So day 2 started on the same flight where day one ended, in the same seat in very uncomfortable position and with a strong desire for that flight to be over. Don't judge me, I don't like long flights with the limited amount of space.
I have to admit that my Discovery #1 happened before I even got to leave the airport, and maybe i'm even a little embarrassed to admit the fact, that I'm uneducated enough not to know that Ireland actually has 2 national languages: Irish and English. Well obviously everyone speaks mostly English, but all the signs are in Irish.
Discovery #2 happened right after I got into the cab (taxi as it's called here). Uber here is not a thing. A very nice lady driver explained to me, that as much as Uber tried they were not able to fight against regular taxis, in fact, unlike NYC, in Dublin to become an Uber driver you actually have to have a taxi license which is really not easy to get.
Discovery #3 - financial district here is also constantly under construction and there is also a nice river right next to it.
It would be not completely true to say I'll be on this trip by myself all the time, and it would be completely unfair because, to be honest, this trip would not happen if it was not for my best friend Bogdan. It just so happens he had to go for a business trip to Dublin for this week. And it was very nice of him to invite me to come along. Obviously most of the time he'll be at work and I'll be by myself, but on the weekend I get to enjoy his company and discover Ireland and it's history and traditions together.
So I'm happy to say (very, very, very happy) that I'm finally actually going to London. (thanks, Bogdan) Everyone, who knows me pretty well, knows that it's been my dream for the longest time. So as soon as I got to the hotel we booked mine 2,5 day trip to London. But there will be more about London when I get there.
Back to Discoveries. Discovery #4 is free tours. It's an actual thing here (and in London). Guides do the tours with a certain topic and route. Obviously, no one in their right mind is not going to work for free, but there is no fixed rate, you leave as much tip as you think your tour worth. Free tours are very popular here. So we joined one of those tours as well. At the certain time, we were under the statue that is also called "needle" (it shaped that way) looking for the guy with the yellow umbrella (that would be the guide). I have to say for the free tours they are very organized, there were 3 guys, 2 English speaking and one guy for the Spanish speaking people. There were so many people that English speaking group had to be divided into 2, 18 people each. Our guide's name was James. I have to tell you that I did not have that much information coming from one person in such an interesting way ever since I graduated high school. He told us about revolutions and wars, and about how people fought for what they believed, and what they got inspired by, about the fact that even in those times there was always place for the true love story. He told us about South and North parts of Dublin and the fact that they are so different, that people from them don't get along that well. He told us about the fact that U 2 is a national treasure, which would explain why all the hotels are booked on the week of their concert. He told us about the visit of the Queen of England, and how for some reason Irish people decided to spend 4 millions dollars to build the "needle", which was a total waste of money. He told us jokes and anecdotes, and many-many other things that if I were to write them all down I would need to write the book. I brought a good weather with me, so it was very sunny and warm to walk around. Discovery #5 - there are so many crazy people here too. New York you are not alone.
Tired but satisfied we came back to the hotel, where we had a very nice dinner at the bar.
So I can safely say that today was a good day. And I'm excited and yes still scared, but can't wait to see what this trip is going to bring. One step at the time...
I have to admit that my Discovery #1 happened before I even got to leave the airport, and maybe i'm even a little embarrassed to admit the fact, that I'm uneducated enough not to know that Ireland actually has 2 national languages: Irish and English. Well obviously everyone speaks mostly English, but all the signs are in Irish.
Discovery #2 happened right after I got into the cab (taxi as it's called here). Uber here is not a thing. A very nice lady driver explained to me, that as much as Uber tried they were not able to fight against regular taxis, in fact, unlike NYC, in Dublin to become an Uber driver you actually have to have a taxi license which is really not easy to get.
Discovery #3 - financial district here is also constantly under construction and there is also a nice river right next to it.
It would be not completely true to say I'll be on this trip by myself all the time, and it would be completely unfair because, to be honest, this trip would not happen if it was not for my best friend Bogdan. It just so happens he had to go for a business trip to Dublin for this week. And it was very nice of him to invite me to come along. Obviously most of the time he'll be at work and I'll be by myself, but on the weekend I get to enjoy his company and discover Ireland and it's history and traditions together.
So I'm happy to say (very, very, very happy) that I'm finally actually going to London. (thanks, Bogdan) Everyone, who knows me pretty well, knows that it's been my dream for the longest time. So as soon as I got to the hotel we booked mine 2,5 day trip to London. But there will be more about London when I get there.
Back to Discoveries. Discovery #4 is free tours. It's an actual thing here (and in London). Guides do the tours with a certain topic and route. Obviously, no one in their right mind is not going to work for free, but there is no fixed rate, you leave as much tip as you think your tour worth. Free tours are very popular here. So we joined one of those tours as well. At the certain time, we were under the statue that is also called "needle" (it shaped that way) looking for the guy with the yellow umbrella (that would be the guide). I have to say for the free tours they are very organized, there were 3 guys, 2 English speaking and one guy for the Spanish speaking people. There were so many people that English speaking group had to be divided into 2, 18 people each. Our guide's name was James. I have to tell you that I did not have that much information coming from one person in such an interesting way ever since I graduated high school. He told us about revolutions and wars, and about how people fought for what they believed, and what they got inspired by, about the fact that even in those times there was always place for the true love story. He told us about South and North parts of Dublin and the fact that they are so different, that people from them don't get along that well. He told us about the fact that U 2 is a national treasure, which would explain why all the hotels are booked on the week of their concert. He told us about the visit of the Queen of England, and how for some reason Irish people decided to spend 4 millions dollars to build the "needle", which was a total waste of money. He told us jokes and anecdotes, and many-many other things that if I were to write them all down I would need to write the book. I brought a good weather with me, so it was very sunny and warm to walk around. Discovery #5 - there are so many crazy people here too. New York you are not alone.
Tired but satisfied we came back to the hotel, where we had a very nice dinner at the bar.
So I can safely say that today was a good day. And I'm excited and yes still scared, but can't wait to see what this trip is going to bring. One step at the time...
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