2016 Catalonia and Dublin

In late March of 2015 I got home from work and got ready for my first single bike ride of the year. This was the first spring like day of the year. I was about 1.5 miles into my ride when I had an accident. I don’t remember the details of the accident or anything else for the next 3 weeks.

What I think happened from what Kathie has told me about the day is that I was riding through a tennis park and I hit the speed bump that threw me off my bike. This left me with titanium in my eye socket, face cheek, and right elbow and restrictions for the next 6 moths on any kind of riding.

I recovered fairly well in 2015 and in 2016 Kathie and I decided to participate in the 2016 version of our European bike trips. This was not unexpected since we have been taking these trips every even year for the last 8 years, but it was a triumph to be able to get back to some level of normal again.

Much of my goals for recovery centered on getting back to normal. Part of getting back to normal was getting back to work. Kathie was surprised about this goal because I had been talking allot about retiring before the accident.  I started working again in July of 2015 and quickly realized that normal wasn’t really what I wanted. So I talked to Kathie and I set a retirement goal date of before March of 2017.

Kathie and I went to a financial planner and were told that we could retire anytime. This sent me looking for a good time to retire. Kathie was somewhat concerned about me making a safe exit so we kept trying to find a good time.

Our trip to Europe was scheduled to start on September 20^th. As part of the retirement plan I was going to jump onto Kathie’s health insurance at work and Kathie was trying to understand what we needed to do for the transition. At the end of August Kathie decided that leaving in August would be doable. I announced my retirement to my boss and he negotiated me staying into September a few weeks before our trip.

Retirement

Leaving work before the trip was a gift. I was able to make final arrangements for travel and site seeing and could take my time to pack the bike and make sure I had everything we needed. Before I knew it the day came to start our adventure.

Flying from DC to Barcelona
 

Our flight to Barcelona was on AER LINGUS. When I planned the flights about 6 months earlier I was excited to see that we could take routes through Dublin at both ends of the trip. It had been 10 years since we last had visited Ireland and a return visit has long been on my list.

I had arranged a shuttle van to take us to the airport. It showed up a bit early so Kathie and I were rushing to finish packing and closing up the house. We got to the airport and checked in. All went well and we were on our way. Checking our bike bags is always a little scary because they get filled to the weight limit every time.

At about 5:30 am on the 21st we landed in Dublin. This was my first visit to Dublin Airport and I was surprised at how expansive it is. We had about an hour to catch our connecting flight so we took off quickly to get to the gate. The flight board had a Barcelona flight at the top and we read that gate that felt like it was about 2 miles away. We stopped on the way for bathroom breaks, an ATM stop and snacks. When we finally arrived at the gate we were stopped because the gate we chose was a Ryan Air flight not an Aer Lingus flight. We obviously read the wrong flight on the board.

Luckily we had enough time to find the correct gate and we were on the next leg of our trip. We landed in Barcelona about 10:00 am. After gathering our luggage, we started to look for a shuttle taxi to take us to our hotel. We had directions to the Taxi stand but we couldn’t figure out what terminal we were in. I left Kathie in the terminal and stepped out to see if I could get my bearings. I stepped out and an airport guard told me where to find the Taxi stand. I had to beg my way back into the airport because I had stepped out of a secure area but got back to Kathie and we headed back out to the Taxi area again. There we found a taxi driver with a card with our name on it.

The taxi driver loaded our bags and we were on our way into Barcelona. I had pre-paid the taxi ride but the company that organized to taxi had to upgrade the taxi before we left to accommodate our extra luggage. When we got to the hotel we unloaded our luggage and a tried to pay the extra charge with my credit card. The taxi driver was trying to process the payment but the hotel was in a canyon of tall buildings and the process was taking a long time. After waiting about 15 minutes we offered to pay cash instead. After negotiating getting change from the hotel lobby we dropped our bags at the hotel and started to explore Barcelona.

Barcelona (Pics)

I have become a Rick Steve’s fan. So I watched his show on Barcelona many times before starting this trip. I set a goal to walk La Rambla and La Rabla Del Mar, see the Boqueria, see the Columbus statue and the Maritime Museum.

