Hello and Farewell to Dublin

Here is TJ outside Quay's Pub and Restaurant in Temple Bar.

We went here upon arrival in Dublin and stopped here for lunch before heading back.

While the Temple Bar is targeted to tourists, we are tourists and enjoyed it very much - especially the late nights at Gogarty's on the second floor where they played traditional Irish music until 2:30AM.

While here in Dublin, we were sure to have many of the Irish dishes like bangers and mash, fish and chips, and of course plenty of pints of Guinness. We also frequented the Dublin McDonald's which had a McCafe inside. It was very nice and the food was markedly better than US franchises.

Dublin was a very nice place to visit. If you come here, be sure to read on on the history of Ireland so you can appreciate everything here.

Cliffs of Moher

On our sojourn on Monday through southwest Ireland, we visited the famous Cliff of Moher. Quite spectacular.

It was a very long bus ride from Dublin, we probably would have been better off taking a train to Limerick and arching a tour from there.

Tomorrow is our last day. Tonight we will catch some local Irish music in the Temple Bar area - at Gogarty's.

Where the feck are we?

TJ and I are on an all day bus tour through southwest Ireland over to the Cliffs of Moher.

It is about a 3-hour bus ride from Dublin to this part of the Emerald Isle.

Our first stop was at an old abbey in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

Late Night at Gogarty's

After our afternoon nap today (6 hours) we awoke shortly after 12:30AM and realized that it was still Saturday night in Dublin and we had at least 2 hours before things shutdown.

We ended going over to Oliver St. John Gogarty's on Essex Street in the Temple Bar area. If you look from TJ/s nose going out at 2 o'clock to the second floor alcove, you will see where we were able to snag two seats in a primo location to catch the final music set of the night.

Gogarty's has three floors of bars and one restaurant - plus some rooms for rent for those who like to sleep near the smell of beer.

In the picture, TJ is talking to Vicki getting a storm update on the Hurricane hitting the East Coast. "Vicki, can you check to see if I left the windows open in my car?"

Fish & Chips & Cougars

After the Riverdance show, TJ and I walked over to Leo Burdick's for some genuine Irish Fish and Chips. Burdick's is a walk-up place that only sells take-out fish & chips. Both TJ and I opted for the Haddock and Chips - most excellent. They served the stuff wrapped in butcher paper and we found a place across the street to eat.

Afterwards, we stopped on our way back to the Westin for a quick pint before our afternoon nap and TJ made two new friends. Apparently, even strippers go to Dublin on vacation.

Before and After

We made it back to the Leeds Marriott by midnight or so and were to to slip in without too much notice in the lobby.

Now we have a problem - we have to leave in 6 hours to catch our flight back to Dublin. So we spent about 2 hours washing our shoes pants and socks in the tub and drying with a blow dryer in the room. Mind you that we needed to wear these clothes back to Dublin as we only brought backpacks with us for the overnighter.

Here is a before and after of TJ - I was in similar shape. This transfiguration took about 2 hours giving us almost 4 hours to sleep before heading off to Dublin. We ended up making our flight on Ryan Air back to Dublin and had some time to spare at Leeds airport to get a Breakfast Ban - which is Brit for a fried egg, sausage, and bacon on a roll. That plus 2 small orange juices and 2 bottles of water were only $25 - what a deal!

We made it back to the Westin Dublin by 10AM this morning and our room was not available - so we trekked over to Grafton Street and went to McCafe (McDonald's Cafe - very nice) for some coffee. Once 10:30AM hit, they start pouring Guinness Stout and we found ourselves on two bar stools at Sheehan's pub enjoying 2 pints with a bunch of other people watching a rugby match on TV. We called Gunny and Poppo to check on the hurricane status in Virginia Beach - I think we woke them up after I realized it was 6:30AM East Coast time.

After our pint, I placed a wager with one of the many bookies for 25 Euro for Ireland to beat England in today's rugby match. The match was played at 2:30PM today, the same time as the Riverdance show that TJ and I went to see. Riverdance was very good - we had seats in the side balcony just in front of the theater boxes and were almost on top of the stage.

Our room at the Westin was ready by noon and we were able to catch a hour and half nap before heading to the show. Sleep has been hard to come by so far on this trip - we are going to slow down the next few days.

England 20 - Ireland 9. For feck's sake.

