Going to Europe this fall was a bit unplanned and completely last minute. As you all know I was totally committed to returning to Mexico for the winter. But couldn’t help myself when everything timed up so well. My pal, Jacques, stopped by for a surprise visit and told me about the steal of a deal $180 flights to Dublin from Halifax (thank you WestJet), so naturally I decided to log in to my bank account and see where I stood financially to find I was being offered a sizeable increase to my credit card limit, this along with the Euros my French family kept stuffing in my pockets while they were visiting were convincing and hot enough that I knew it was time to go back.
My trip started with three nights without sleep, many thanks to my friend Joe, who met me in Dublin when I arrived after an 18 hour journey. Of course, the first thing on our list was to hit up a pub, which we did at exactly 11 am, after I dropped my bag off at the hostel where I was staying. At the Abbey Court Hostel, the staff there were incredibly friendly, and the owner even gave me a deal on my stay when I said I would mention him in my blog, so here it is. But really, the staff were super helpful, we had lots of laughs, the rooms were clean, but unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything about the bed or the breakfast because I pulled my second all-nighter! We visited Kilmainham Jail, which was the most beautiful prison I had ever seen. And while I know that wasn’t the point, I swear they could subdivide the building into micro-apartments and charge a fortune.
I insisted after this that I have an authentic Irish dinner, at a proper Irish Pub so we did and I had the Steak and Guinness pie, with a lot of weird looks on the side with my Campari. Don’t worry, I drank Guinness the proper way for the rest of the night. I would tell you everything we did in Dublin, but then I wouldn’t have time to tell you about the other places I went, so let's just say we drank--too much. My brother can attest to this because I accepted his call at an ungodly hour and introduced him via phone to the people I was meeting along the way,
We finally headed back to my hostel at 4:30 abouts so that I could catch a bus to the airport. Joe insisted I could catch the same bus he needed, and I was very hesitant, asking everyone at the stop if they too were SURE that that bus would go to the airport. They were. But they were also as drunk as we, so I remained skeptical. I again asked the bus driver, who so very kindly told me we would get there in 17 minutes, and that I didn’t need to pay (what a gem). Much to my astonishment, we arrived as planned, I gave Joe a hug and was applauded by all of those folks on board- which gave me just enough courage to walk through airport security without too much anxiety about my semi-drunken 6am state.
Thanks to Google Photos we now bring you videos! WARNING: This video has some rough language.