~ William Hazlitt
Even without the published “Bag’s out” time, we still had to get up rather early to be able to get out to Gatwick airport for our flight to Dublin, Ireland. I was up at 5:30 AM (Laureen is always up first) and we were waiting by the breakfast room door at 6:30 AM. By 7:00 AM, we were in a taxi headed to Kings Cross Station where we could catch a train to Gatwick airport. This was suggested by Kassie, our Trafalgar Travel Director. She was even checking on us in the morning, texting Laureen to see if we made it to the airport OK. I can’t say enough about how well we were treated on the Trafalgar trip, and especially by Kassie.
We used our Oyster cards (prepaid cards that you just need to tap on the machines) to get in and then we had to ask some locals while down on the platform how it worked. The English are very friendly (at least the ones we’ve had contact with), and a couple of ‘blokes’ were very willing to help us out. We had to wait on platform A for the train to Brighton. There was an excellent monitor that showed what time out train would arrive. There were three other trains that had to show up first, then ours appeared. Of course it was nearly FULL when it hit our station because one of the other trains was canceled for some reason. We crammed on with all of our bags and were literally jammed body-to-body with the group in the train. The business people on the train didn’t seem too pleased with us. A few stops later, most of them got off and the train was nearly empty, with just a few folks continuing to ride.
 |
| Waiting for the train on Platform A (screen in the background) |
The trip took about an hour, and once we arrived we hopped off with our bags and headed for the terminal. It was well signed, so we were able to find the ticket counter rather quickly. Thankfully, we had checked in already (that’s due to the super organization of Laureen of course), so we just walked up to the baggage drop counter (which was empty) and dropped off our bags. While there, the offered to check our larger Adidas bag (bought to contain the overflow) for free. What a grand idea. Less for me to carry.
After this we went through airport security. I have to admit – the British seem to have this down to a science as they were able to get us through the process far more efficiently than I have ever experienced anywhere else. Laureen got randomly chosen to go through the body scan. I just did the regular process. We grabbed our things and then headed into the airport to find a departures board.
After locating a board, we noted that our flight had not been assigned a gate yet. I remember this from my trip to Spain last year – flying through Heathrow. There are so many flights going in and out of that place, that they only post the gate number about 50 minutes before the flight is due to depart. We had about 40 minutes to wait so we wandered around the shops, just looking to see what kinds of things they had. If you didn’t know any better, you would swear you were in a shopping mall. We also stopped for a snack before we had to head off and find the gate number.
Once we found the gate number, we headed that direction looking for the departure gate. 3 moving sidewalks later we had arrived. After the usual proceedings, we were on board. We were instructed to find our seats right away but not to fasten our seat belts. Apparently, they were fueling the aircraft, and while they do that you are not to do up your seat belt in case you have to make a quick exit. I’ve not experienced this in Canada before.
 |
| Aer Lingus boarding passed for Dublin |
After that was all completed we were up and on our way. I think Laureen and I both fell asleep for a short bit of the one-hour flight. The trip has been amazing and exhausting and the same time. We landed in Dublin and waited for quite a while for our suite cases to come out. They have about 3 flights on each of the carousels and not all of the bags from the first flight are off before they start dropping the bags for the next flight on the same carousel. Regardless, we grabbed our three checked bags and headed for the taxi stand.
We arrived at the stand and the first cab that was in line, the gentleman helped load our bags into the back of his vehicle and then we hopped in the back. Laureen gave him the address, and he knew right away where it was. He warned us that we were close to the “clubs” area and to be careful if we were out at night not to accidentally wander in one of them. By “clubs” he meant “Strip Clubs”. As it turns out, we were across the canal from that area, in a very nice “high class” district as our taxi driver had referred to it.
 |
| A blurry picture of the best cab driver in all of Dublin (and a former Edmontonian too) Eddie Peppard |
We talked with the driver for a minute, and then he asked us where we were from. We told him that we were from Canada, in the Province of Alberta. Right away he asked, “Are you from Edmonton”? Slightly shocked we indicated that we were. As it turns out, our cab driver had lived in Edmonton (and surrounding area) for about 5 years. Now how about that! The world is a much smaller place than we realize. The cab driver’s name was Eddie Peppard. Eddie, was kind enough to drop us off at our Bed and Breakfast and then wait to take us to the Kilmainham Gaol Museum for which Laureen had pre-booked tickets (about 4 months ago). It’s a good thing too, because when we got to the door of the old prison, we heard the attendant say to the folks who were at the door looking to buy tickets for the tour that they were all sold out and the next available tickets were on Sunday (today is Friday). Thanks again to Laureen’s exceptional planning, we walked into the front door and to the holding cell for the start of the tour.
I can’t relay all of the history of Kilmainham Gaol, but I can tell you that it housed many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising which were imprisoned and executed in the prison by the British (except one woman whose sentence was commuted to life in prison). It was an interesting place to visit (but I wouldn’t want to live there). While in the coffee shop we bought a “hop-on, hop-off” three-day pass for both of us to use while we were here. It will be a great way to see some sights and get transported there at the same time. We’ll use it more tomorrow!
 |
| Chapel in the Prison |
After the Gaol tour was over, we stopped in the coffee shop at the prison for a late lunch. We were both hungry, and the next ticket that we had was for the Guinness Factory. There was no way I wanted to go in there on an empty stomach. We hailed another cab who took us directly to the St. James Guinness Brewery entrance. We spent about an hour and a half walking through all of the interactive displays. The museum itself is shaped like a large glass of Guinness. Our tickets included a Guinness beer as part of the tour. So, at the top of the exhibit (about 7 floors up), I grabbed my very first Guinness (Laureen grabbed a coke instead). I took a taste. Not my cup of tea. I finished most of it, but to be honest – I probably won’t become a regular Guinness drinker. I just don’t like the taste.
We checked out the gift shop, but left because the queue to pay was just far too long. Using our newly acquired hop-on-off passes, we got on the bus and road it until stop number 7, which was close to temple street (the main shopping area). We walked through a few of the shops, picking up a couple of things.
 |
| Tell me, do I look Irish? |
By now we were also getting hungry, so we stopped in TGI Fridays for some dinner. It was good. Too good. We were both full when we left, so we walked a little more checking out the live acts and some of the other sights along the way.
We also decide just to walk the 25 minutes to our Bed and Breakfast.
Tomorrow will be a fun filled day using our bus passes.
Curt & Laureen in Dublin, Ireland
No comments:
Post a Comment