat Frog ... made with very sweet alcohol drinks ... it goes down WAY too easy. After a few of those drinks ... I was dancing, singing, and whooping it up until about 4 am when the club closed. The rest of the gang that I was with piled into a taxi and vanished into the night as I made my way back to the hotel.
I finished the night with a short and slurry call home to heidi ... and then passing out.
9.29.2005
Ireland - 9/28 - work, work, work
Wednesday started just as Tuesday did, wake up, shower, drive to work. The project continuined on into the second day ... and much to my great joy, on into the evening. Another late night, not too many stories ... and back to the hotel for sleep.
9.28.2005
Ireland - 9/27 - a birthday abroad
I woke up early ... on this my 33rd birthday ... in a different time and place. I was a bit anxious about driving from my new hotel to intel as the path to get to onto the motorway was a bit tricky. I asked the concierge to draw a map, and it was perfectly simple to follow. Without it though, I would have wound up in south Dublin I'm sure. The drive in was uneventful and I was mentally preparing for a fun day (dripping with sarcasm).
My work day at Intel Ireland was to consist of working from 9am to about 10pm (which is most definately NOT the standard work day). The day was very productive, and the project work was wildly successfull with us being able to finish all of the things we had schedule ... although it did take a smidge longer than I had hoped.
The evening consisted of me driving back into "town", climbing into bed, and passing out.
My work day at Intel Ireland was to consist of working from 9am to about 10pm (which is most definately NOT the standard work day). The day was very productive, and the project work was wildly successfull with us being able to finish all of the things we had schedule ... although it did take a smidge longer than I had hoped.
The evening consisted of me driving back into "town", climbing into bed, and passing out.
Ireland - 9/26 - back to work
After an adventurous first few days, it was time to actually "earn" the trip so to speak. I woke up, showered, and hit the road ... not knowing where I was going to spend the next night ... but I left my bags in the Westin Dublin hotel room just in case.
The drive into work was interesting as traffic in the vicinity of Dublin is totally insane. Thankfully I was headed out of town whereas all of the heavy traffic was on the way in. All in all I would say it took about 40-45 minutes to drive into work ... but it's an interesting drive full of narrow lanes and semi-confusing roundabouts (which are a rather interesting way to move traffic). Once you have been through the roundabout a few times ... you start to get a feel for how not to completely annoy all of the local drivers. Due to a slight issue negotiating the last roundabout on the way into Intel, I wound up in the wrong parking lot, heading in the wrong direction on the Intel campus. On the bright side, I got a nice driving tour of the campus, and once I was parked (a real interesting thing to attempt when driving a car on the right hand side!) it was into the building to start the work-day.
Monday was not to be a heavy day as far as work goes ... the morning consisted of breakfast with the group we are working with ... and a few meetings. Then on to lunch ... a few more meetings ... and a terrible fright from a project perspective. It seems that the project that we were to start the next day hit a snag when the building facility maintenance project that was to happen at the same time was postponed due to bad weather. It was a tenuous few hours the project managers negotiated to continue with "my" project ... albeit a few hours later than we were supposed to start. The day ended a bit late, but it was mainly due to attending meeting and chatting/IM'ing with folks from Arizona.
One of the MOST important parts of my work day was to check in with the Intel Ireland travel agency to see what the status of my reservation is/was. I went to visit with the gal that was responsible for my reservations ... and SUPRISE ... she was not in on Monday. Luckily another gal that was working was able to find my "card" and said she would follow up on the status of my hotel. About 30 minutes later I received an email from her that cleared all the smoke from the situation ... my hotel reservation was actually made for the Fitzwilliam Hotel and the confirmation number was in their format. The travel agent had inadvertently typed "Westin Dublin" instead of "Fitzwilliam Hotel"!!!! Um ... not sure how you can make that mistake ... but the gal that helped figure it out was very apologetic and made sure that my reservation was still valid for the rest of my stay.
Leaving work the driving continued to get easier ... and I was determined to get to the Westin and get checked out, so I could then get checked into the Fitzwilliam. When I arrived at the Westin and spoke to the desk agent, she was very accommodating and mentioned that since I arrived so late and was trying to check out, that she would have to check with her manager to see if I would be charged for an extra night. Thankfully I was not charged ... so it was quickly up to my room to collect my bags ... and off to the Fitzwilliam hotel. The route from one to the other is WILD ... weaving in and out of the streets of Dublin.
