We woke up on Day 2 and decided to grab breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We'd paid €10 per person upon check in for it and, I have to say, it was worth every euro. It was a traditional Irish breakfast everyday, which means it included things like stewed tomatoes, grilled mushrooms and baked beans, but it also had the makings of a traditional American breakfast, too. Eggs, sausage, waffles, toast, cereals; and it was all excellent.
Breakfast at the Crowne Plaza Dublin. I now buy Irish butter at the grocery store. Yeah... really...
Now, for those of you who might not know, my brother's a biker. He's not a biker in the Sons Of Anarchy, never-take-a-shower mold, but he rides a Harley Davidson Street Glide and is pretty serious about it. Anyway, he brought a couple t-shirts and poker chips from Adamec Harley Davidson in St. Augustine (hey, hometown gotta' represent!) to trade out or gift to other bikers he might see during the trip. He'd met a guy in the hotel bar who was sitting with his girlfriend and friends, and he gave the guy a poker chip. The guy was all happy and Greg felt good about it and all was right with the world.
Well, the morning of our second day, we step outside the hotel and here's this guy and his friends, and he's wearing a Prague Harley Davidson shirt. Greg walks up to the guy, reaches into his back-pack and hands the guy an Adamec Harley-Davidson t-shirt. How does the guy respond? He takes the very shirt he's wearing off his back and hands it to my brother. It was one of the cooler moments of our whole trip.
My brother and his new friend, who is from Holland...
So, after the conclusion of the international Harley-Davidson t-shirt
swap, we grabbed a cab into downtown to pick up our hop on/hop off bus
for Day 2.
Before I go any further, I would be remiss if I didn't point out
how good a choice the hop on/hop off bus is for getting around Dublin.
There are a number of companies which operate these buses. We opted for City Sightseeing Dublin,
but I would have to imagine that they're all pretty comparable. Also,
go for the two-day pass. It's only a few more dollars than a single day
pass, and there's no way in Hell you're going to see everything you want
to see in one day. Hell, there's probably no way you're going to see
everything you want to see in two days, but at least you'll not see less.
Now, the Irish are big on their churches, primarily Roman Catholicism and the Church of Ireland running a close second. Christ Church Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity is officially the seat of both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin.
After
our cab ride into the city, we took the bus to Christ Church Cathedral.
One of two medieval cathedrals (the other being St. Patrick's
Cathedral), it was founded in the year 1030 and, while it has gone over
many changes over the ensuing (almost) thousand years, the history
contained within its walls is undeniable and almost crushing in its
weight. Christ Church Cathedral, which was founded in the year 1030, is enormous,
and is only one part of a larger complex which also houses the Dubliana
exhibit. While the exhibit is more museum than anything else, it
remains a part of the Cathedral.
Now, I'm not the most religious guy you're ever likely to meet but, as a
photographer, I can say that there are few forms of architecture that are as
awe-inspiring as a really big, really old church. People have been
coming to worship at Christ Church Cathedral for nearly 1,000 years, so
it definitely has the "really old" part covered. The "really big" part? Well, you be the judge.
Christ Church Cathedral...
Christ Church Cathedral...
Christ Church Cathedral...
Christ Church Cathedral...
Christ Church Cathedral...
Christ Church Cathedral...
Christ Church Cathedral...
Of course, Christ Church Cathedral isn't the only game in town when it comes to impressive houses of worship. St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is within walking distance of Christ Church Cathedral, is another grand example. It's also the final resting place of writer and poet Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels), who also served as Dean of the church from 1713 until his death, at age 77, in October of 1745.
St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland...
St. Patrick's Cathedral...
St. Patrick's Cathedral...
St. Patrick's Cathedral...
Jonathan Swift's grave...
After a full day of walking and exploring old churches, we decided to head back to the hotel and think about grabbing some dinner. We opted for the Gourmet Food Parlor, which was just a brief walk from the front door of our hotel. We thought we were going to be in trouble when the hostess asked us if we had a reservation (we did not), but she got us seated in pretty short order. The service was quick and the food was pretty damn tasty. I went with their "Signature Burger" which, for €16.00 may have been a bit spendy but, damn, it was good.
The €16.00 "Signature Burger". It was pretty amazing...
I couldn't help myself...
We walked back to the hotel and Mom was calling it a night. My brother
and I, however, were far from done. We decided we'd extend our evening
and head down to Temple Bar for a few drinks. Temple Bar is probably
best described as Dublin's Bourbon Street. The joke among the locals is
that you'll never see the Irish there. Whatever; it was a lot of fun for
us!
Ha'penny Bridge...
The Palace Bar...
The Dublin Hard Rock Cafe...
Bars and restaurants abound...
Tattoo shop in Temple Bar...
It's true; This was one bad ass bar...
This guy was advertising for €5 lap dances...
The main drag in Temple Bar...
We're not sure if they lost a bet or are just big "Where's Waldo?" fans...
Of all the bars we hit that night, Merchant's Arch was, by far, our favorite...
Here's Greg wasting little time in getting into Merchant's Arch...
The man is like a ghost...