Muddy Hell

TJ and I had lots of fun at the Music Festival, although, I must say that we were ill prepared for the venue. After several, days of solid rain the fairgrounds were essentially a bog. Apparently, this is an annual occurrence as over half the people wore mud boots (they called the Welly's or Wellingtons). I can tell you that they would have been very handy indeed.

Think 2-3 inches of mud in the good spots and 5-6 in the bad spots. See a close up below of TJ standing in a relatively good spot. I spent the first 4-5 hours looking for the odd patch of grass to walk or stand on to avoid getting too messy - but to no avail. By nightfall you could really see where you were walking in any case and the primary goal was to not fall down as the crowds pushed during the big concerts or trying to get out.

After 8 hours, we were fairly muddy and we made our way to the bus queue for the 40 minute journey on the bus back to Leeds caked in mud. The one for the bus was almost 30 minutes long. By the time we got on the bus, some chap had cut in line ahead of everyone and parked himself on the upper deck where TJ and I were sitting. The bus operators would have none of the line cutting and insisted that the man get off the bus. After 5 minutes of arguing man still refuse to get off the bus and the woman from the bus company told the driver to turn off the bus and she went to get help from one of her male colleagues. Another 5 minutes of arguing and still nothing - mind you a few thousand people are waiting to board the busses back to Leeds at this point.

Anyway, while it is not in character for me, I was tired and muddy and I wanted to get back to our room. I got up out of my seat and told the guy from the bus company that I would help forcibly remove the man from his seat and drag him down the stairs and off the bus. So we both had at the guy - who was much stronger than he looked. In the midst of this scuffle, I realized that this guy could have easily handed out a serious beating, but I knew TJ had my back. After 60 seconds or so of scuffle, the guy relented after I used an old lifeguard move from days past to get him to release his grip on the seat. I essentially, rubbed the heel of my thumb on inside of his arm just above the elbow directly on the humerous bone. Very painful to be on the receiving end and one's natural reaction is to let go of whatever one is holding.

Now we are off to the Leeds Marriott caked in mud. Both TJ and I only have one pair of shoes for the trip, so were are going to have some cleaning to do when we get back. Hopefully, the Marriott won't freak out when we walk through the lobby.

Muse Concert

On Friday, TJ and I went to the Muse Concert in Leeds, UK. The concert was part of a music festival with about 50 bands on 6-7 different stages and went from noon to midnight. Anyway, the location of said festival, was some huge private farm outside of Leeds (think Woodstock) and it had been raining for days. There were probably close to 100,000 people spread across a few dozen acres of mud.

The festival organizers had to think about how to cater to 100,000 (many of which were drunk hooligans) and there bodily functions after drinking lots of beer. They did take the time to build out separate men's and women's facilities - although I don't know what you would do if Number 2 made an appearance. I can't say how the Ladies facilities were designed, but the Gent's facilities was essentially a huge trough that drained in a few drums - not completely civilized. Some of the hooligans, decided that they would just walk up in the main concert area and wizz on the wall - it was surreal - they essentially created a new men's room. I made a special mental note not to sit there later in the day.

Lastly, women were also making makeshift "Ladies's Rooms", but for decorum reasons, I did not take any pictures.

Two Countries - Two Pints

What trip to the UK and Ireland would be complete without a few pints? We got off to a good start by having one in the UK just outside Hampton Court Palace at the Kings Arms Tavern.

When we arrived in Dublin tonight, we headed over to the Temple Bar area for an official Dublin Guinness pint.

Technically, it it 3 countries, 3 pints if you include the Sam Adams at Newark Airport.

Prince TJ in Hampton Court Palace

After landing in London we had several hours to kill, so Prince TJ and I headed over to Hampton Court Palace to see how the Upper Crust lived 500+ years ago.

Here is TJ sitting at the head table where Henry VIII used to hold court.

Off to UK & Ireland

We are off to the UK & Ireland for our trip this year.

Tomorrow we will land in London and will check out Henry VIII's digs at Hampton Court before we fly to Dublin around dinner time. Dublin will be our home base on this trip.

On Friday, we fly to Leeds, England for the music festival - then head back to Dublin for some Irish fun.

TJ is here enjoying the Upper Class treatment on Virgin Atlantic. For the record, TJ declined the in-flight pajamas (sleep suit in Brit parlance) and said yes to the filet and mashed potatoes. Also for the record, they don't think it funny if you refer to Upper Class (VA's First Class) as Upper Crust - I for one think they are both delightfully snobbish.