I arrived at the Fitzwilliam and allowed the concierge to valet park my car ... not remembering that I left my bags in the boot of the car (read: trunk). I checked in and proceeded up to my room ... walked in ... and almost choked ... I had been given a smoking room!! (Can I catch a break on this trip?!). I phoned down to the reception desk to ask if there were any non-smoking rooms ... and of course ... there was not but they would switch me the next night. So it was a stinky night in the Fitzwilliam.
The night was young ... and Brian had text'ed me about having dinner and was asking where to meet. I didn't think I could fit the directions to get to my hotel in a text message ... so I told him to meet me at the Westin, and we'd go from there. I was off to walk from the Fitzwilliam hotel to the Westin ... and the best part was that I had no idea where I was going. I knew the general direction ... and started out that way ... but I came upon Trinity College and was baffled by the large wall and the fact that, again, I had no idea where I was. So I started off in an "easterly" direction ... and kept on walking ... and walking ... and walking ... until I finally figured out that I was lost ... and I should stop and ask for directions. After speaking to a nice young lady in the Alexander hotel she put me on the right path to get to the Westin ... ugh! 55 minutes later I met Brian and we walked around for another 20 minutes looking for a place to eat ... when we stumbled upon a place that Caoimhe had recommended (but if you didn't know where to look you would have never found) called the Pizza Stop. It was a decent little shop and it was a nice little dinner ... and I learned a cultural lesson about restaurant dining in Ireland. Apparently you have to ASK for the check when you are ready to leave since it is common for diners to sit at a table and have drinks and talk for a while after eating ... being from the US ... I was waiting for the server to bring over the check and shuffle us out the door. A big thanks to me buddy Andrew for this bit of Irish culture.
After a HUGE dinner Brian and I walked over to the Porterhouse Pub for a sample of Ireland's finest micro-brew beers. I chose the stout/porter sampler (read: heavy/dark beers) ... it was a nice way to try a few beers without having to drink 3 PINTS of beer. After dinner it was a short walk home (now that I know where I am going) and it was back into the stinky room. I called home to speak to Heidi and get caught up on how life is going on without me. I sure miss my girls ... and I wish they were able to experience Ireland ... but I can tell you that there is NO WAY COME H#LL OR HIGHWATER that Heidi would drive here. HA HA HA HA. And I can't imagine trying to experience something like Ireland, or any other country for that matter, with two little kids ... it would be an adventure in and of itself.
The drive into work was interesting as traffic in the vicinity of Dublin is totally insane. Thankfully I was headed out of town whereas all of the heavy traffic was on the way in. All in all I would say it took about 40-45 minutes to drive into work ... but it's an interesting drive full of narrow lanes and semi-confusing roundabouts (which are a rather interesting way to move traffic). Once you have been through the roundabout a few times ... you start to get a feel for how not to completely annoy all of the local drivers. Due to a slight issue negotiating the last roundabout on the way into Intel, I wound up in the wrong parking lot, heading in the wrong direction on the Intel campus. On the bright side, I got a nice driving tour of the campus, and once I was parked (a real interesting thing to attempt when driving a car on the right hand side!) it was into the building to start the work-day.
Monday was not to be a heavy day as far as work goes ... the morning consisted of breakfast with the group we are working with ... and a few meetings. Then on to lunch ... a few more meetings ... and a terrible fright from a project perspective. It seems that the project that we were to start the next day hit a snag when the building facility maintenance project that was to happen at the same time was postponed due to bad weather. It was a tenuous few hours the project managers negotiated to continue with "my" project ... albeit a few hours later than we were supposed to start. The day ended a bit late, but it was mainly due to attending meeting and chatting/IM'ing with folks from Arizona.
One of the MOST important parts of my work day was to check in with the Intel Ireland travel agency to see what the status of my reservation is/was. I went to visit with the gal that was responsible for my reservations ... and SUPRISE ... she was not in on Monday. Luckily another gal that was working was able to find my "card" and said she would follow up on the status of my hotel. About 30 minutes later I received an email from her that cleared all the smoke from the situation ... my hotel reservation was actually made for the Fitzwilliam Hotel and the confirmation number was in their format. The travel agent had inadvertently typed "Westin Dublin" instead of "Fitzwilliam Hotel"!!!! Um ... not sure how you can make that mistake ... but the gal that helped figure it out was very apologetic and made sure that my reservation was still valid for the rest of my stay.
