Sorry it has taken me so long to get something on here, I have been quite distracted by Switzerland! More on this incredible country later though...
LIVERPOOL
I was only in Liverpool for one night. I stayed at a hotel, which shall remain nameless, and was my first European hotel experience. It was the dirtiest hotel I have ever seen, it was really "minging" as Lucy Blaze put it. I don't think it had been cleaned in two decades. Gross. Aside from that, Liverpool was ok. Not a tourist destination, I didn't see tons of Beatles stuff everywhere like I more or less expected, but I'm sure it was there. Would I go back there? Only if I had to. Why was I there in the first place? For a salsa festival, of course.
DUBLIN
I was in Dublin for almost a week, I stayed with a couchsurfer and had a great time. A few things about the area though.
- Weather. Be prepared for 5 different kinds of weather at any given moment. I thought the wide shifts in weather and temperature were just happening when I was there b/c of the season, but apparently it's like that all year.
- They use Euros there, make sure you have some before you go there. Cabs from the port take Euros, not Pounds (even though you are probably getting there from England if you're in the port).
- Make sure you know what the political news is before you go. When I was there, Ireland was (is) in a recession. And that bride had just been murdered, that news is in the U.S. Make sure you know what the people in the place you are going to are going through before you get there. For example, now would probably be a great time to read up a little on Libya if you are one of the unfortunate people planning to go there...
- Irish pastimes: drinking and... drinking... Guinness is huge
- There is a LOT of green there, I was actually surprised at the amount of green everywhere. Green buildings, green outfits, green green green
- You can survive in Dublin on a bike for a week. Believe me, it's actually pretty awesome. I only took public transportation once and it was to take the hour ride to the airport (2.20 Euro, btw and the bus only takes exact change. You can't give them a five either, they won't let you on)
- The Irish and the English... pretty much have the relationship you'd expect them to. It's a good idea to be sensitive to that.
- I'm part Irish, but I didn't really feel any "calling" or emotional connection to the country. Sorry.
-Oh and how did I get there? Well, Ryanair wanted me to pay them $300 to fly from Liverpool to Dublin, so I booked train and ferry (together) with raileasy.co.uk and got from Liverpool to the Dublin port for 38 Pounds. It took about 8 hours, but it was cheaper. So, I went from the tube (which can be caught from the main train station) for 20 minutes to the train (few hours, I think) through the English countryside (beautiful, btw), to the ferry (an experience everyone should have at least once, it was interesting) for 2 hours I think (from Holyhead) and then arriving in the Dublin port. There is a bus that will take you to the main bus station, it takes cash. You can exchange money on the ferry.
-Don't go when it's suppose to snow. 2 centimeters of snow shuts down all the airports in all of the UK apparently.
- Oh and this England, Great Britain, and United Kingdom thing... talk to people in London, they say one thing. Talk to people in Dublin, they say something else. I still actually do not know what countries are included in what or what to call the big island that London sits on. But you do need a passport to get to Ireland so LOGICALLY, it's a different country... hhmmmmm
- Oh and no salsa dancing. Irish dancing seems to be the only option.
- Would I go back to Dublin? HELL YES! I had a great time and would absolutely go back to explore the country more.
:)
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