Our hotel was just a few blocks from La Rambla and the Plaza de Catalunya which came quickly. We stopped to see the Boqueria and find the Pinochio Bar which is heavily covered in Rick Steve’s videos. There we saw Juan who is featured in the videos.

La Rambla had many Buskers, some were dressed in costumes to make them look like statues. Soon we were at the lower end of La Rambla where the Columbus Statue is. We pushed onto Rambla del Mar and were trying to find a place for lunch. We couldn’t decide on lunch so we returned to the end of La Rambla and took in the Maritime Museum.

The Maritime Museum was a tribute to Barcelona’s sea faring history. Before Columbus discovered America Barcelona was a major shipping port for the Mediterranean. After Columbus discovered passages across the Atlantic, Barcelona faded as shipping center.

After the Maritime Museum, Kathie and I headed back to the hotel and found lunch near that location. After lunch we gathered our bags and found our room, showered and got ready for dinner.

A Biking Diversion (Pics) (Map)

On our second day in Barcelona, Kathie and I headed for the Barcelona Cathedral where we were to meet a tour company that offered E-Bike tours. We arrived about 30 minutes early and couldn’t find a congregation of E-Bikes in the location described in the email. Looking around we took a quick tour of the Cathedral and ran into Lou and Elaine who are friends of ours who would be joining the Pennywise Tour. We talked for a few minutes then we called the tour company. It turns out that I had made the reservations for the tour 9 months earlier and in that time they had changed company locations and start locations of the tour.

They sent someone to guide us to the new location and although we held up the tour for a short time we were soon on our way. I chose the E-Bikes because I feared the walk to Segrada Familia would be too long and cut into much of our day. We got to see a bit more of Barcelona during our tour and soon were at the highlight of the tour Segrada Familia and other of Gauldi’s marks on the Barcelona architectural landscape. It wasn’t until we started the tour that I realized that I had made an error in booking the tour. I thought that I had reserved entry into the Segrada Familia but somehow misread what I was getting. We did get a good outside tour and history of the church.

After the tour we got lunch with a couple that we had taken the tour with. After lunch Kathie and I found our way to the Picaso Museum that had a timeline of exhibits outlining Picaso’s life and evolution.

We had dinner in the gothic district after the museum and went back to our room to sleep and get ready to start the tour.

Bus to Figures

In the morning we packed, had breakfast, and gathered our luggage for the trip to Figures. We started by packing the bike luggage in the van the tour guides had supplied then wheeled our regular luggage across the street from the Plaza de Catalunya where we waited for the bus to take us to our first stop, Figures. The bus seemed to be late but we actually had a communication error where the driver did not come out of the bus to announce himself and the bus was different than our tour leaders were looking for.

After a 30-minute delay we got started. When we arrived in Figures the bus driver was having a problem finding a place to drop us off. The tour leaders and the bus drivers were arguing about how to safely park the bus. We had someone on the tour who spoke fluent Spanish and helped translate. At one point the local police got involved also. Once the debarking was figured out we checked into our rooms then went to a garage to pick up our bikes. I decided to assemble our bike in the local plaza. There were about 5 who made the same decision and we gathered quite a bit of interest from the locals at the park, especially the old men from the town.

After several hours of work our bike was nearly complete. One of the last things that I do on assembly is pumping up the tires. I successfully filled the rear tire and nearly completed the front tire when it blew out. I believe this was caused by shipping the tire deflated in the airplane’s luggage compartment. Luckily I was prepared with a spare tube and soon I was test riding to bike through the park.

We finished assembly and got a beer at the hotel. The hotel we stayed at had much Salvador Dali memorabilia. Figures was Dali’s hometown, where he lived most of his life. After the beer we joined a tour meeting that gave us an understanding of how the tour would work. After the meeting we were treated to dinner, where we got to meet other couples from the tour.