Leaving work the driving continued to get easier ... and I was determined to get to the Westin and get checked out, so I could then get checked into the Fitzwilliam. When I arrived at the Westin and spoke to the desk agent, she was very accommodating and mentioned that since I arrived so late and was trying to check out, that she would have to check with her manager to see if I would be charged for an extra night. Thankfully I was not charged ... so it was quickly up to my room to collect my bags ... and off to the Fitzwilliam hotel. The route from one to the other is WILD ... weaving in and out of the streets of Dublin.
I arrived at the Fitzwilliam and allowed the concierge to valet park my car ... not remembering that I left my bags in the boot of the car (read: trunk). I checked in and proceeded up to my room ... walked in ... and almost choked ... I had been given a smoking room!! (Can I catch a break on this trip?!). I phoned down to the reception desk to ask if there were any non-smoking rooms ... and of course ... there was not but they would switch me the next night. So it was a stinky night in the Fitzwilliam.
The night was young ... and Brian had text'ed me about having dinner and was asking where to meet. I didn't think I could fit the directions to get to my hotel in a text message ... so I told him to meet me at the Westin, and we'd go from there. I was off to walk from the Fitzwilliam hotel to the Westin ... and the best part was that I had no idea where I was going. I knew the general direction ... and started out that way ... but I came upon Trinity College and was baffled by the large wall and the fact that, again, I had no idea where I was. So I started off in an "easterly" direction ... and kept on walking ... and walking ... and walking ... until I finally figured out that I was lost ... and I should stop and ask for directions. After speaking to a nice young lady in the Alexander hotel she put me on the right path to get to the Westin ... ugh! 55 minutes later I met Brian and we walked around for another 20 minutes looking for a place to eat ... when we stumbled upon a place that Caoimhe had recommended (but if you didn't know where to look you would have never found) called the Pizza Stop. It was a decent little shop and it was a nice little dinner ... and I learned a cultural lesson about restaurant dining in Ireland. Apparently you have to ASK for the check when you are ready to leave since it is common for diners to sit at a table and have drinks and talk for a while after eating ... being from the US ... I was waiting for the server to bring over the check and shuffle us out the door. A big thanks to me buddy Andrew for this bit of Irish culture.
After a HUGE dinner Brian and I walked over to the Porterhouse Pub for a sample of Ireland's finest micro-brew beers. I chose the stout/porter sampler (read: heavy/dark beers) ... it was a nice way to try a few beers without having to drink 3 PINTS of beer. After dinner it was a short walk home (now that I know where I am going) and it was back into the stinky room. I called home to speak to Heidi and get caught up on how life is going on without me. I sure miss my girls ... and I wish they were able to experience Ireland ... but I can tell you that there is NO WAY COME H#LL OR HIGHWATER that Heidi would drive here. HA HA HA HA. And I can't imagine trying to experience something like Ireland, or any other country for that matter, with two little kids ... it would be an adventure in and of itself.
9.27.2005
Ireland - the next day
Day 2 was a Sunday - and it started off relatively early considering the night I had before (out 'till 3am). My co-worker Brian was traveling into town this day and sent me a text message on the mobile phone when he arrived at 9am ... and being me the guy that can't go back to sleep ... I was up for the day. I took my time getting dressed/showered and then went down to the hotel's restaurant for a full irish breakfast. For those that are not acquainted with the dish - it's a heart attack on a plate ... a fried egg, 2 pieces of rashers (bacon), 2 sausages, 1 black and 1 white pudding, half of a tomato, and some DRY white toast. Very, very hearty breakfast. After brekkie I checked out of the hotel, put my bags in the car, and was off for the day.
Now it was on to the roads in my car to practice driving ... I was looking for the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre but wound up exiting the motorway too early and found myself in a Superquinn supermarket. The market was very much like our supermarkets with aisles and aisles of food stuffs, fresh meats, and other various sundries. As I was leaving the market and heading on to the shopping centre, I got a text message that Caoimhe was heading to the hotel I had just checked out from ... so I went back there (great practice in driving on narrow winding roads!). I met her back there and I was off to follow her on over to Brian's hotel so we could head into town (read: Dublin), get me checked into my new hotel, and have a bite to eat.
