The beginning of the Dream

After 15 months of dreaming and planning for this day we are really going.  Haircuts done, bags packed, repacked and repacked again, emails tidied and filing done. The nerves are starting to surface. It is a challenge that we now have reservations about – can we do it or have we taken on too much? Guess only time will tell.

After we are dropped off at the Brisbane International Airport we meet up with a friend for a farewell wine and photos. We have a decent amount of time before our Qantas/Emirates flight Number EK435 to Dubai departs a couple of hours before midnight. We have booked with Qantas but are flying with Emirates Airline. I am already starting to droop, it has been a long day and I still have not left Australian soil. Hopefully I can get some sleep before we land in Dubai. This is the longest section of the flight, 14 hours and we will have flown 11991klms but we are flying on an A380 so should be comfortable, a very quiet plane. I am not keen on the Dubai airport.

We have a two-hour stopover in Dubai after a good but long flight across from Brisbane with a few dramas in Dubai. I managed to set off the alarms three times until the guard decided it was time for me to visit the “special room” for a search by a female staff member. I feel it may have been some metal in my knee from a prior operation but I was not prepared to try and explain this to a not very happy gentleman guard who spoke little English. It was early in the morning and his mood was a little dark. A search or a frisk is much easier. I still DO NOT like Dubai. You must keep checking the departure boards as no flights are called so when we locate the departure gate we stay close. All we want to do is sleep. The last leg of the flight is a Boeing 777 Emirates EK161 and the difference between the Boeing and the A380 is vast. It is a comfortable plane but very noisy and we were seated down the back of the plane near the toilets and only two seats in the row which was great for us. Sue is a little disturbed at what appears to be a very close flying plane as we fly low over some snowcapped mountains somewhere over the Middle East. We should not be able to see the Qantas plane! It is a little unnerving, time for another glass of red wine. We arrived at the Dublin airport to a nice warmish day so will not complain. There was no rain in sight.

After we finally exit Immigration, we locate the city airport bus and head into the city area, a 30-minute drive. We have a two-night booking at the Best Western in the centre of the city close to O’Connell Street and everything else. We decided on a reputable Hotel for the first few nights so we could have a decent sleep and as we are women travelling on our own I feel more comfortable, security wise. The two nights cost us €245 but it is close to the city centre so a lot of points in its favour.  After we settle ourselves we go out to the shopping area for a wander as the plan is to stay awake. We check out the tourist shops and purchase for the family and grandchildren, an early meal at the hotel and then bed beckons and we are very quickly in the land of nod.

The Vibrant City of Dublin

We sleep well the first night even if the locals did not. They celebrated their footy win over Italy into the wee hours of the morning. We are awake early, grab our sneakers and jackets, camera and small back packs and head off into the cool but clear morning. The only people up at this early hour of the morning are taxi drivers and street cleaners so we feel quite safe on our own. Honest hardworking people arise early - touts, scammers and criminals sleep in. It is such a lovely time of the day for photos so we head towards the clear Liffey River at the top end of O’Connell Street. The morning is casting magnificent reflections of its many bridges across the water.

We wander into the old, historical area of the city. This is always the best time to take photographs – no annoying tourists!! Up the cobbled lanes and into the Temple Bar area and there is located the Dublin Castle, the security is opening the public access gates as we arrive so an opportunity to wander around the courtyard without the public crowds. There is so much history in these buildings as we quietly walk around, reading the signs and just soaking it all in. The morning seagulls are feeding their squealing young on the tops of the chimney stacks.

The Dublin Castle was until 1922 the seat of British rule and is now a major Irish Government complex. Most of its dates from the 18^th Century though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John. Hunger and some jetlag has set in again so we locate a Costa Restaurant and relax with a coffee, a bowl of hot porridge and the Dublin Times. We then head back into the Temple Bar area and the 11^th century Christ Church Cathedral, St Patrick’s Cathedral and several other churches loom ahead of us and tower over the surrounding buildings. We take our place in the line of tourists as we head into the Christ King Cathedral, using my “oldies Card” for entry. We are mesmerised by the leadlight windows, the choir practicing for a concert, the tombs and the crypt – a mass of coloured lights and shadows, several small altars tucked away in dark corners that commemorate important dates in history, saints and events.

A quick walk through the grounds of Trinity College which houses the Book of Kells but we did not stay as it is graduation day and the student’s special day. It is starting to warm up and exhaustion is setting in. We are close to St Stephen’s Green – a large city park full of birdlife and the most magnificent colours in the gardens. We wander through trying to get photos of some of the birds that are positioned along the pathways, and then we meander along the river and through the city streets via the “Jeannie Johnston”, a replica Famine boat moored at Customs Quay. The Jeanie Johnston is a replica of a three masted barque that was originally built in Quebec, Canada, in 1847 by the Scottish-born shipbuilder John Munn. The replica boat performs a number of functions: an ocean-going sail training vessel at sea and in port converts into a living history museum on 19th century emigration and in the evenings, is used as a corporate event venue. Large lifelike replicas of the famine migrants show us the way. A lovely day soaking up Dublin’s myriad of experiences.

Our Last Rest Day in Dublin

Up even earlier the next and last morning mainly because neither of us could sleep, tossed and turned most of the night. We decide that perhaps we need to check out the direction to the bus station so we don’t lose our way later in the morning, I told Sue she should not have taken my directions as gospel truth as I took us in the wrong direction, a much longer way round past the Four Courts and the colourful and noisy market area. The area is a little rougher but we feel quite safe among all the early market workers and massive delivery trucks. We decide to have a look at for the Debtors Prison but we seem to be walking in circles and cannot locate the building even though it is clearly marked on the tourist map. We have to eventually ask one of the big burly delivery boys and he is no wiser than us so we both ask another truckie who enlightens us – “You are standing in front of the building. It is very rundown and covered in graffiti, Irish history falling to bits. We have a look and take some photos as we feel this building will not be part of history for much longer. We head off again and this time in the opposite direction and it is much closer to the hotel. Guess this is how you see places. Breakfast at McDonalds today - pancakes and coffee.  We repacked before we head back to the bus station dragging our heavy cases, to catch the bus to the Leitrim area where we start our walk tomorrow. Why does nothing seem to fit in my case where I placed it two days ago in Brisbane?