Anniversary (Pics) (Map)

The next day was the first riding day of the trip. It was also Kathie and mine’s 33^rd wedding anniversary. We had a very pleasant ride and saw other cyclist along our way. As we ran into our friends Hank and Roxanne, they told us about neighbors of ours that they ran into. Karen and Ed Hass were on a Bicycle Adventure Club (BAC) ride that happened to be in the same area that day. Hank and Roxanne were able to get back to Figures in time to have lunch with Ed and Karen.

After our ride we got back to the hotel for showers. Pennywise had set up getting us into the Dali Museum. The Museum was designed by Dali and contained much of his art and personal affects. After the tour Dan and Jean invited us out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. We had a nice dinner then wrapped up the day back at the hotel.

Off to l’Escala (Pics) (Map)

We woke to our fist transfer day of the tour. On these days we must pack our bags and make sure we don’t miss packing anything that we don’t want to carry with us on the bike. We attended the ride meeting for the day that outlines our planned activities and route for the day.

Starting out we had an option to visit a fort / castle just outside the town. Kathie and I chose to visit the fort that supplied great vistas of the area. As we got going on our ride we ran into a t in the road the required a right turn. Just as we turned we looked back and saw a few other teams relaxing in a school courtyard behind us.

We turned around and joined up with the teams. They had found a recreational center next to the school that offered snacks and drinks. We bought some of their offerings then sat in the courtyard and relaxed while fuelling

On our next segment of riding we ran into a few other couples taking care or a mechanical problem in the streets of a small village. Ken and Liz had broken a bolt that holds their seat in place. Luckily as they were trying to fix this problem a local man came out of his house to see what was going on. Luckily his son was a cyclist and had a bolt that filled in for the rest of the ride.

As we were getting close to l’Escala several other couples were fixing what looked like a flat. I asked if they needed anything but I was waved on, as they seemed to have everything under control. Later we found out that Mike and Carol’s rear wheel had broken.

Kathie and I showered and headed out for lunch.  Our hotel was just a few blocks from the beach and we joined Boyd and Elaine for lunch. We had a great lunch and as we sat and talked we noticed clouds coming in off the water. Boyd and I tried to speed up paying our tab but as we were completing that task the rain started. By time we were ready to leave a downpour had developed.

We waited in the restaurant for a few minutes then decided to run back to the hotel between the raindrops. We ended up getting back to the hotel by dashing between awnings on the way. When we got back to the hotel our daily happy hour had already started. We stayed and took part in the happy hour then got back to our room where we washed the two cycling outfits that we had used in the first two days.

Ride to Castle Fort (Pics) (Map)

Today’s ride took us to the medieval fortified town of Peratallada. We parked our bikes when we got to the castle and explored through the town. The town had many shops and restaurants. We hit the town at an awkward time of day so some of the restaurants were closed, or if they were open they where only offering drinks. As we were getting close to the exit we ran into a place off the main drag. We stopped in and had a great lunch out in the court.

We had lunch with Lou and Elaine and Ross and Donna. We enjoyed lunch and the sangria that came with it. We got back to l’Escala where we took part in happy hour then had dinner with Dan and Jean and (Steve and Karen who are our tour owner / leaders). We had dinner at a pizzeria at the end of the beach that had a view across the bay of Roses, tomorrow’s destination.

To Roses (Pics) (Map)

This day’s riding was another transfer day. We had the morning ride meeting and breakfast then got ready for the ride. Early in the ride we stopped to tour an excavation site for Greek and Roman settlements from 580 BC. The tour was very interesting and gave us glimpse into the level of civilization that existed in 500 BC.

Our hotel in Roses was located on the beach. After arriving we made arrangements for a location for happy hour. We were close to some small shops and after our shower I walked to the local wine shop to buy our contribution for that evening. I also hit a grocery store for cheese and snacks. In the wine store I found bottles of Rene’ Barbier brand wine. We found this wine brand back home in World Market while Christmas shopping the year before. Since it was Catalunya wine we decided to buy a few bottles then and we really liked it. So a few bottles became our contribution for happy hour.