We found Brian's hotel, the Glenroyal, in short order, and it's not far from the Intel campus, which means a nice short drive for him in the mornings. Once we collected Brian, we caravan'ed over to my hotel, the Westin Dublin, located in the middle of town. It was a gorgeous place with lovely dark wood throughout, very classic look. I parked in the taxi area out front while I went to check in. After giving the front desk my "surname" and having them print out a piece of paper that showed the name "Foley" on it ... I started to sense that I was in for some real fun. It turns out that the hotel did not have ANY reservation for "Leff". I provided them a confirmation number that was seemingly missing 3 numbers, and hotel manager came out to meet me, took my documents (emails & notes) and attempted to resolve the case of the missing reservation. They could not contact my travel agency nor could they find the reservation, so they put me up in the hotel for one night pending the resolution of the reservation fiasco. In the mean time, the hotel has asked us to move the car so a large bus could pull in ... thankfully Brian grabbed the keys, pulled across 4 lanes of one-way traffic, and found a "car park" (read: parking lot) to leave the car in. After sorting out that mess, it was on to lunch/dinner ... and a mental note to follow up with the Intel Ireland travel agency on Monday.
Brian, Caoimhe, and I wandered around in the Temple Bar area looking for a nice place to eat and watch the All-Ireland football finals. We decided to eat at the Auld Dubliner and instead of sitting downstairs, we climbed a flight of stairs and found a nice quiet table in front of a lovely flat-panel TV. The game was between teams from the county Tyrone and the favored county Kerry. Admittedly I don't know much about the game, but it didn't take long to catch on, and by the end we were actively rooting for both teams and it was very exciting. A lovely family sat beside us just before half time and we wound up chatting with them a bit about the game. Tyrone were the winner in a HUGE upset ... and their supporters rushed the field and celebrated in grand fashion. The dinner I ate was a lamb roast with carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and - of course - potatoes. It was a lovely dinner - a bit bland - but to be expected as the Irish cuisine does not seem to include much in the way of spices. After dinner we said goodbye to Caoimhe ... then Brian and I were off to wander around town.
We ventured across the O'Connell bridge and onto O'Connell street walking through the throngs of Gaelic football supporters as they were leaving the match that had just finished. There is a large spire/spike/radio tower in the middle of O'Connell street that serves as a land mark in the city. Since it was Sunday evening at this point (around 6pm) most of the stores were closed or closing ... however we did find Carroll's Irish Gift Stores open ... and they seem to be the national Irish trinket store. I'm sure by the end of my trip, I'll have been there a few times to get this, that, and the other. After the jog around O'Connell street, it was time for me to drive Brian back to his hotel (and get one more practice drive on the way to Intel).
On the way to his hotel, we stopped at a supermarket called Tesco, and filled up the car with petrol (read: gas). Dinner was next on the docket, and we wound up in a small Chinese restaurant (can't remember the name), but the food was just ok. I dropped Brian at his hotel, and jumped back on the motorway on my way back into town.
The drive along the motorway was uneventful and nothing really happened until I was driving along the Liffey River. A little set up is warranted for this next bit ... the roads in Ireland are fairly well marked ... however ... lanes disappear and re-appear like magic. As I was heading back to the hotel along the quays (pronounced "keys"), which line the Liffey River, I noticed a van driving a bit fast, and coming up on my right side in a lane that was about to disappear into a right turn only lane. I didn't think anything of it ... until moments later when that van decided to make contact with the back of my car! DOH! Well ... I was stunned ... in Ireland less than 48 hours and I've been rear-ended. Ugh. Well ... I got out of the car to survey the damage ... and luckily there was NO sign of damage, so I waived the foolio that ran into me on, and proceeded on to my hotel for a night of rest.
Now it was on to the roads in my car to practice driving ... I was looking for the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre but wound up exiting the motorway too early and found myself in a Superquinn supermarket. The market was very much like our supermarkets with aisles and aisles of food stuffs, fresh meats, and other various sundries. As I was leaving the market and heading on to the shopping centre, I got a text message that Caoimhe was heading to the hotel I had just checked out from ... so I went back there (great practice in driving on narrow winding roads!). I met her back there and I was off to follow her on over to Brian's hotel so we could head into town (read: Dublin), get me checked into my new hotel, and have a bite to eat.
