NY and Dublin Part 2

Arrived at Dublin airport to run into yet another passport check!  Bernice and Pauline were waiting and it was great to see them and very exciting to finally be in Ireland.  The adventure just got better and better.  Turns out they had a little pad right near the center of town and within in easy walking/cycling distance of most everything we wanted to see.  Delightfully too Joyce, Irish friend who lives in Auckland and who I also worked with at Fletchers, was visiting (she now runs her own wine importing business and visits twice a year).  Yippee, total bonus we all ended up going out to dinner, starting out at a traditional irish pub before moving onto a very stylie lovely restaurant with gorgeous food and a very impressive wine selection (thanks to Joyce).  So weird to suddenly be surrounded by folks from NZ, also very easy.  Chatter flowed easily and it was a delightful night.  The body was still weary I have to say and I fell into bed relaxed, happy and ready for a good nights sleep.

The next morning we headed out on a bus tour around the town.  This was an excellent way to get our bearings as we travelled past all the landmarks, including the Guinness factory.  As always these trips have lots of interesting little tidbits about the town and, while they can sometimes be a little contrived, the easy Irish lilt of the bus driver made his terrible jokes almost funny (okay a couple of them were, even if a little obvious).  After the bus we decided to hire some bikes.  They are public bikes, you use your credit card to unlock them and they are yours to ride around and lock up anywhere you choose.  I think a measure of a city's character has to be whether or not they can sustain this type of thing.  Dublin surely can and people are hugely tolerant of the cyclists on footpaths (there are also bike paths) and the bikes are well cared for.  As you can see in the picture - they aren't glamours but they are functional and the very best way to get around.

After biking for a few hours we wandered around the shops some and then, finally, committed to having a Guinness.  Bars in Ireland are great places - always humming and always something to look at.  One of the highlights had to be Temple Bar, which is everything you would want and imagine in an Irish pub!  For those that have been to Dublin you will already know it as a famous destination.....the place hummed and we had some live music as well (most everywhere seemed to have live music).  I'm not really a big Guinness drinker but Guinness in Ireland was hugely nicer than any Guinness I've had anywhere else - it wasn't as bitter or strong tasting as I usually find Guinness.  Could have just been the romance of the thing (well and post marathon everything tastes good!).
The next day we headed to Howth on the train.  This is a sweet little fishing village that has working boats and great seafood restaurants.  Bernice didn't come along on this adventure but the three of us arrived to a very blustery day with impressive seas and a very cool breeze.  After wondering around a little (I'd confess to feeling quite weary on this day, the body was definitely looking for some down time) we found a nice little seafood restaurant beside the harbor, complete with something resembling a fire.  Afterwards and before catching the train back into Dublin we went into a local fish shop where Rose charmed them all and we bought some fish for dinner, having decided that this night was a stay at home kind of night.
Our final day (or morning) was spent shopping and enjoying the most yummy Guinness Beef Stew.....everything and more you would hope for in a stew.  All washed down with a Guinness and, yet again, accompanied by live music.  Irelands a grand wee place and Dublin and grand wee town - with a total population of 4 million I couldn't actually imagine living there as it does seem a little small.  That said, lovely to visit and with delightful company.

Dublin to Heathrow where Rose and I parted company as she met a friend and stayed an additional two days.  Meanwhile I headed off to my little "pod" Hotel in Terminal 4 and was more than delighted to hole up in the cutest little room I've ever seen!  I was "sitting" in the bathroom taking this shot.  Might not be big but it was all very functional, clean and relatively cheap given I had to be at Terminal 1 by 8am it was a fine option.
My 11 hour flight home turned into 16 as we ended up with someone on board getting ill so had to divert to some place in Canada to drop them off.  Upside though, Virgin Atlantic crew are very pleasant, they happened to have three pilots on board so we could continue on and the movie selection is excellent.  I figured if it was me that was ill I'd like to be dropped off too so was happy enough to surf movies, doze and reflect on the whirlwind of SFO - JFK - 26.2 miles - JFK - Heathrow - Dublin - Guinness - Heathrow - SFO, all in a mere 8 days!