Girona (Pics)

This day’s plans included a bus tour to Girona. Yes a bus tour not a bike tour! We started with a walking tour of the town. The town was somewhat hilly and had this hearty traveler getting worn out by time the tour was over. There was one point when we were climbing cathedral steps that I was looking for a gelato stand to rest at.  The tour guide took us past a few bike stores and after the tour was over we stopped in to buy a few water bottles. I wanted to buy jerseys for Kathie and I, but Kathie wasn’t excited about what she saw in the first bike shop so we returned to the other shop and it was closed.

We grabbed lunch on the square not far from our bus stop then met everyone to load on the bus to return to Roses. After returning we got together for happy hour then gathered with other couples to hit a beach side Italian Restaurant not far from our hotel.

Over the Pyrenees (Pics) (Map)

In my life I have only crossed international boarders by bike once. That would be from USA to Canada (which required a passport). Today I was going to do this again. This time between two countries that I didn’t live in and no passport would be required.

Since this tour was announced I have had mixed feeling about how difficult this trip would be. The ride started out with pleasant rolling hills and a casual incline to the true climbing for the day. As we approached the pass I noticed that pedaling was getting more difficult and so was the steering. I stopped once and noticed the front tire was feeling a pit soft. I took out the frame pump and refilled to tire pressure. This got us a few more miles down the road but quickly became soft again.

I knew I didn’t want to climb or maneuver the roads on the pass we were about to take on soft tires so I decided I would stop and replace to tube. We caught up with a group of riders at a small park on the way. I asked Mike and Carol if I could we could borrow a tube. I had a spare but knew that replacing a tube sometimes ended with unintended valve break or other problems. They lent me a tube and I started working on replacing the tube. We were alone in the park when Curt and Laura happened by. They stopped to see if they could help. Actually they could because somehow my tire irons didn’t make it into our trunk. They lent me their tire irons and Curt suggested checking the inside of the tire for stones or thorns. I ran my finger inside the tire and found a small thorn or staple sticking out into the tube area. Kathie was able to pull the thorn out and before we new it we had a new tube installed.

Our elevation for the day started at sea level and climbed to just under 1000 feet. This isn’t an incredible climb; I think I do larger climbs in rides in Virginia. The climb was not very arduous and we got past the old entry gates into France then climbed into the small town that must have been a shopping area for those seeking tax breaks before the formation of the EU.

Truck drivers who transport goods from France to Spain and back used this pass. With the truck drivers came a prostitute industry. We saw about a half dozen while we pedaled through the area. 

Soon we started our decent back down the pass. Kathie found it a bit scary. There was a fair amount of traffic and we were being passed quite a bit by vehicles.  After the decent we entered a small town and we noticed a tandem in front of a restaurant. The tandem belonged to Dan and Jean so we stopped for lunch although Dan and Jean were just finishing their lunch.

We had a great light lunch then moved closer to Collioure. As we approached our destination there was one last climb. This was actually a bit harder than the earlier climb. This was probably because we were approaching 50 miles for the day.  The last part of the ride was a short decent into a park across from our hotel where we dismounted the bike and worked our way through the tourist traffic.

This hotel didn’t have a place to conduct happy hour so we gave up on having one this night. The town of Collioure is a little seaside tourist town that was brimming with shops, restaurants and my favorite, gelato shops. Kathie and I went out to explore and found a gelato shop that we bought samples from. Ok, a little larger than samples. We returned to the hotel to find a happy hour forming in the lobby. We dressed and started to search the streets for a good restaurant. We found a seafood restaurant that looked good so Kathie and I entered and searched the menu for what we wanted.

We found sea bass item that looked good and we ordered one so we could split it. What was brought to our table was a seafood platter including shrimp, mussels and cuddle fish as well as the sea bass. Kathie and I

worked on this but didn’t get close to finishing it.

After a long day of riding and site seeing Kathie and I found our beds and had a good nights sleep.

