Dublin, Ireland Travel Week 1

Dublin, Ireland
Friday, February 20, 2009
The night before ended some time because I went to bed around 9 but was up and down a lot. I would sleep then pack, sleep, pack, sleep pack. We had an early morning at 2 am. We had a long bus ride at 3:15 to catch a 6:30 flight to Dublin. We landed and made to our hostel. It was a really nice place and it was only 25€ a night. We stored our luggage because check in was at 2 and we were there at 11.30. Touring the city became a priority. We popped into several courtyards of cathedrals and parks before heading to the ticket office. There, we bought tickets for Dorothy Mills a very Indy film. One of the cashiers gave us excellent advice on places to go and see. One of her recommendations was a tour of the Guinness storehouse. Before going there we stopped at a picture gallery for maybe an hour before lunching and heading our hostel to check in. From there we walked to the Storehouse and learned the history of Guinness and even tasted a draught. It was bitter and roasty and crisp. I'm not a fan. I stuck to a taste and my free Coke from the Gravity Bar. We then headed back for showers and naps. We left for dinner, a Mexican place across the street before going to the Cineplex. Dorothy Mills is an Indy film about a girl with psychological problems. The main actress- who played Dorothy - and the director were present for the screening. After, we called it a night and headed back to the hostel

Saturday, February 21, 2009
The plan was to hit up a few more museums. Instead the girls decided they wanted to shop-all day. We were in and out of countless stores. At one point I left them and went find a place to get my hair cut. The girls were not too happy because I disappeared for about a half hour leaving them to stay in one spot. I quickly and half heartedly apologized. We had lunch from the bottom level of a department store that had been converted into a grocery store. After making our purchases we walked to a park to have sit on a bench and eat. You guessed it- more shopping. We had dinner at a Chinese place before heading back to the best hostel I’ve stayed in so far. It was nice and clean and huge but still a hostel. It had shared bathrooms but separate showers. The staff was really helpful.

Sunday, February 22, 2009
This day we traveled back but it deserves its own paragraph. We had a cab pick us up at 3.45 and drop us off at the airport. Things went as smooth as expected Except Ryan Air had no recollection of me registering my bag as a checked item. They gave me quite the run around. I have to send them a letter to complain about the service I received. We landed in Treviso. We had to take the bus to the train station to get back to Bassano and then to Paderno. Well the bus was severely late to its stop. We made it to the train station and after waiting a while in line to buy tickets we ate lunch in a crowed bar. We waited some more for our train. It finally came and we were on our way. Not so fast. We were supposed to change trains but the ticked did not indicate this. We took the train 3 or four stops past to the stop it shut down. It did not just stop it shut down- no power. I made my way out to talk to the conductor who of course does not speak English. I understand enough Italian to grasp what he is saying. We waited about a 30 minutes before we were underway. We took the correct stop and missed the connecting train by only a minute or two. It would be an hour and a half before the next train would come along. Well it never came. Some one went talk to some one and they told us we could take the bus to Bassano. We had to wait about 30 minutes a boarded without tickets. A few stops later an attendant and a security guard boarded checking tickets. He came to us at a designated stop and we got off. Apparently, when some one in your group panics and gets off so do you. We walked a ways and stopped at a bar which of the 20+ people only one spoke English and he told us to keep walking in the direction we were headed. Walk, walk walk. We spotted an open tabacchi and bought tickets. We walked to the stop in some unknown village to us. After about 45 minutes the bus came and we boarded. Again a few stops later the same attendant got on and this time we were ready for him. He punched our tickets and told us when to get off for Bassano and even told the general direction of the station. We went inside the station to buy tickets for Paderno. Being Sunday the bus only goes to Cresspano about a kilometer or two away from where we so desperately wanted to be.
We left Dublin at 6.30 arrived in Treviso at 9.20. It was only a 2 hr flight but there is a time change. We left the airport at about 9.45 and walked through the front gates of Instituto Filipin at 6.45. You do the math.



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