Ireland Insights

In most cultures, a sign at the street corner pointing the the west indicates in which direction particular attraction is located. As weary travelers we fell victim to this assumption. After arriving in Ireland we found a the proper bus, and took it the O'Connell St, the center of Dublin. Our stop was conveniently very near Parnell Square, the address of our hotel. After jumping off the bus we walked in the direction of the square, obviously marked by this figure in the picture. This is where we located the sign, pointing in the same direction as the statue. Bags in tow, we walked down the street looking for our accommodation. We saw several promising buildings, but none turned out to be correct. After walking about 10 blocks west, we finally caved in and asked for directions from a passing cyclist. He didn't know where the hotel was, but confirmed that the Square was indeed where we came from. So we trekked back on the opposing side of the street, still dragging the 40+ lb bags. Ten blocks later we arrived back at the statue, still without clues of where to go. We started wondering down the street again, hoping for anything. Eric decided to turn down the first street we came to, just to try. We walked for a distance, looked up to check our bearings, and barely spotted the yellow flower of the Maldron Hotel. I don't know what our problem is. After almost 24 hours of traveling, we just didn't realize that a sign pointing down the street accompanied by no further instructions clearly means go one block, turn right, and walk 3 blocks. I know, i know, dumb American syndrome.

After check-in, we stumbled into our room and fell on the beds in exhaustion. The travel of this extent is not kind to the olfactory mechanism, and the hot shower was a relief like nothing before. A word of caution to those attempting a similar journey in dress clothes: unless you want to have to take off your shoes in security with toes poking out, buy a good pair of dress socks that don't turn to Swiss cheese. After fresh clothes we realized the onset of starvation, and journeyed outside for some food. We found a local carry-out, decided on the fish and chips, stopped by the grocery for a beverage, and dashed through the rain back to our room. We were hoping for a satisfying meal, but instead got an extremely greasy, undercooked slab of cod with with chips (fries) of matching quality. Needless to say we were to tired to care much, and eventually fell into deep slumber, not to awaken until 12 the next day. (We did stay in a nice hotel. I would say atleast a 3 star. Interestingly the tele (tv) channels were all news and British drama shows. Not very entertaining but did help us get to sleep quicker. -Eric)

-stay tuned for more Ireland insights