A Day Along the Beach (Map)

Today we had an out and back that started us going north along the coast. The northern most extent of our ride took us to St.-Cyprien-page and Canet-en-Roussillon. Most of the ride was along beach promenades and beach bike paths. We followed Mike and Carol and Ross and Donna over the climb out of down and all the way to the turn around spot. At the turn around there is a bike shop and since I had worn through my spare tubes I bought a few. In Maryland we have a tandem/bike dealer who is thought in the tandeming world to have ADD. When you visit his shop the shop is always busy and Larry has trouble giving any one customer his undivided attention. The shop is usually cluttered with bikes for sale or repair. The bike shop in this town was much the same. The only difference was that when I entered the shop the attendant / mechanic did drop whatever he was doing and found the tubes I needed. He was also able to concentrate on the entire transaction even with other customers coming and going. The similarity was the shop was almost wall-to-wall with bikes and other merchandise.

On the way back we stopped at a restaurant on the beach that offered Italian cuisine. We enjoy lunch then finished our ride by climbing the “lump” back into Collioure. After Showers Kathie and I walked into town to check out the shops and restaurants. Kathie and I bought some gelato and enjoyed watching tourists at the beach.

We went back to the hotel where another non-sanctioned happy hour was taking place in the lobby. After happy hour we went back into town for a light dinner.

To Perpignan (Pics) (Map)

Another transfer day is in front of us. This day was not a long mileage day and Steve and Karen are concerned about keeping us busy site-seeing along the way so that we don’t arrive at the next hotel too early. Today’s diversion was a chateau winery along our way. Chateau de Rey is a well-established winery that we invaded about midway to Perpignan. We stopped to look around the premises while waiting for our turn at the tasting. One room was full of defunct casks that had been turned into different rooms. There was a game room and what appeared to be a party room. (Gilding the lily)

We hung out and bought a few bottles that we loaded on the van that Steve and Karen had driven to that point. We got back on the road and arrived in Perpignan late enough to check in without waiting. The hotel we were staying in was in the center of the city in Perpignan. Kathie and I wanted to catch up with our laundry so we asked at the desk if service was available. It was available but at a high price. We looked around the town but were unable to find a Laundromat anywhere close.

We got back to the hotel and found the location for happy hour. There we talked to Carol who had found a Laundromat and gave us a map to the location. We left from happy hour early so that we could get to the Laundromat before it closed. We got there and figured out how to use the machines and ran all our laundry through a cycle then brought then back to our room.

After returning the laundry we stepped back out to the tourist area to find dinner. We stopped at the Café Vienne that was a nice place not far from the castle in Perpignan.

 BYRRH (Pics) (Map)

Today’s loop ride was to Thuir. Here we have two places to explore. The first is the manufacturing plant for Byrrh. (Pronounced beer) This is a wine and quinine concoction that was invented by brothers who were traveling haberdashers that wanted to settle in one place. To do so they needed to supplement their business. What they came up with was wine and quinine mixture that some believed had medicinal powers. Over the years the medicinal qualities were disputed but the drink remained popular. For those not familiar with Byrrh may be more familiar with Cinzano, Dubonnet, or Suze.

The tour of the facilities included a history and picture of the operations of the facility. It also included posters submitted for a contest to help promote the product. Also it included seeing the world’s largest wine barrel. The capacity was over 1 million gallons. On display was one of the oak stays from the barrels. I was wondering how long a wood worker could get lost trying to use this much oak.

The second part of the day was climbing to the village of Castelnou. This is a cute little medieval village the sits near Canigou and other Pyrenees mountains. The climb to the village was about as challenging as we had seen on this tour. Just steep and long enough to make us happy to reach our goal.

After visiting Castelnou we dissended back to Thuir in hopes of finding lunch. Unfortunately all or the restaurants were closing as we arrived.  We congregated with other couple and worked our way back to Perpignan.

We got back to the hotel and Kathie and I went back to Café Vienne for lunch.

To Narbonne (Pics) (Map)

This day was one of the longest riding days of the trip. It includes miles or riding near the Corbieres along a plateau populated with hundreds of wind turbines. Much of the ride was on the access roads to these turbines. After or long ride we ended up in Narbonne where it was necessary for us to dismount our bikes and walk them to a road along the canal that lead to our hotel.

As we checked into the hotel there was a large macaw caged in the lobby that was squelching frequently and loud to get attention.  The rooms in this hotel were roomy, had hot tubs and a sliding glass door to a deck outside. We were on the first floor or 0^th floor as they designate them in Europe. This made the deck a perfect place to conduct happy hour for this night.

