Blogs from Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland, Europe

7 1/2 hour trip to London. Boarding the flight went smoothly, and, after we lifted off from Chigao, we received the usual airline dinner offering, pasta or some kinda meat. Beverages were plentiful and included selections of both beer and wine. We stayed awake a little bit after the meal watching some movies. Turbulence also was featured as dessert. It was good enough for the pilot to seat the.flight attendants. The bars should be just be closing in Dublin as this is being written, so we are calling it a day and grabbing some shut-eye. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Next thing we know, the green, cloud covered country of Ireland greets us with a little wake up turbulence. Breakfast is served, a small croissant, orange juice and a yoghurt. Not a bad start, just enough energy to get a ... read more

We set the alarm for 7am. We were not docked yet, still moving up the mouth of the Liffey river. It is cloudy and it looks like maybe some light showers, 52 degrees. I jumped in the shower as Ken went downstairs to get our lattes. We called Bobbie and Annie to wake them up. We went up for our eggs and orange juice; didn't see Annie and Bobbie. We met them outside our room and headed down to get off the ship. We are taking a city tour. As we were headed down, the captain announced that we will not be going to Cork on Thursday as they are expecting sea swells of 19 feet, so we will be overnight in Dublin and a half day on Thursday. Our tour guide: Dave, was very informative; ... read more

Today is the big day! We are at the airport, waiting in the terminal The first flight is a puddle jumper to Chicago, then we hop to Heathrow, then finally arrive in glorious Dublin! The morning started off by sleeping in... When you regularly hope out of bed at 6 AM, 9 AM is sleeping in. The remainder of the perishable food in the refrigerator created a hearty breakfast. After attending to final arrangements for the house, we were ready to leave! Our benevolent buddy appeared in her light blue auto just as we finished zipping up the house. It is really awesome to have friends that are willing to give you a ride to the airport.! Not too many people realize how nice it is to not worry about the car's well being during vacation. ... read more

It has been a lot of planning and saving, but we are within 2 days of traveling! We have packed and repacked our backpacks, arranged for transport, taking care of a last few details. This has been 4 1/2 months in the planning! It all started after our last vacation, when we were thinking a bicycle trip through Belgium, kinda like the New Belgium Beer Company founder had made many years ago. There is not too much info out there about touring Belgium on a bicycle, so it was taking too long to plan. Our vacation loomed in the not too distant future, and planning for a Belgium vacation was not going as planned! We looked at Ireland as a travel destination around 4 years ago, but the flight and lodging costs were prohibitive. We looked ... read more

Packing is a big thing. It is all about how to have enough clothing, toiletries, and electronic devices, yet fit it into a backpack each! No, we do not have those mondo over-sized hiker's backpacks, but a decently sized backpack each, like kids use to haul all their stuff back and forth from school. The way we deal with the clothing is to roll it up tightly, after folding it carefully, then wrapping a few thick rubber bands around the clothing. This packs really neatly in the backpack, useful for cushioning electronics, and the TSA really has not bothered with us for the rolled clothing... Yet. The rubber bands can be used later as a makeshift clothes line by linking them end to end. The "open" spaces between the links serve as clothespins for skivvies, socks, ... read more

Travelling with Kids in Ireland Some changes for us - we didn't take the carseat - just a booster. He had more room to stretch out on the plane, but didn't seem to sleep as easily on it. On the other hand, he seemed happier with the increased mobility. He was also old enough to wear headphones and watch the TV, which helped. Overall, it was the most painless flight we've taken with him. I guess we're ready to start travelling again. We did take a stroller and thank goodness - we got in many long long walks while he caught up on naps - and he would have been too tired to walk as far as we walked each day. That said, this is ... read more

So, let's start. I hope to gradually describe my previous trips and travels and also to be rather systematic with the trips that are yet to come. I already have one "analogue" diary - written by hand, with photos developed in the old-fashioned photo lab, something I can carry with me when I travel. But... maybe it'd be nice to actually share my experiences with someone? We will see how it goes. *** 02/04/2013 - Warsaw -> Dublin There was a heavy snowfall on Sunday before I left from Warsaw to Dublin (no White Easter jokes please) and I was pretty worried that there may be some problems with the flights. Fortunately there were none and even with the whole de-icing procedure we still got to Dublin early and had to hear the stupid Ryanair fanfare... ... read more

Ireland: Part I Two days we've been in Ireland and it's been fantastic! Tomorrow we are traveling to the West coast to Galway, Doolin, and Killarney. Ireland is beyond incredible!... read more