Hopefully we get some sleep on the flight over or tomorrow will be a long day.

Honey, I Shrunk The Kid

Holy Cow! The leaf is larger than Heather!

Headed to Airport

Sarah, where did I park the car? #end

Wanderful

Before boarding the Hogwart's Express to leave the World of Harry Potter, we snuck into the back of Ollivander's Wand Shop and bought a wand for Sarah. Only $33 - what a bargain!

Sarah assures me that she will not use it to cast spells on me - only her siblings. #end

Shopping on Diagon Alley

Figuring that she doesn't get to Diagon Alley often, Sarah wanted to do some window shopping at places like Ollivander's Wand Shop. The line to get in was 90 minutes long to buy a $30 fake wand you will never look at or see again.

I wonder if they have XXL Slytherin wizards capes? #end

Sarah the Witch

Before we headed to the airport today, we stop at Universal Studios to check out the Harry Potter World.

Here is Sarah in front of Hogwart's posing with one of the local wizards.

The ride is beyond most any other ride I have been on from a technology perspective. It is no wonder that people wait in line for 2+ hours.

After the ride, Sarah got herself a ButterBeer. ButterBeer is essentially cream soda with 2-3 scoops of sugar in it. I saw 2 people in diabetic shock after drinking it. #end

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Our last day at Disney World was met with some serious downpours.

Luckily, Sarah ended up at the end of the rainbow. #end

On Safari

Sarah and I went on safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We saw lots of animals, including hippos, rhinos, and elephants.

Of course we did not need to go to Animal Kingdom to see large animals. How many batteries to haul her around all day? #end

Sarah's New Boyfriend

I took Sarah to Discovery Cove which is part of Sea World to participate in the Dolphin Trainer program.

The facilities and operations were all top drawer and Sarah and I had a great time swimming and interacting with the dolphins in the water.

Eating out of my Hand

Before the light show at EPCOT last night, Sarah and I stopped for a beer and "chips" and the British pub.  The "chips" were actually very good French Fries.

The local ibis heron agrees.  After several attempts and standing perfectly still, I was able to have the timid bird eating out of my hand.  Now if I could only do this with..........

Eating out of my Hand

Tattoo Verification

Sarah and I had lunch at the Nine Dragons restaurant in the China Pavilion. Our waiter was from Beijing and this was his first day on the job here in Orlando.

Anyway, our waiter - let's call him Mao Tse Tung - was able to confirm that my kanji tattoo does in fact say "father". The Chinese word is fu. Fu is a word not an acronym. #end

Happy Birthday Babydoll

Sarah and I made it over to the Magic Kingdom last night to watch the nighttime parades and fireworks.

Thy are redesigning Fantasyland in what looks to be a major park expansion schedule to open just at the end of 2012.

I told Sarah that if the world doesn't end in December 2012 as prognosticated by the Mayans, we could come back and check it out. #end

Happy Birthday Babydoll

Johnny Depp

Sarah and I were able to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. We were selected to go backstage and get our picture with Johnny Depp.

Up close and without a lot of make-up, he looks like a dog. He also was able to lay down and lift his leg then lick places in a manner that one only sees in a Cirque de Soleil production.

Maybe it wasn't Johnny Depp. #end

Almost Paris

My favorite part of visiting EPCOT at Disney World is the France Pavilion. Sarah and I just watched the movie Impression Of France which, even though old, is a very good movie if you like to travel.

This is our last stop on the World Showcase today. We started in France and ended in France - taking about 3+ hours. I had a drink in most countries along the way, so no more rides for me tonight.

Now we are off to Hollywood Studios so Sarah can ride Tower of Terror while I sip on a cappuccino. #end

La Cucharacha

Donde esta casa de Pepe?

Por que no estudia conmigo? Porque tu y yo pronunciamos muy mal!

Here is Sarah having fun in Mexico. These hats were designed for midgets to wear at parties. The salsa goes in the middle and the chips are spread around the brim - a walking table of sorts. #end

Off to Disney World

We are off to Disney World for Sarah's 2011 trip.

The trip started off on the right foot as Sarah got upgraded into first class with me. Here she is reviewing the itinerary before take off.

Maybe we will get lucky and get a convertible when we show up at Hertz in Orlando. #end