We found Brian's hotel, the Glenroyal, in short order, and it's not far from the Intel campus, which means a nice short drive for him in the mornings. Once we collected Brian, we caravan'ed over to my hotel, the Westin Dublin, located in the middle of town. It was a gorgeous place with lovely dark wood throughout, very classic look. I parked in the taxi area out front while I went to check in. After giving the front desk my "surname" and having them print out a piece of paper that showed the name "Foley" on it ... I started to sense that I was in for some real fun. It turns out that the hotel did not have ANY reservation for "Leff". I provided them a confirmation number that was seemingly missing 3 numbers, and hotel manager came out to meet me, took my documents (emails & notes) and attempted to resolve the case of the missing reservation. They could not contact my travel agency nor could they find the reservation, so they put me up in the hotel for one night pending the resolution of the reservation fiasco. In the mean time, the hotel has asked us to move the car so a large bus could pull in ... thankfully Brian grabbed the keys, pulled across 4 lanes of one-way traffic, and found a "car park" (read: parking lot) to leave the car in. After sorting out that mess, it was on to lunch/dinner ... and a mental note to follow up with the Intel Ireland travel agency on Monday.
Brian, Caoimhe, and I wandered around in the Temple Bar area looking for a nice place to eat and watch the All-Ireland football finals. We decided to eat at the Auld Dubliner and instead of sitting downstairs, we climbed a flight of stairs and found a nice quiet table in front of a lovely flat-panel TV. The game was between teams from the county Tyrone and the favored county Kerry. Admittedly I don't know much about the game, but it didn't take long to catch on, and by the end we were actively rooting for both teams and it was very exciting. A lovely family sat beside us just before half time and we wound up chatting with them a bit about the game. Tyrone were the winner in a HUGE upset ... and their supporters rushed the field and celebrated in grand fashion. The dinner I ate was a lamb roast with carrots, broccoli, cabbage, and - of course - potatoes. It was a lovely dinner - a bit bland - but to be expected as the Irish cuisine does not seem to include much in the way of spices. After dinner we said goodbye to Caoimhe ... then Brian and I were off to wander around town.
We ventured across the O'Connell bridge and onto O'Connell street walking through the throngs of Gaelic football supporters as they were leaving the match that had just finished. There is a large spire/spike/radio tower in the middle of O'Connell street that serves as a land mark in the city. Since it was Sunday evening at this point (around 6pm) most of the stores were closed or closing ... however we did find Carroll's Irish Gift Stores open ... and they seem to be the national Irish trinket store. I'm sure by the end of my trip, I'll have been there a few times to get this, that, and the other. After the jog around O'Connell street, it was time for me to drive Brian back to his hotel (and get one more practice drive on the way to Intel).
On the way to his hotel, we stopped at a supermarket called Tesco, and filled up the car with petrol (read: gas). Dinner was next on the docket, and we wound up in a small Chinese restaurant (can't remember the name), but the food was just ok. I dropped Brian at his hotel, and jumped back on the motorway on my way back into town.
The drive along the motorway was uneventful and nothing really happened until I was driving along the Liffey River. A little set up is warranted for this next bit ... the roads in Ireland are fairly well marked ... however ... lanes disappear and re-appear like magic. As I was heading back to the hotel along the quays (pronounced "keys"), which line the Liffey River, I noticed a van driving a bit fast, and coming up on my right side in a lane that was about to disappear into a right turn only lane. I didn't think anything of it ... until moments later when that van decided to make contact with the back of my car! DOH! Well ... I was stunned ... in Ireland less than 48 hours and I've been rear-ended. Ugh. Well ... I got out of the car to survey the damage ... and luckily there was NO sign of damage, so I waived the foolio that ran into me on, and proceeded on to my hotel for a night of rest.
9.26.2005
The first 24 hours in Ireland
It's been an interesting trip so far ... here's some of the stories ...
The flights from Phoenix to Chicago, then Chicago to Dulbin were mostly uneventful ... except that I was not able to sleep on the last leg making for a VERY tired Greg when arrived in Ireland.