What I found more amazing than just about anything else in Temple Bar were the crowds that turned out for the entertainment that was on hand. In the United States, if you want to pack a bar with people, you bring in a band. In Ireland, though, you just need a couple of guys with a couple of acoustic instruments and they'll own the joint. That was the case at every bar we visited, and I thought that was really cool. Above is a video clip that I shot at Merchant's Arch in Temple Bar.
So, with a full day of playing tourist and several Guinness' (Tullamore Dew, too) behind us, we found our way into a cab for the trip back to our hotel. If anything, the evening out in Temple Bar told me that this could be reason enough to come back...
Our trip to Ireland almost seemed doomed from the start. While waiting for our flight from Jacksonville to Chicago, they post a weather delay of 45 minutes, blaming the weather in Chicago. Almost immediately that 45 minutes went to an hour and a half. Thankfully, the weather delay also affected the plane we would be flying to Ireland on, which was to fly to Chicago from Newark. Fate being what it is, we were able to catch our flight out of Chicago, but not without some nail biting.
This was the weather over Chicago as we were landing...
Mom and Greg in the tunnel between terminals at Chicago O'Hare International...
The flight to Dublin was uneventful, if not really, really long. The bigger downside is that I couldn't sleep and it was a red-eye. We finally arrived in Dublin, albeit a little late, and were off to our hotel.
A friendly reminder...
We got settled into our rooms at the Crowne Plaza Dublin and then went down to one of the two restaurants at the hotel. We were able to fend off some ever-increasing hunger pangs with some noshing food and some coffee.
Now, it's important for Americans traveling to Ireland to understand one thing about coffee in Ireland.
IT SUCKS.
I drink my coffee black; I have for almost 40 years. Well, that's ill-advised in Ireland. While I didn't try their cappuccino or espresso, I did have the misfortune of ordering the "Americano", which is their version of what they think we drink here in the States. For the first time in almost 40 years, I put sugar (and a lot of it) in my coffee.
This is what black coffee looks like in Ireland. "Americano" coffee? No bueno...
So, after a quick bite and some "coffee", we grabbed a taxi and proceeded into downtown Dublin. It was already a bit late in the afternoon, but we figured we'd use this opportunity to kind of find the "lay of the land".
The Tourist Office on O'Connell Street in Dublin. We didn't use it, but it was nice to know it was there...
Awesome architecture was everywhere...
Sometimes it seemed as though Dublin has as many buses as New York City has cabs...
The O'Connell Bridge, at the foot of O'Connell Street, not far from Temple Bar...
We ended up at a place called Fitzgerald's for dinner a few hours later. Of course, we would have to start the meal with a Guinness.
The first of what would be many pints of Guinness...
We made our way back to our hotel and decided to call it a night (and an early one). We were all pretty tired as none of us really got anything that resembled "quality sleep" on the 757 we'd spent eight hours on the night before.
Now, before I go on about our first full day in Dublin, let me back-step a bit.
When I was planning this trip I wrestled with whether or not we should rent a car. Given that Ireland's drivers are all right-side drive, and given that most of the rental cars are manual, we opted out.
Best decision I've ever made.
While I'm confident that I could've grasped the operation of the vehicle, a more immediate danger would've manifested in the form of traffic. It's pretty nuts as it is, and I can only imagine that it would be exacerbated by a wayward American driving on the wrong side of the road. Besides, the taxi drivers in Dublin are awesome! With the exception of one driver who was Chinese, every driver damn near gave us a history lesson about Dublin and Ireland as we rode along. We even learned that there's a world of difference between being "British" and being "English" (who knew?)
So, our first full day in Dublin included our first day on the "hop on/hop off" bus that makes its way around Dublin (and, presumably, every other tourist city on the planet). If you're unfamiliar with the concept, you pay one fee (for us it was € 30 a piece) and you can ride around town as much as you want for however long your ticket is good (ours was good for 48 hours). You can, as the name implies, hop on and off all over town, as often as you want.
My brother Greg enjoying the double-decker experience...
What this type of tour allows you is the ability to see things that you probably wouldn't be able to see on your own without knowing where you were going, but the guides are only too happy to tell you all about the sites seen along the way.
This is the greatest truck ever made...
The Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin...
The River Liffey...
The Dublin Convention Center. It's said that the angle of the glass portion of the building is at the exact same angle that you would be holding a pint of Guinness when taking your first sip. I have to say, I think it was pretty damn close...
Our first stop for the day was Dublin Castle. Now, you might expect a castle to be located out in the countryside somewhere or along a coastline and, certainly, those castles do exist. Dublin Castle, though, is located in the heart of downtown Dublin. Originally founded in the year 1204, only the Record Tower, which dates back to the year 1228, remains from the original 13th century building.
The Record Tower. The Chapel Royal sits to the right and the rest of the castle is to the left...
Another view of the Record Tower. This is one of my favorite photos from the trip...
The actual castle doesn't really look like a castle. It seems more like what I would expect a palace to look like, steeped in ceremony and pomp and circumstance. Many of the rooms within the castle are strictly for ceremony and, in fact, every new President of Ireland assumes office within its walls.
One of the castle gates...
The State drawing room...
An actual throne...
