Monday + {Day Seven: Dublin}

After a great day in Sligo, we came home to find someone else in our apartment. We were told that the other people were going to check-out that morning. But I definitely almost walked in on someone asleep in the other room when I was exploring the new place. It was an unsettling experience needless to say. We had no problem sharing the place, since our last place was shared, but we just had no idea who the other people were. Anyway, whoever it was, they were gone in the morning, which was a little frustrating because the property manager never gave us the wifi password and I had hoped we could snag it from the other guests before they left.

I got up early to work on homework, blog entries, and uploading pictures. We’re using four devices to take pictures, so making sure we check-in periodically and reconcile our trip is important.

Then Gooligan fixed us some breakfast: scrambled eggs and bread and cream cheese, while I threw some clothes in the wash. The house was completely lacking in any oil or salt whatsoever, though. If Gooligan and I were in charge of hosting someone, we’d provide some basic seasonings minimum.

Since we had no internet, we hung up our clothes to dry and we walked towards downtown. On our way, we stopped to get some tea and deli chicken for lunch and checked our emails (in the hope that our property manager had emailed us back with the wifi password). He hadn’t, so we caught the bus the rest of the way downtown and got off at the bus station to get some more free wifi. We posted some photos, I updated my blog, and we got in touch with my best friend from fourth grade, Liz, who we’re on our way to see right now! It’s been twelve years since we’ve seen each other!

After our stop at the bus station, we ventured to a Guinness shop to buy some souvenirs for my brother.

Then we headed home. The buses here are so confusing. The fares are dependent on how long your journey is but there is no reliable way to figure that out without calculating it via their online app (no help to us since we’re offline on our phones 99% of the time) or asking the bus driver. And then you have a million people in line behind you, waiting impatiently as you dig out an odd assortment of coins from your tiny coin purse, peering at each one, since you’ve used three different types of currency in the last week and are not sure what each one is worth yet.

For better or worse, it turned out that we now had the apartment to ourselves! Gooligan fixed us a feast: bread, soup, couscous, and more scrambled eggs. After we ate, we packed up our still-damp clothes, curled up, watched some television, and went to bed, after setting about a million alarms for five in the morning the next day.

Sunday + {Day Six: Sligo}

Since there was an overbooking at our hostel-like place, we had to be moved. Again. The first time we were moved, it was only seven minutes away (walking) and not that big of a deal, since we hadn't even arrived in Dublin yet.

This time, however, we're out by the airport rather than near Dublin center. Again, not that big of a deal, since we've seen most of what we wanted to see in Dublin anyway and are leaving in two days. But it's frustrating for two reasons. The property manager was shady about the whole situation originally, telling us that we had to move because of scheduled maintenance. 

Then we're informed that it's because a group of 10-20 Spanish men have booked the place solid for a really long time. (They're here on a construction job.) 

The manager did give us a ride to the new place this morning to drop off our bags and then dropped us off at the airport so we could catch a Bus Eirann to Sligo. It was a terrifying ride, to be honest. Both the property manager and his business partner were really misogynistic and racist in their remarks.

I'm just happy we only have a couple days left here and that they don't stay at the places they let. The new place is definitely an upgrade, but it would have been inconvenient if we were staying here longer since it seems to be designed with a car in mind. (The place in a decent walk to the bus stop and then it's probably a half hour ride into the city.)

Enough about that, though!
  
Today we took a day trip to Sligo. It cost about 21.00 euro for a same-day return ticket. Not that bad for a four hour bus ride across the entire country.

The countryside was beautiful. We snapped a lot of photos in-between reading, napping, listening to music, and working on homework.

When we got to Sligo, we found a cute café to eat lunch at. Gooligan and I split a warmed chicken ceasar salad and a mozrella, pesto, and tomato panini. Hands down, some of the best food we’ve eaten so far. We also had a pot of earl grey tea.

After lunch, we strolled through the city. Situation on a river, Sligo is absolutely beautiful. I’m envious of Maddi staying here for three months. There’s also an apparently stunning (from the looks of Maddi’s photos) town nearby on the beach called Strandhill with surfing lessons and a spa that does seaweed baths (50 minutes for only 25 euro). If we were here longer, we definitely would have tried that out

Then we walked Maddi to her hostel where she’s staying for a church program she’s participating in and headed back to the bus with a detour to the grocery store to snag food for dinner and breakfast.

The bus ride back to Dublin was long—about four hours—but we made it back to our hostel just past midnight. The only problem is that the property manager never gave us the wi-fi password so I'm posting this from Bus Aras, the main bus station in the Dublin city center.

Overall, Gooligan and I are grateful to have gotten out of Dublin and see another part of Ireland, since Dublin is huge and very urban.