Dublin (On my own)

School was out and I was free!!! While Ben was still hard at it (that's what he said, anyway), I took myself to Stansted and hopped on a cheap flight across to Dublin. I was overseas - on my own!!!

Now, never mind that the flight to Dublin took less time than my journey from home to the airport. The important thing was that I was doing this solo - like the time I saw Bridget Jones on my own. The down side of both experiences, is that I had to talk to strangers (Yes, I spoke to strangers during the movie. I'm one of those bad people who sometimes talk in movies. I know, I suck).

As soon as we set down in Dublin it became clear to me that I was on the Emerald Isle. Talk about green! Talk about raining! Talk about forgetting an umbrella! Never mind, getting wet was fine. My other first impression was how very kind the people in Dublin were. I found a bus heading into town and was paired up by the bus driver with a woman who was to tell me when to get off at Dame street. She was told to keep me informed of "how much longer" and to reassure me we'd be there soon (the kind lady explained to me about Irish time).

All the particulars were easily set up - hostel found, money organised, etc. It was evening time, so there wasn't much time to explore. I headed out for dinner and picked my favourite - Italian. It wasn't quite as enjoyable as usual though - it cost a fortune (everything in Dublin does), and it just wasn't the same not having Ben there to complain, arguing that we should have picked Chinese. Has anyone ever noticed how quickly you eat when you are on your own in a resturant? I barely had time to warm the seat.

The next day I explored Dublin on a hop-on/hop-off bus tour. We passed two beautiful churches (including Christchurch, below), where no one got off. The bus was practically emptied at the Guiness factory though (which smelled like Vegemite) and at the Jameson Whiskey building. Disgracefully, I visited neither as I don't like Guiness much and I don't like whiskey at all. I did see Christchurch Cathedral and went to a service there in the evening. There were two choirs singing and they were absolutely awe-inspiring. They kept moving around in different parts of the cathedral and sometimes they couldn't be seen, but all of a sudden I could hear majestic voices joining in. It was brilliant.

The next day I went on a tour to Wicklow and Glendalough. This was only about an hour and a half from Dublin, and beautiful countryside. We had an hilarious tour guide who'd wave at all the other tours and say things like "Morning Shamus. He's an alcoholic, you know. Don't ride his bus." Our tour guide called himself Mel as he'd been an extra in Braveheart, alongside the famous Mel. The movie had been filmed in Ireland (can you believe it? - artists don't pay tax there), right in his village. That's where we went on the tour. The latest King Arthur movie was also filmed there, and Excalibre (??? early eighties, I gather). Anyway, read the captions below, then re-watch Braveheart to see if you can pick them!

Glendalough is a very old city right near the lake. It was an early monk's city and was lovely. Amazingly, people who lived there lived on average, 3 times longer than others in Ireland. St Kevin (who brought Christianity to Ireland) lived there until he was 120. That all happened in about 400AD. Very interesting, and amazing how the buidings still stand so well. I met two other girls on the tour (Americans) so we teamed up and enjoyed lunch.

I had one more day in Dublin on my own. That was another wandering day and was nice, except that by then I was sick of my own company and needing to be with someone else. I have no idea how my cousin Tim spent months travelling on his own (except that he doesn't talk nearly as much as I do), or in fact, how people spend years on their own. I need someone with me happy to talk about stuff like "Ben, what do you think it was like for sheep before people sheared them?" and "Ben, do you think they felt frightened the very first time people took off their wool?".

We'll tell you all about our brilliant Scotland trip on the next blog, and include some brilliant photos of sheep. Half our time's up and we look forward to seeing you all,

Rach

CHRISTCHURCH CATHEDRAL - DUBLIN


THE JAMES JOYCE TOWER - HE WROTE HERE AND IT IS TRADITIONAL FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE A QUICK DIP HERE EVERYDAY AT SUNRISE. PEOPLE CROWD FOR THIS PLEASURE ON CHRISTMAS DAY.


GORGEOUS, TYPICAL IRISH COUNTRYSIDE


THE PRIEST'S CHURCH AT GLENDALOUGH. IT HAD NO WINDOWS SO THAT THE PRIESTS COULD HAVE MASS ON THEIR OWN. PEOPLE SAW SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE CHIMNEY AND IT WAS (AND IS STILL) CALLED "THE KITCHEN".


ME ON THE WALK TO THE BIG LAKE.


STUNNING BIG LAKE FROM BRAVEHEART. WILLIAM WALLACE STANDS ON THE CLIFF TOP IN THE MOVIE, OVERLOOKING THE LAKE.


THE LOVE SCENE FROM BRAVEHEART WAS FILMED AMONGST THESE TRESS. LOVELY....


ANOTHER VIEW OF THE LAKE. THE VILLAGE WHERE WILLIAM WALLACE'S WIFE MARION IS KILLED WAS BUILT OVER THE HILL ON THE RIGHT.


AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PICTURE IS A HOUSE OWNED BY THE GUINESS FAMILY (MEGA-MONEY IN IRELAND). THEY HAVE CHARITY BBQ'S THERE WHERE THE GUESTS ARE HELICOPTERED IN AND A TICKET IS 10 000 POUNDS. BON JOVI HAVE STAYED THERE FOR SOME R&R WHILE ON TOUR.