When I landed at the airport and made it through customs, it was on to the hotel and to collect my rental car. And the adventure begins ...
I needed to arrange transport from the airport to the hotel ... so I visited the "information" desk at the Dublin airport. The helpful man at the counter informed me that a taxi ride would be about 60-70 euro (very expensive!). He said if I was not in a rush that a bus ride would only cost 5 euro ... it sounded like a decent alternative and also offer a chance to see the city. My next step was to check a local ATM to see if I could take a cash advance with my corporate card ... could not figure out what the PIN was ... so no cash. That and the fact that it didn't seem that the taxi would take a credit card seemed to make the decision easy for me ... bus it was. Of course, this is with my luggage in tow ... luckily only one rolling bag. The nice lady at the bus counter was able to charge my fare to the credit card, and then gave me a map with the bus lines that I needed to take into town (748), then one transfer (66, 66A, 66B), and on out to my hotel.
The bus ride into the city was fairly fast ... and before I knew it I was in Dublin, bussing along the Liffy river with no clue where I was heading, and all day to get there. I knew that I needed to change busses, but I wasn't real sure where I should do that ... so I watched most folks get off at one particular stop and thought to myself ... is this the right stop? But I kept on riding until the next stop where almost the rest of the bus emptied out ... yet I was still riding. On to the next bus stop when there was just about no one left riding with me ... I finally asked the bus driver where I could get the 66, 66A, or 66B bus line. He informed me that I should have gotten out at the last stop ... and that I should get out here ... and of course I was not paying any attention to where I was since I was in a sleep-deprived stupor at this point. So I blindly followed the path that the rest of the folks that exited the bus took ... and I would up on a street, going the wrong way, with all of my luggage, and no idea how to find the 66 bus line.
I was lucky enough to have a friendly bus driver pull up driving the 51 bus line, and when I poked my head into ask where I could get the 66 line, he told me jump on and he'd take me there. 2 minutes later I was jumping off that bus and the driver was trying to tell me to hurry across the street to catch the bus I needed, which was sitting at the bus stop. As I was making a mad dash across the insanely busy street to catch the bus, he pulled away leaving me to wait 30 minutes for the next bus. So here I am, on Irish soil for about 1 hour now ... and I'm effectively LOST in the middle of Dublin, waiting for a bus to take me to Leixlip (pronounced LEEKS-lip), standing across from what appears to be the main Guarda (Irish police) station downtown, standing behind Trinity College, and - only to find out MUCH later - standing right across from the Westin Dublin - the hotel for most of my stay in Ireland.
The 66A bus arrived right on schedule and this time I made sure to ask the driver if he was able to take me where I needed to go and if he could let me know when to get off. So off I went ... through Dublin and on to Leixlip. This bus driver was a bit looney ... having run thru yellow/red lights about half the trip thru Dublin ... but he got me to the Leixlip House Hotel which was my hotel for the first night in Ireland. Exhausted and a bit frazzled, I stumbled into the lobby and queried about my room only to be told that it was not ready and most likely would not be for another 2 hours. After a heavy sigh, I went into the lounge/bar and had a cuppa tea to relax. I still needed to collect my rental car, so I phoned my friend/co-worker Caoimhe (pronounced KWEE-va) and she was on her way to pick me up.
When Caoimhe arrived it was such a relief to see someone I knew! We climbed into her Peugeot 106 (read: small car) and proceeded to the Intel site so I could get my rental car. This bit about driving a rental car was the only thing that had me a little worried about being in Ireland since you have to drive on the LEFT side of the road and the driver sits on the RIGHT side of the car! My rental is a Ford Mondeo which looks nothing like any models we have in the US ... and although it's barely larger than my old Mazda Protege ... it's a GIANT on the road here ... which makes it slightly harder to drive. After picking up the car, I made it back to the hotel and finally got into my room and was able to get a rest for a little while. After waking up and being a little hungry, I ventured into "downtown" Leixlip which is really just one street long. Down the end of the street is an eatery called The Ryvale Tavern where I enjoyed a lovely turkey dinner ... along with a very nice drink called Bulmer's Original Vintage Cider. After dinner it was back to the hotel for another round of rest/sleep. Caoimhe was kind enough to invite me out for drinks with her two sisters (Eimear and Dearbhla - pronounced "EE-mer" and "DUR-vla" respectively). We started the evening at about 10pm!! and the first pub we went to was called Sheehans ... it was exactly how I pictured an Irish pub looking/smelling/tasting - LOL. After a few pints of Guinness we left and started out to a hotel called the Burlington which just happened to be THE pre-game party place for the All-Ireland football finals that were to be held the next day. It was an absolute madhouse in there ... a great experience for a yank from "the states" as they say here. All said and done, I wasn't in bed until 3am!