The hotel was near the canal and close to one of the canal locks. Between the hotel and the canal was the hotel restaurant. It was closed for this day but was promised to be open the next day

Kathie and I ventured out before happy hour to check out the town. Then we joined those who formed outside our room. This night we had a group dinner in town, so after happy hour we grouped together and walked to the restaurant. The dinner was great and we all enjoyed dinner with our long-time and new friends that we enjoyed made over the last few weeks.

No ride (Pics)

On the next day Kathie and I decided to take a day’s rest. The day before was a long ride and this days loop ride was very short (<23 miles). This gave us a chance to take in the town and check some of the highlights of Narbonne. One of the places we stopped at was the Market in town. The market had booths throughout selling farm products. Kathie and I bought some cheese to contribute to tonight’s happy hour. We walked along the canal to get back to the hotel.

In the afternoon we had a walking tour of Narbonne. This gave a bit of the history of the city and a tour of the cathedral. After the tour, we had happy hour this night on a patio next to the hotel restaurant then caught a casual dinner before settling in for the night.

To Carcassonne (Pics) (Map)

Today would be our last day of riding. We attended the ride meeting for the morning then loaded our luggage and mounted to bike to leave Narbonne. We were one of the first couples to start riding but soon were last among the riders. At one point we miss-read directions that but us off track. It took us about an hour to figure out the mistake and get back on track.

This was a long day exacerbated by the extra 5 miles we added getting lost. Once we got going we rode from village to hamlet for some time. As we got closer to Carcassonne we needed a snack. We found a small village that had a public WC and a bench where we rested and had a snack bar. After that we finished the trip into Carcassonne but were a short distance from the hotel. After getting a bit off track we got to part of the course that required walking the bikes to the bridge to the hotel.

After walking a few blocks we ran into Vick and Dianne who were enjoying crepes and ice cream at a small shop. Kathie decided that this would be her reward for a long day of riding and we sat and enjoyed our snack.

After eating our snack we finished pushing the bike down to the bridge where I got on to ride the last part to the hotel but Kathie felt inclined to walk the last piece. I found my way to the garage were we were leaving the bikes for the night and pushed the bike to the garage. The garage door was closed and I thought I would have to find someone to let me in. Just then I heard Steve call out from the other side of the door, “Is that the Brumbaughs?” It seems that several teams saw us make the wrong turn at the beginning and they were concerned when we arrived late.

We parked the bike, checked into our room, showered and found happy hour for the night. After happy hour about 4 or 5 couples walked into town to a restaurant that one of the couples had eaten at before. Dolly was the stoker on the Craft team and was a French major in college. She was a great help in translating the menu and helping us order. We enjoyed dinner then walked back to the restaurant for bedtime.

Packing Bikes (Pics)

On the last day only a few couples decided to try to ride the loop. For Kathie and I we had had enough riding the day before. For others, and us there was also a forecast of heaving rain in mid-morning that kept us from riding.

After breakfast, Kathie and I headed for the garage where we got our bike bags and tandem the claimed our spot in the garage to start disassembling the bike and packing for the trip back home. During the packing process the rain started and as promised it was pretty heavy. The packing process went relatively smoothly and before noon we completed our work.

I went into our room to wash up then Kathie and I walked up to the castle in Carcasonne to explore. We found a place for a light lunch then found a place for Gelato. Although the Gelato place was fairly empty they would not allow us to sit at one of their tables and eat our ice cream. So we walked through the town then walked back to the hotel.

Soon we got ready for our final group dinner for the tour. We always have a group dinner to end the tour and congratulate all fellow riders for their accomplishments. This is always a fun evening and Steve and Karen get to advertise next year’s tour. It also offers me a chance to take everyone’s pictures before we leave.

Leaving Carcasonne

On the next morning we got our breakfast then met Steve and Karen to get on the bus to take us to Toulouse. Here Kathie and I planned to catch our flight to Dublin. The trip to Toulouse went smoothly and once in Toulouse the traffic took a bit of time to get through. Kathie and I got dropped off at the airport with some of the couples that had made hotel reservation near the airport.

