bangers & mash

Today was another orientation and get-over-jetlag day. We had a short tour of campus at 8:30 and then an orientation presentation. At 11:30, we walked a couple blocks to the Omni shopping centre, the closest mall to campus. After getting back, we walked up to the bus stop to catch our first bus ride to the city centre (downtown). Once we got off at O'Connell Street, we were free to do whatever for the rest of the day. Some friends and I started walking and happened to find a small chocolate place that served up some good hot chocolate. On the way back, we met up with nine others and followed them to The Porterhouse in the Temple Bar area for some dinner and drinks.I ordered bangers & mash for the first time in Ireland and certainly was not disappointed.

Arrival in Dublin; the [long] day 1

Anyone ever seen the movie Up In The Air? I watched it on my trans-Atlantic flight, which landed in Dublin at approximately 6:30 AM. Passing through immigration was a piece of cake, and so was finding my bag at the baggage claim. Soon, the four of us study-abroad students who were on that flight together were waiting for the program coordinators (Don and Martin) to arrive. Picking up all the arrivals was quite the process in the morning, as there were three groups of students arriving at the airport at three different times, someone who arrived the day before, two guys who took the ferry over from Liverpool, and a few others meeting up in Dublin via other means of transportation. Eventually, we were all on our comfortable big bus as Martin lulled most of our sleep-deprived bodies to sleep with his educational (and now forgotten) commentating of a spontaneous bus tour of Dublin City Centre. After doing some shopping for dinner groceries, we headed back to campus and unloaded our stuff into our designated rooms.

Manhattan

Upon arrival in Newark, I had to explain to a TSA officer that I was interested in taking a train to Manhattan, not a bus. At an NJTransit ticket kiosk, I purchased a round-trip ticket to Penn Station NY and back and hopped on the airport’s Airtran to the train station. This ride was slower than I expected, but provided some distant views of the NYC skyline.

Penn was the third and final stop on the train, and soon I walked up the steps from the bowels of the massive underground transportation hub and into a beautiful, warm, partly-cloudy New York City day.

Having checked the NYC weather the night before, I expected it to be raining in the afternoon, but it was not so. Heading north up 8^th Ave., I found a Chipotle at 51^st St. and stopped in to have a burrito and take off my [warm] Marmot soft shell jacket.

Continuing north, I sat for a brief respite and photo op at some benches around 56^th St., and then kept on to Columbus Circle (Time Warner buildings) and the southwest corner of Central Park to browse a couple stores and watch the hustle and bustle.

Time to head back to the station and airport, grabbing a HaggenDaaz milkshake along the way.

One more night

My Continental flight to Newark, NJ, is scheduled to leave at 7:06 AM tomorrow morning. I am pretty much all packed. The iPod and laptop are charging up. Just one suitcase!

I had a great breakfast at 7 AM this morning at Brookside By Day with some buddies from our Tennis On Campus club. After some shopping for some last day items, I headed back home and assembled the suitcase. It is a masterpiece of a space-efficient packing puzzle. And if I buy other clothes and souvenirs while I'm there.....I'll deal with that when the time comes.

After arriving in Newark Liberty Airport, I have a 7 hour layover before my next flight. So, off to Manhattan. It will be a fun day.

I'm currently watching Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals featuring the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic. Go Boston!

Of course, I can't go to Ireland without one of these:

Forward/Preface/Introduction

This blog is designed to be an account of my travels and adventures in Dublin, Ireland, and elsewhere during the summer of 2010. I am going over to Paddyland as part of a study abroad program, and I will be taking two classes relating to Irish history and culture. "Irish history and culture" being St. Patrick, potatoes, leprechauns, the Shire, Guinness, and pub crawls. I think I will enjoy this experience.

SO...in preparation:

Things already completed:

got passport, Euros, traveler's checks, visa card

bought new raincoat & pants

got wall outlet adapter and voltage converter (220V over there)

Things to do yet:

set up my cell phone for international service

print a lot of materials & information, make copies of important things

clean my room

and ... pack