Alk's European Vacation (advice needed)

[Alk]

We landed in Dublin just before 8:00 in the morning Dublin time. I didn't sleep worth a damn on the plane so I've been wandering the city like a zombie. We have our Guinness tour at 4:00 so we're just kind of killing time right now. Stumbled upon Saint Patrick's Cathedral so we're currently waiting for a tour to begin.

 

[Roberto71]

Welcome to Dublin! You have arrived in some great sunny weather!

Enjoy the Guinness Storehouse tour. The Gravity Bar at the top is great and has great views, but it's always quite full, so getting a seat can be a challenge.

The Brazen Head is not too far from the Storehouse and is a famous place and will be lovely today with the sunny weather.,



A nice alternative is Arthur's Pub which is even nearer. Really good food there and a very nice pub.

 

[Alk]

Welcome to Dublin! You have arrived in some great sunny weather!

Enjoy the Guinness Storehouse tour. The Gravity Bar at the top is great and has great views, but it's always quite full, so getting a seat can be a challenge.

The Brazen Head is not too far from the Storehouse and is a famous place and will be lovely today with the sunny weather.,

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A nice alternative is Arthur's Pub which is even nearer. Really good food there and a very nice pub.

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The weather is definitely great. We're sitting at The Long Hall having our first pint of the day.

 

[HSanders]

The weather is definitely great. We're sitting at The Long Hall having our first pint of the day.

I know there's a 5-6 hr time difference but it's funny nevertheless because i'm sitting here at 11:29 AM reading this.

 

[Alk]

The bartender at Long Hall recommended Sheehan's for food. We went over there and I had the fish and chips. It was excellent. Then we went over and did the Guinness tour. Currently sitting at Gravity Bar having my second complimentary Guinness. I'm not sure how much longer we're going to last. I feel like I'm running on fumes and we're staying above the Auld Dubliner. It was already getting pretty rowdy when we dropped our bags off.

 

[Alk]

Day 2. Already had my full Irish breakfast and did the Book of Kells tours. Found a pub with my Grandma's maiden name on it so I'll have to have a pint there at some point.

 

[Roberto71]

By the way, there's a football theme here this week as some UNC players are over here promoting the game here next month. They are visiting schools as well,

 

[Alk]

By the way, there's a football theme here this week as some UNC players are over here promoting the game here next month. They are visiting schools as well,

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That's cool. Now if Bill were over here too...

 

[Roberto71]

That's cool. Now if Bill were over here too...

Well he was here a few weeks back and he was here years ago for a Bon Jovi concert!

 

[Alk]

First slight glitch in the trip. There was some miscommunication on times with our Jameson tour. The manager there was incredible. He rescheduled our tour for Sunday and then also gave us free drink vouchers for today even though the miscommunication was all our fault. Now we're grabbing a bite to eat at Oscar's before we go back over to another pub to hear some trad music before we head back to our rooms. Tomorrow is going to be an early morning. Puddle jumper to Edinburgh then right onto a train for Inverness.

 

[chevss454]

If you're going to Belgium, you might want to try what many say is the best beer in the world.

How to Buy Westvleteren Beer and Take it Home With You

Westvleteren is a popular Trappist beer producer in Belgium for two particular reasons. First, it is simply a damn good beer. Westvleteren 12, their Quad, is often ranked as one of the top beers in

www.livingthedreamrtw.com

 

[Alk]

Made it to the airport. Currently eating the best (only) airport ham and cheese that I've ever had. Heading to Scotland for four days before we return to Ireland. I've been very impressed. I don't think we have met an unkind person yet

 

[Alk]

Nothing too eventful yesterday. Spent an hour in a plane and about four hours on a train to Inverness. Encountered our first two...not nice people on this trip in Scotland. Went on the ultra touristy Loch Ness cruise and spent some time walking around the town. Went to MacGregor's for a beer and some Cullen Skink which was really good. Then headed to our Air BNB which WASN'T a room above a bar this time. I think I slept for 10 solid hours. Now we're about to get some breakfast and head to the Inverness Highland Games!!

 

[gomezcat]

Encountered our first two...not nice people on this trip in Scotland.

Were they English?

 

[Alk]

If you have never been before, I would highly recommend going to a Highland Games. I was a little nervous going into it because it was all my idea and I was afraid it might not live up to the hype. It did and then some. The cherry on top was one of the competitors. He was a rugby player and he was on his stag party with his groomsmen. Unbeknownst to him, they had signed him up for five events. The scot hammer, the high jump, the 100M, the 1500M and they ended it with the relay with him and his groomsmen. It was absolute hilarity. Tomorrow morning we get back on the train and head to Edinburgh.

 

[Alk]

@Alk
Also, let me know how it works out with taking a carry on and a piece of luggage.Because I am going to probably be going to italy with some friends in the spring, and i'm hoping to do the same. One of my friends is a travel agent, and she is setting this up with an agency.So i'm not sure about laundry facilities, but I can ask her.

@HSanders So far so good(ish) with travelling with just the carry on. We haven't ran out of clothes and were able to do some laundry yesterday. The one snag that we hit was flying on Ryanair from Ireland to Scotland. They are real sticklers on the size of luggage and dinged three of our four carry on bags saying they were too big so we had to pay an additional 60 euro per bag. The strange thing was that my bag was the only one that passed. The lady literally eyeballed them and said the other three were too big but then just had us bring them on the plane anyways. We will see what happens on the way back over to Ireland in a couple days.

 

[Roberto71]

@HSanders So far so good(ish) with travelling with just the carry on. We haven't ran out of clothes and were able to do some laundry yesterday. The one snag that we hit was flying on Ryanair from Ireland to Scotland. They are real sticklers on the size of luggage and dinged three of our four carry on bags saying they were too big so we had to pay an additional 60 euro per bag. The strange thing was that my bag was the only one that passed. The lady literally eyeballed them and said the other three were too big but then just had us bring them on the plane anyways. We will see what happens on the way back over to Ireland in a couple days.

Ryanair is very clear on bag size; it's a strict 55 x 40 x 20 cms. A lot of other airlines are 55 x 40 x 23 cms so it's the depth of the bag that's key. In fairness to Ryanair, they are very clear on this when you book your ticket. All luggage manufacturers make bags the Ryanair size, so no issue getting them. I fly 2-3 times per month, and my trusty roll-on is the Ryanair size. You can also bring a smaller bag as long as it fits under the seat in front.

 

[Alk]

Yep, that's exactly right. Ours were all good except for the depth. I was just surprised that the lady just eyeballed them without us even putting them in the little testing box. We checked them afterwards and mine was actually too big too. I'll be curious to see what happens on the way back.

Ryanair is very clear on bag size; it's a strict 55 x 40 x 20 cms. A lot of other airlines are 55 x 40 x 23 cms so it's the depth of the bag that's key. In fairness to Ryanair, they are very clear on this when you book your ticket. All luggage manufacturers make bags the Ryanair size, so no issue getting them. I fly 2-3 times per month, and my trusty roll-on is the Ryanair size. You can also bring a smaller bag as long as it fits under the seat in front.

 

[sg14]

Yep, that's exactly right. Ours were all good except for the depth. I was just surprised that the lady just eyeballed them without us even putting them in the little testing box. We checked them afterwards and mine was actually too big too. I'll be curious to see what happens on the way back.

Did you see the 4' 11" woman with the bag that was twice her weight struggling to lift the bag into the bin?

 

[Roberto71]

Did you see the 4' 11" woman with the bag that was twice her weight struggling to lift the bag into the bin?

Honestly, I see some people boarding with an almost comical amount of luggage and I just wish I could do a Larry David and call them out sometimes......