The flights from Phoenix to Chicago, then Chicago to Dulbin were mostly uneventful ... except that I was not able to sleep on the last leg making for a VERY tired Greg when arrived in Ireland.
When I landed at the airport and made it through customs, it was on to the hotel and to collect my rental car. And the adventure begins ...
I needed to arrange transport from the airport to the hotel ... so I visited the "information" desk at the Dublin airport. The helpful man at the counter informed me that a taxi ride would be about 60-70 euro (very expensive!). He said if I was not in a rush that a bus ride would only cost 5 euro ... it sounded like a decent alternative and also offer a chance to see the city. My next step was to check a local ATM to see if I could take a cash advance with my corporate card ... could not figure out what the PIN was ... so no cash. That and the fact that it didn't seem that the taxi would take a credit card seemed to make the decision easy for me ... bus it was. Of course, this is with my luggage in tow ... luckily only one rolling bag. The nice lady at the bus counter was able to charge my fare to the credit card, and then gave me a map with the bus lines that I needed to take into town (748), then one transfer (66, 66A, 66B), and on out to my hotel.
The bus ride into the city was fairly fast ... and before I knew it I was in Dublin, bussing along the Liffy river with no clue where I was heading, and all day to get there. I knew that I needed to change busses, but I wasn't real sure where I should do that ... so I watched most folks get off at one particular stop and thought to myself ... is this the right stop? But I kept on riding until the next stop where almost the rest of the bus emptied out ... yet I was still riding. On to the next bus stop when there was just about no one left riding with me ... I finally asked the bus driver where I could get the 66, 66A, or 66B bus line. He informed me that I should have gotten out at the last stop ... and that I should get out here ... and of course I was not paying any attention to where I was since I was in a sleep-deprived stupor at this point. So I blindly followed the path that the rest of the folks that exited the bus took ... and I would up on a street, going the wrong way, with all of my luggage, and no idea how to find the 66 bus line.
I was lucky enough to have a friendly bus driver pull up driving the 51 bus line, and when I poked my head into ask where I could get the 66 line, he told me jump on and he'd take me there. 2 minutes later I was jumping off that bus and the driver was trying to tell me to hurry across the street to catch the bus I needed, which was sitting at the bus stop. As I was making a mad dash across the insanely busy street to catch the bus, he pulled away leaving me to wait 30 minutes for the next bus. So here I am, on Irish soil for about 1 hour now ... and I'm effectively LOST in the middle of Dublin, waiting for a bus to take me to Leixlip (pronounced LEEKS-lip), standing across from what appears to be the main Guarda (Irish police) station downtown, standing behind Trinity College, and - only to find out MUCH later - standing right across from the Westin Dublin - the hotel for most of my stay in Ireland.
The 66A bus arrived right on schedule and this time I made sure to ask the driver if he was able to take me where I needed to go and if he could let me know when to get off. So off I went ... through Dublin and on to Leixlip. This bus driver was a bit looney ... having run thru yellow/red lights about half the trip thru Dublin ... but he got me to the Leixlip House Hotel which was my hotel for the first night in Ireland. Exhausted and a bit frazzled, I stumbled into the lobby and queried about my room only to be told that it was not ready and most likely would not be for another 2 hours. After a heavy sigh, I went into the lounge/bar and had a cuppa tea to relax. I still needed to collect my rental car, so I phoned my friend/co-worker Caoimhe (pronounced KWEE-va) and she was on her way to pick me up.
