More planning and homework

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Friday April 20....I had a good day today. I visited with my sister Debbie and my brother Danny came by in the evening and is staying today and tomorrow. I sorted through some reviews on hostels in Dublin on Tripadvisor.com and found and rented a bed for 5 days in a 6 person mixed dorm room at The Generator Hostel by Smithfield Tram Station in Dublin. I don’t suppose renting a bed in a 6 person mixed dorm room will be a problem as everyone knows that I am the most patient of men. The hostel is located at Smithfield Square, hopefully a bit removed from the main tourist areas and therefore hopefully from the party animal section of town. I started booking through tripadvisor but noticed that the booking is actually through Booking.com so I guess they are associates. I booked a room in a 6 person dorm room ensuite for 5 nights from the 10^th of May till the 15^th. That ought to give me enough time to see if I can deal with staying in a hostel or not and also give me time to look around for more suitable lodging if the hostel turns out to be not to my liking. For 5 nights it will cost me $109.76 or 83Euros. I read the reviews on tripadvisor.com for the Generator Hostel in Dublin and they were overwhelmingly positive. Quite an accomplishment as I honestly believe some people post bad reviews on places for their own selfish reasons.

Saturday April 22…Had a good day today. Invested most of the day doing homework on Ireland and Dublin. Read reviews on The Generator Hostel in Dublin and they are overwhelmingly positive. Mapped out bus to take from the airport to Busaras station. I will take the Airlink bus which charges 6 Euros for an adult. From Belarus station I will catch the Red line to Smithfield station which is by the hostel I have rented a bed in for the first 5 days of my trip. I will find out in those days if I like it in the hostel or if I would prefer to find other lodging. I am sure the first few days in Dublin will be invested in exploring and getting my feet on the ground as opposed to actually visiting tourist sites. With 6 weeks to use I am sure I will visit Ballinasloe ( where my Mother was born and grew up) for a bit and Galway and then go all around Ireland. I will probably try and use public transportation for most of the trip but will probably rent a car for part of my explorations of Ireland as well.

I will make a trip to Austin to the AAA office there this week to get an international driver’s license to use for the car rental as well as another form of identification. I may take a side trip to England or France but with only 6 weeks earmarked for this trip it will probably take me that long to just explore Ireland at a leisurely pace. Of course it is possible I may toss the second half of my ticket and explore Ireland and etc. a bit longer. Or come back and visit England or France in July. I like to keep my options open.

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