Glasgow, Dublin and no Internet Access...

Glasgow & Dublin....
Well I was very disappointed at first with Glasgow. I got all the pamphlets and there was nothing I wanted to see. It appeared to consist of modern art & science museums, so I took the bus tour. I then found out that Glasgow had quite a lot to offer, they really should re-think those brochures.. I would recommend the hop on hop off tours they have in these places to everybody. I stayed on the bus the entire route, so I could see exactly what was on offer, then on the next trip round I got off where I wanted and I knew I wasn’t missing anything by hoping off early. The tickets are good for 2 days, but I only had one, so I wasn’t taking any chances (I hate to miss anything, as you all know). I stopped and viewed the Cathedral, it was really impressive, I also saw the oldest house in Glasgow. I was less impressed with the religious museum, but then it was an impressive display, I just found it depressing.... I decided to do the palace and the winter garden in the late afternoon. I had to be back at the hotel at 2pm to meet up with Dave, a friend from Rootschat (the family research site I am a member of). It was great to meet Dave, we have been mates for about 3 years or so, but had never met. We had some drinks at a local hotel and met two Americans, Michelle and her Mum. We spent the afternoon talking and then Dave & I went to a nice restaurant for dinner. So much for the rest of the hop on hop off tour... Dave was all for going to a nightclub, but to be honest I was almost dead on my feet, so he escorted me back to my hotel about 10pm. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, not sure if it was all the travelling or the drinks but either way I was unconscious until ten past 2, when the bloody fire alarms started in that building close to us. I couldn’t believe it, they went on and off until after 3 am.... What?? I asked the guy at reception the next morning what it was all about and he said it was the gallery over the road and they are not supposed to test the alarms after 10 pm, but they do. He was going to ring someone about it!!! Good luck with that mate.. They were testing them, no fire, no sleep, just testing...Ggrrr. See Sheonagh, no firemen, just alarms....
I wasn’t sorry I came to Glasgow, it was great meeting Dave, but I am glad to be leaving, I really need my sleep. I caught the bus to Ireland at 10:50am and then a Ferry to Ireland, another bus to Belfast, all for 27 pound, which I thought was pretty good. I paid in Glasgow, but they don’t give you any directions on what to do enroute, so I was constantly asking drivers etc what to do... It was rather weird and they need to work on that. I wasn’t the only confused passenger. Well once I got to Belfast I decided (by looking through the bus window) that I didn’t want to stay in Belfast, it didn’t look that great, so I brought a ticket to Dublin, I was still travelling with the same people as the bus didn’t leave Belfast until 6pm and it was only 5:10pm when we arrived in Belfast. Well there was a lot of road works going on between Belfast and Dublin and our little driver was getting more agitated by the minute. I have never, ever worn a safety belt on a bus before, but I put mine on. I then noticed he was wearing his, first time I have ever seen that too, he obviously knew his own driving well. He kept asking people if people were alighting at coming stops “anyone for blah blah” and if he didn’t get an answer he said "right I’ll miss that stop..." It was really amazing, he just cut down the route to save time, God help anyone waiting at those stops to get on the bus!! Anyway I didn’t arrive in Dublin until 9pm, luckily it does not get dark here until after 10pm. There were no ATM’s at the bus station, there always is, but not in Dublin apparently, so I started walking to town. I stopped a policeman to ask about ATM’s and he pointed me in the right direction. I then had some Euro’s which was great cause you really need some money in a new town and I didn’t have any. I then asked a taxi driver to take me to my hotel. “It’s just up there, a few minutes walk.” he says. So off I set, hours later, (okay not hours, but it felt like hours) I was still walking. I finally got out the map I had brought previously and a nice little Irish man stopped to ask if I needed help (it works every time I tell you). Anyway he tells me I had gone too far, I needed to back pedal 2 blocks. I really couldn’t believe it, I had been checking every road name I had passed. So I followed his directions, candy shop etc.. And guess what. The street name is different. I can see the hotel though, but it is about 6 buildings down and it is number 2. So how does that work?? I still don’t know, there are no streets between my hotel and the corner, how does the street name change in the middle of a block? Oh yeah right, I forgot, I am in Ireland... Check it out..

No street between them, I ask you...

I have to say I am not very impressed with Dublin, there are no seats in the street, unless they belong to a cafe, there are no public toilets in Dublin city, I know I asked at the tourist information... What?? My Scots friends tell me they are meant to be tight, but they are so generous, the Irish are tight, really tight. This is the only McDonalds I have been to where you are limited to 30 minutes on the internet. They hand out cards and it is so hard to log on that I gave up. So no more McDonalds for me in Ireland... tight arses!! I actually used my first paying Internet cafe here, I had no choice. My wireless internet does not work in Southern I Ireland, only in the UK. So I have ensured that the hotel I am staying at in Cork tomorrow has WiFi, they better as they have advertised it. I am staying there for 5 days, I hope it is as comfortable as it looks. This place in Dublin is not great, hundreds of stairs, the windows don’t open, so it is really muggy and there is a weirdo called Patrick running around the place wanting to know if he can come to my room!!!! Yeah right..
I was in O'Connor St (I think) and I noticed the building across the road had the windows painted on!!! Yep, have a look

Is that wierd or what, but hang on, look at the building next to it...


So is this a preview of a building they are planning on building. or did it fall down and they put up a huge picture of it and hoped no-one would notice? But wait a minute. it is just a huge picture of the buiding on the other side of the fake window one. What is going on??


Look.. Oh it's all too much for me, you figure it out...

Once again I did the hop on hop off tour of Dublin, it filled in some time and I did get on and off a couple of times. I visited the famous old jail and I have no idea what it was called, my brain no longer holds useless information and I have no intention of returning to Dublin if I can avoid it.

I left Dublin at 8am today and arrived in Cork at 12.30pm. The lady at the information place told me my hotel was just over the bridge, I could walk easily. So I did.... 2.5 miles, yep miles later, I found my hotel. I was trudging along pulling that bloody luggage, that gets heavier every step, really feeling sorry for myself and cursing the girl at the tourist information place, when something dawned on me. I was in Cork, the place they transported my great great Grandmother from at the age of 16, across the world to who knows what, suddenly my little discomforts didn't seem so much after all. The hotel is lovely, I am so glad I decided to spend 5 nights here, I can really relax, the last two hotels have been less than great, though the Glasgow one was way, way better than the one in Dublin, no lifts again but plenty of stairs, and Patrick...

Enough of my ramblings, I am off to have a relaxing bath

Cheers

Lones


The terracotta fountain in Glasgow


The people of Glasgow call this building the Armadillo.. I wonder why..


Glasgow has some beautiful buildings.

Dublin


Molly Malone


Everything in Dublin is locked up at night, whoever wanted to break into a tourist information center?? The place is the pits...Not impressed with Dublin at all.


I found this interesting, they have rows of Georgian houses in Dublin and before streetlights were around, every 7th house had to have a candle burning above their doorway at night, you were fined if the candle wasn't alight. Here you can see the candle holder above the doorway, in the glass part. Interesting...