Long Night's Journey into Day

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

It has been an exhausting Day(s)!

We left a cool, rather sunny Pittsburgh this afternoon and flew over to Newark, where we caught our flight to Dublin. It was one of those puddle jumpers that has barely room for two seats on each side, but no overhead space, and two propellers. Every bump and airpocket in the sky is immediately transferred to the passengers, so by the time you get to your destination you feel like you've been on a roller coaster. Maybe they ought to advertise it like that... would make the fare seem far more reasonable... like you're actually getting something for your money!

Newark airport was nicer than I thought. It was my first time there, and didn't realize you could sit in the terminal and view the NYC skyline. The clouds cleared up and we had a neat view of both the new 9/11 building and the Empire State building. Made the 4-1/2 hour layover almost bearable.

The flight over was on a Continental 757 which is normally a nice plane, but they've crammed the seats together so much that it is just uncomfortable to be a passenger in. Especially for 6 hours, even with the entertainment system. The human body just isn't designed to be immobile for that long. I have to hand it to the guy next to me in the window seat. He didn't get out of his seat once the entire flight! We flew to Paris on one of these and I've decided if I can, I'm flying across the pond in a 767 or better from now on.

The process through Customs and Immigration was pretty much a non-event!... Much smoother than going to London or Paris. Before we knew it, we were out the double doors and there was a group of CIE tour people huddled together waiting to be whisked away on their tour. Turns out they weren't with our group. We had arrived a day early, so there was just one other guy (John from Boston) in our group, so it was a very easy, empty bus ride into town to our overnight, The Burlington Hotel.

Being it was only 8 o'clock by the time we arrived, we were surprised our room was available... but it was nice to be able to put our suitcases some place instead of just hanging out in the lobby till mid-day, which is what we've done in the past. Instead we stowed our gear and then went down for our first Irish Breakfast: Typical fare of a buffet consisting of scrambled or fried eggs, think bacon, a variety of sausages, Heinz baked beans, fried potatoes, or porridge if you desire. (This would be standard fare no matter where we went throughout Ireland.)

At around 11:30 we hopped on a city bus hop-on, hop-off service (passes came with the tour). It was on double decker buses that were open on top, with bus drivers who acted as tour guides taking you around the different parts of the city. I think there were something like 25 different stops, and round trip took about an hour and a half, but gave you a pretty good of Dublin.

At this point we had to make a decision: where to spend the remaining part of our day. The buses stopped running around 5, and we wanted to get back to the hotel without too long of a walk. We had vouchers for either the Jameson's or Guinness factory tour, but the Jameson's factory seemed a bit far from the action, so we settled on Guinness, do the tour, and then see how much time we had left.

The bus dropped us off just outside the gate to the factory. It is no longer the place where Guinness is actually brewed, but more like a Disney museum informational tour. Very elaborate displays describing the history of the factory and the various steps in the brewing process. You slowly climb higher and higher into the factory until you eventually make your way up to the 9th or 10th floor into a "Gravity Bar," a round, glass-walled enclosed bar overlooking Dublin and the surrounding country side. We had another great day of weather, so we could see for miles in all directions! We also had a voucher for a free pint of the good stuff, which we were more than happy to watch them pour and sample! I have to say, that Guinness DOES taste different over in Ireland. It probably has much to do with the water used in the brewing process, but it is definitely a smoother, silkier taste, one I could easily get used to!

After our beer, it was back on the bus, and another trip around Dublin listening to another bus driver's viewpoint on Dublin's history and highlights. Unfortunately, the bus circuit didn't go all the way back to the hotel, so we found ourselves with about a 20 minute walk through the streets of Dublin from the closest stop, which, on a clear Irish afternoon was fairly pleasant for late November.

It was pretty much dark by the time we stumbled back into the hotel, and we came to the realization that our bodies were just beat! We'd been up for 30+ hours and were really feeling the effects of a long day's travel. Tomorrow we had another day to explore Dublin City, so after an Irish coffee before a warm Lobby fireplace, we called it a night and gratefully found our nice, comfortable bed.