When Caoimhe arrived it was such a relief to see someone I knew! We climbed into her Peugeot 106 (read: small car) and proceeded to the Intel site so I could get my rental car. This bit about driving a rental car was the only thing that had me a little worried about being in Ireland since you have to drive on the LEFT side of the road and the driver sits on the RIGHT side of the car! My rental is a Ford Mondeo which looks nothing like any models we have in the US ... and although it's barely larger than my old Mazda Protege ... it's a GIANT on the road here ... which makes it slightly harder to drive. After picking up the car, I made it back to the hotel and finally got into my room and was able to get a rest for a little while. After waking up and being a little hungry, I ventured into "downtown" Leixlip which is really just one street long. Down the end of the street is an eatery called The Ryvale Tavern where I enjoyed a lovely turkey dinner ... along with a very nice drink called Bulmer's Original Vintage Cider. After dinner it was back to the hotel for another round of rest/sleep. Caoimhe was kind enough to invite me out for drinks with her two sisters (Eimear and Dearbhla - pronounced "EE-mer" and "DUR-vla" respectively). We started the evening at about 10pm!! and the first pub we went to was called Sheehans ... it was exactly how I pictured an Irish pub looking/smelling/tasting - LOL. After a few pints of Guinness we left and started out to a hotel called the Burlington which just happened to be THE pre-game party place for the All-Ireland football finals that were to be held the next day. It was an absolute madhouse in there ... a great experience for a yank from "the states" as they say here. All said and done, I wasn't in bed until 3am!
9.02.2005
Are you ready for some football?
Fall & specifically September brings professional and my personal favorite NCAA football. It's a tradition that I look forward to year after year, the monsoons, the cooling of AZ. I' hoping that my two beautiful girls will eventually show some interest in watching sports with their dad.
Most years I try to get a little preview of the up coming football season by attending ASU's Camp Tontozona. What a treat to drive up to the cool(er) pines just east of Payson and watch the young players of ASU build and grow into a cohesive team.
Yesterday was ASU's first regular season game, and their opponent was Temple University, who would most likely rank in the bottom 5 teams in division 1 NCAA football rankings. As such, the 'devils pasted 63 points on them, but did give up a disappointing 16 points. How can you be disappointed? Well ... the defense played GREAT ... and it's just so much fun to pitch a shutout ... probably more fun, and demoralizing for the other team, than a blowout.
The experience of the game was somewhat sad since this was the first game in a LONG time that I experienced without my friend Rob C. The group of friends that we attend the game with all wore our "Team Chambo" shirts from the Pat Tillman run to remember and honor our friend.
Tomorrow marks the 8th annual LFFL draft. What is that you say? It's the 4+ hours spent one Saturday in late August, early September where a bunch of guys get together and talk football. Eat football. Drink football. Well ... it's not that serious ... but it's a fun time where a bunch of friends from all over the US get together and have a good time making fun of each other and the silly decisions that they make when putting together a fantasy football team consisting of millionaire NFL players that each of them hope will have a BIG statistical year.
For my money - the fall is the best time of year. Football is starting up, and as an added bonus, you have some big holidays where my family gets together and shares great times!
Most years I try to get a little preview of the up coming football season by attending ASU's Camp Tontozona. What a treat to drive up to the cool(er) pines just east of Payson and watch the young players of ASU build and grow into a cohesive team.
Yesterday was ASU's first regular season game, and their opponent was Temple University, who would most likely rank in the bottom 5 teams in division 1 NCAA football rankings. As such, the 'devils pasted 63 points on them, but did give up a disappointing 16 points. How can you be disappointed? Well ... the defense played GREAT ... and it's just so much fun to pitch a shutout ... probably more fun, and demoralizing for the other team, than a blowout.
The experience of the game was somewhat sad since this was the first game in a LONG time that I experienced without my friend Rob C. The group of friends that we attend the game with all wore our "Team Chambo" shirts from the Pat Tillman run to remember and honor our friend.
Tomorrow marks the 8th annual LFFL draft. What is that you say? It's the 4+ hours spent one Saturday in late August, early September where a bunch of guys get together and talk football. Eat football. Drink football. Well ... it's not that serious ... but it's a fun time where a bunch of friends from all over the US get together and have a good time making fun of each other and the silly decisions that they make when putting together a fantasy football team consisting of millionaire NFL players that each of them hope will have a BIG statistical year.
For my money - the fall is the best time of year. Football is starting up, and as an added bonus, you have some big holidays where my family gets together and shares great times!
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