Kathie and I grabbed an airport cart and packed our bags on it, entered the airport and checked for our flight. The check in gate didn’t open for another hour so we wheeled our way down to an airport café. We grabbed lunch and I had a Gelato then we wheeled ourselves to the check in gates. In Toulouse the check in gates were not permanently assigned to any particular airline and the gates for our flight had not been open.

After waiting for about 15 minutes the gates open and we started the check-in process. I had tried to check-in via the Aer Lingus site the night before but failed to finish the process. Because of our extra bags we were send to another part of the airport to pay the baggage fees.  Once we completed that task we were sent to a large baggage gate to get out bike bags into the process.

Once check-in was complete we got through security and onto our flight to Dublin. Getting to Dublin was a relatively short trip and we gained an hour flying over the prime meridian. We landed in Dublin at about 5:00 PM. We gathered our back and started to search for a shuttle for out hotel. We stayed at the Airport Holiday Inn Express. It shared services with the Crown Plaza next door to it including airport shuttle service. We were unable to find a Holiday Inn Express shuttle so we opted to hail a taxi from the airport taxi stand. Again we had to wait for a taxi large enough to carry all of our bags.

A mini van taxi picked us up and we were soon on our way to the hotel. The trip didn’t take long but I was again trying to get use to traffic patterns with cars driving on the left side of the road. As the driver was pulling into the drive that the hotel was on he pointed out a Chinese and Italian restaurant on the way inn. He dropped us off and we checked into the hotel.

After checking in we walked to the Italian Restaurant and had to wait about 10 minutes to get a seat. We enjoyed our meal, walked back to the hotel and found the bed for the night.

Dublin Saturday (Pics)

When planning our flights to Barcelona and from Toulouse I was quite excited to discover that Aer Lingus could accommodate both sets of flights through Dublin. It has been over 10 years since we last visited Ireland and we had not seen our friends Liam and Maria since then. See the link below for that back-story.

http://dandkbrumbaugh.com/ireland.html

Today’s plan was to meet up with Liam and Maria in Dublin and catch some of the sights we had missed on our first trip to Dublin. We got up and had breakfast at the hotel then took one of the hotels handy bus cards that told us what bus to take and how much the fairs were to get to O’Connell street where we planned to meet Liam and Maria.

We got to the General Post Office about 30 minutes early so Kathie and I walked O’Connell Street while waiting. The weather was a bit cooler than we had been experiencing and Kathie had packed light for the trip, so when she saw a Penny’s on O’Connell street this was a perfect excuse to do some shopping. She found a jacked for 15 Euros. She made the purchase and we continued our walk.

At about 09:50 we started walking to the GPO and passed Penny’s again. Kathie decided that more shopping was in order and she jumped inside to get a scarf and purchase a bag to carry her booty. We escaped Penny’s just in time to get to the GPO and found Liam and Maria waiting outside.

It was great to see Liam and Maria. They had driven from Waterford to see us and Liam was ready for a breakfast. We stopped and a fast-food chain called Super-macs. We stopped and all had a bite to eat while getting caught up with what was happening in our lives.

Liam grew up in Dublin. After breakfast Liam gave us his own walking tour. My goal was to hit a few sights we had missed in our first visit to Dublin and revisit a few that we had hit. I had hoped catch St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Jamison Tour, the Temple Bar area and whatever else we could catch up on.

On the flight from Dublin to Barcelona I happened across an advertisement in one of the airplane magazines that told that the Jamison tour would be closed until March or 2017 for renovations. With this off our list we walked from O’Connell Street to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Along the way we took the Ha’Penny Bridge and strolled through the Temple Bar district. We also took Grafton Street and walked to the top of the parking garage in St. Steven’s Mall to see a great view of the city. Liam was adding his color along the way.

When we arrived at St. Patrick’s we found that it was not open for tour because a local college was conducting their commencement that day. Instead Liam led us behind the Cathedral to Marsh’s Library. This was the first public library in Ireland. James Joyce and Bram Stoker have visited the reading room. The library has on display several manuscripts that were caught in the crossfire of the Easter Rising.