St. Patrick's Hall. Every new President of Ireland assumes office here...
The Gothic Room. Not quite sure why it's called that...
Looking out into the castle courtyard...
The Portrait Gallery...
The State Corridor...
The entrance gates to the courtyard of Dublin Castle...
The castle gardens. The "lines" you see are actually meant to depict snakes, which were driven from Ireland by St. Patrick. In fact, it's believed by some that "snakes" was actually a metaphor for the druids, who Patrick is said to have driven from Ireland when he established Christianity in Ireland in the 5th century...
Once we were done at Dublin Castle, we decided to grab some dinner at Murray's Bar, a well-known eatery along O'Connell Street in downtown Dublin. The food was excellent and the Guinness flowed like chocolate milk but, before long, it was time to go back to the hotel and prepare for the next day of our hop on/hop off extravaganza...
In less than 48 hours, we'll have already boarded our flight from Jacksonville, Florida to Chicago, Illinois, en route to Dublin, Ireland. Everything has been confirmed; flights, seat selections, hotel reservations, all of it. Now it's just a matter of packing.
First up for me is the camera bag. I won't be using it between now and the time we leave, so I might as well get it as packed up as I can. All I'll need to pack into it Tuesday morning will be my computer.
The weather is supposed to be, well, a bit wet. Unfortunately, there's no way to prepare for the weather when you start planning your trip three months in advance. So, you've just got to roll with the punches and hope for the best.
It did not look this way in the brochure...
Now, as that as that may look, it bears pointing out that only two days ago there was a lot more in the way of sunshine in the forecast. Four days ago it looked like it does now. Consequently, I think the only thing we can really conclude with 100% accuracy is that we don't really know what the weather's going to be like. We're also going to be taking trips outside of Dublin so, with any luck, we'll find some nice weather somewhere along the way. Or maybe it'll find us. Either way I think I'd better bring a jacket.
So, this is it until after we touch down in Dublin. Everything that can be done has been done. All that's left to do now is go on vacation.
In a mere six days, we'll be landing in Dublin. We'll be leaving Jacksonville on Tuesday, flying to Chicago. We'll spend a lovely three hours or so in the Windy City (well, in O'Hare Int'l) before boarding our overnight flight to Dublin, Ireland, where we'll arrive at 10:45am local time.
Everything's been confirmed; flight and seat selections, room reservations; everything. All that's left now is, once we're there, to figure out our itinerary while we're there.
As we'll be arriving somewhat early in the day, the plan is to get settled into our hotel and then grab a cab into Dublin (our hotel is by the airport). I'm told the cost will be around €15-20 ($17-$23 US) so, while not nearly as cheap as a public bus, not prohibitively expensive and it'll get us into town a lot faster. From where I sit, that's the payoff. And, while they don't have Uber in Dublin, they do have something similar known as MyTaxi, so that could be another option.
While we're enjoying our first day in Dublin, we'll scope out the day-trips and the "hop on/hop off" buses which operate in the city. We'll likely do the in-city tour bus thing for the first two days, simply because it would be impossible to see everything we want to in a single day. After two days of exploring downtown Dublin, we'll venture out beyond the city to explore the countryside; the rugged coastlines and the castles and small towns.
For walking around downtown, I've downloaded an app called "maps.me". Basically, it's got frighteningly detailed maps of just about anywhere on the planet. Looking at the map for Dublin, I can't imagine wanting to get somewhere in Dublin and not being able to find it.
I'll be bringing at least one camera, and my brother is bringing two. He plans on shooting black and white film as well as digital. That should produce some interesting results. I have in the neighborhood of 30 film cameras, but I'm leaving them home. I would only want to use a medium format one, anyway, and that can take up some room.
So, the excitement is slowly ramping up. We've never done a trip like this before, so it should be both fun and interesting to see how we fare. I suspect this will end up being a trip to remember for a long, long time...
There's a lot to do to get ready for a trip like this. For the last several weeks, I've been researching everything from how to get around Dublin, tours, where to eat, yadayadayada.
Since I have absolutely no intention of not checking mail or posting on social media for the week we're on the Emerald Isle, I'll be bringing my computer. Of course, I intend on shooting a butt-load of photos while we're there, and I'll want to download these onto my laptop so I can run them through Photoshop. I'll be running PSE 18 by then, so I'll be able to open the raw files produced by the 6D MKII.
All that aside, I had one primary concern: space.
I've only got about 116 GB of space left on my computer's hard drive, so I wanted to clean that up a bit. While I'll try to move photos onto an external hard drive every so often, I haven't done it since the first week of January. Ergo, it's time to move the photos off of the laptop's hard drive.
All 88,304 of them.
I first moved them onto a 2TB Western Digital Passport. This drive will go into my safe deposit box. As I type this, I'm also transferring all 88,304 photos onto a 4TB Seagate Back-Up Plus external hard drive that I picked up yesterday (pro tip: only $94 at Costco). It's astounding to discover how long it takes to move so many files. I haven't been timing it, and I've been doing other things while these transfer, but my best guess is that it takes about four hours.
But, at least I go into this knowing that I'll have more than enough space to dump all of the photos I take on our trip.
