Dublin, Ireland
Spent yesterday afternoon wandering the streets of Dublin looking for cycling maps, fuel, food, and checking out the sites. I love all the old architecture here. It's also got great hippy fashion on the young folks...very cool. ANd they are so progressive. Bikes for rent at kiosks all around town. You pay an annual rental of about $13 and then pick up a bike when you need it, pedal to where you want to go...and if it's less than 30 minutes, it was free. If you need longer, turn it in and get another or pay a small fee to keep it. There's a chip in the bike, so don't bother stealing it. ANd they've got your credit card number.
The grocery store didn't give you a bag unless you asked for it. Most dont ask
Today after Fuat spent the morning putting Dew Drop together (my nickname for his bike), we went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, ancient Irish medieval gospel manuscripts on display. Amazing to view. They are under glass and the pages are turned every couple of days to reduce wear. Upstairs there were 20,000 of the library's oldest books in a room 65 meters long. Such a feeling of ancient-ness. There's such history here! The afternoon we spent on a Free Tour. The guide works for tips only. They're in many of the cities in Europe. Check out TripAdvisor to find them. He did a 4 hour monologue of the history of Ireland as we moved about the city's oldest quarters. Living history. AMazing! There's so much I never knew. Great way to start to understand the country we're about to bike around.
We've also planned out a route across to Galway. That should take us a couple of days going down back roads through such towns as Leixlip, Kinnegad, Athlone, and Coracoolia. We have a hardcopy map and an app on both my iPhones to help us navigate. But they don't label the streets in this country much. I had a hell of a time getting here from the airport and I only had to ride on 4 streets. But no names, so confusing. Had to ask directions 3 times. But it's a great way to meet the people. So as long as we know the next village we're trying to find, I'm sure we'll get lots of help!
So tomorrow we head out of Dublin and rain is expected...of course. Oh well. We'll manage somehow. I'm ready to get moving and see the countryside. Fuat's going through culture shock of the big city! And considering he lives in the rural Adirondacks, it's totally understandable. Too much traffic,too much noise, too many people.
But the food is good...had Shepard's Pie for dinner. Yum! With Yorkshire Pudding (which I call Popovers!)
And here's a view of our room at the hostel. (Remember, I can only post pics that I take with my phone, so my selection is limited. Someday I'll travel with a MacBook AIr and have all the technology I have at home.)
Lights out!
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