After hitting the St. Patrick’s area we strolled through St. Stephen’s green and into the Georgian part of town. As we passed the townhouses in the area many had plaques on the outside that proclaimed famous and important people who once lived in the particular home. 

Our goal for this walk was Number twenty-nine which is a Georgian House Museum. This was home built in 1794 and has been restored and furnished much as it was in the 18^th century. This tour gave basic view of the lives that were lived by comfortable middle class families in Dublin at the time. After the tour a short film was shown giving a more detailed look and the family and their servants.

After the tour we walked back to the Temple Bar area. Liam’s youngest spent some of his college days as a tour guide in Dublin and had suggested some of our stops for the day. One of his suggestions was a Mongolian Wok restaurant in the Temple Bar area. Kathie and I were more familiar Mongolian Wok dining and thought it sounded like a good idea.

We had a nice evening of dining, imbibing and continuing to get caught up. After dinner we walked back to O’Connell Street where Liam and Maria saw to it we caught the correct bus to get us to our hotel. We said our goodbyes and Kathie and I took the bus out of town while Liam and Maria got back to their car to drive back to Waterford.

Dublin Day 2 Sunday (Pics)

Kathie had done some research and found a Dublin walking tour that she thought might satisfy the rest of my goals for our visit. We got up and had breakfast again at the hotel then took the #16 bus back to O’Connell Street. The tour pamphlet said that the tour cost 14 Euros per person and it started at the entry gate to Trinity College. We walked there but as the tour time got closer we couldn’t find anyone congregating for the tour. Luckily there is a tourist office across the street from the college entrance and we walked over to see where we should go for the tour. The person at the tourist office suggested that we go to the City center building to pick up a free walking tour. We walked in the direction and found the free tour congregating and we joined in. The tour guide gave us an interesting tour Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, and other sites around town. He had an almost profane sense of humor and touched on parts of Dublin History that I was not previously aware of.

After the tour Kathie and I decided to give St. Patrick’s Cathedral another shot. We were able to catch the tour outside mass hours and I was delighted at the Cathedral from the inside.

After St. Patrick’s we walked on to the Guinness Store House. We had done this tour ten years earlier and were not sure of the value of repeating. We entered to find one of the elements of the tour was a floor containing several restaurants. We stopped at one of the restaurants and ordered our complimentary pints of Guinness and I ordered some Guinness Stew that is a dish the Kathie cooks up in her slow cooker once in awhile.

After lunch we went to the gravity bar to take in 360 views of Dublin. We started down the floors and found that the displays on the floors had changes considerably in the past 10 years. We enjoyed the tour then started to walk back to O’Connell Street to catch our way back to the hotel. Kathie wanted to catch something to eat before we left so we went back to the Temple Bar area to see what we could find. The place was hopping for a Sunday Night and we couldn’t find a place for dinner so we went back to O’Connell Street and caught the #16 bus to our hotel.

The bus stop we took to the hotel was right next to the Italian Restaurant we ate at on Friday Night so we hopped in and had another nice dinner there.

Getting Home

We got up on Monday morning had breakfast then wheeled our luggage out to the Crown Plaza. The stop was fairly full and when the shuttle picked us up the luggage compartment was overflowing. We got to the airport in short time and we pulled our luggage off to the landing. We grabbed a cart and started to the check in gate. Check-in went smoothly. We only had to pay for extra luggage but this time we got to pay at check –in. As we left the station the attendant told us not to dally downstairs but to go upstairs and get started through Advanced Clearance. This is a program that lets passengers headed to the US to get through customs clearance before getting to the US.

This required a second security check and going through several additional lines. This was only available in select airports and the major problem with the program is that nobody cared to explain the benefit of what seemed to be a time consuming process.

We got through the pre-clearance and ended up in a special wing of Dublin Airport that was for American Flights only.

After waiting awhile we got on board and were on our way home. The flight went smoothly and when we arrived at Dulles the process was just the same as if we were on a domestic flight.

We gathered our bags and wheeled them to the taxi stand where a taxi came by and took us home.