Dublin Attempt Number 2

Hello everyone! It looks like a lot more people are reading this than I expected, so I'll keep updating whenever I can.

 

I am writing this update from Dublin. This is actually the second attempt. I wrote one yesterday but the internet where we are staying is very spotty and it cut out before I managed to post. This time I am at an internet cafe, so it *should* work.

 

We arrived here yesterday on Ryanair. It was my first Ryanair experience. For those who don't know, Ryanair is an Irish airline which runs the lowest cost operation possible. It is so much so that often the base price of their flights is £1 or less. Fees and all bring this up a fair bit, but I would say in general it is still cheaper than even Southwest airlines. I had heard some horror stories about their service, but my experience was fine. They board from the front and rear of the aircraft simultaneously, so they use the old stairs rather than jetways. YVR of course has double jetways, but I suppose they aren't too common yet. Interestingly enough, we arrived at the new terminal in Dublin which didn't even have any jetways at some gates.

 

Edinburgh was fun. I found it interesting as it didn't really feel like a big city. We stayed at a nice hostel right behind the castle. It was very clean and well equipped and had very friendly people. The castle itself is well preserved and very well set up for tourists. I found it better than the Tower of London actually (dare I say it?). We also went to a place called the Scotch Whisky Experience. I am not a big scotch drinker, but it was still quite interesting to learn the history of the drink and see how it is all made. I didn't cave in and buy the £1700 bottle of scotch from the gift shop, but I thought about it (yeah, right).

 

Yesterday was our first day in Dublin and it was a bit of a wash. I think the constant on the go caught up to us as we spent all afternoon asleep. We ventured out and found a Tesco to buy some dinner. Later in the evening we walked around Temple Bar which is a the big restaurant/pub neighbourhood. I've never seen anything quite like it. The place was packed and not just with tourists. There must also be a lot of weddings today as there were celebrations wherever you looked. I suppose this is Dublin on a Saturday night.

 

We're not sure what we'll get up to today. Thoughts are maybe the Guinness factory or a bus tour. Stay tuned...