Tuesday and Wednesday-The Journey Home

On Tuesday Morning Mike and I parted ways for a part of the day. Mike got up and headed into London to visit his companies London office. I slept in a bit and spent the morning with my cousin Chris and her husband Geoff. Chris made me a traditional English breakfast of eggs, cooked tomato and mushrooms, toast and English bacon (a cross between traditional bacon and Canadian bacon), it was delicious and so much better then the toast we had been eating. for the duration of the trip. I helped Chris do some of out laundry and went with Geoff to drop off paperwork at his place of employment, he drives trucks for living or as they call it lorries. About three o'clock in the afternoon we headed into London, Mike and I were meeting up at the hotel we were staying at around five o'clock. All was going well and I was falling asleep in the car, due to being sick, when we had a puncture in one of the tires. So on the side of the road in London Geoff and I changed the tire, I ended up cutting my hand a bit but was able to bandage myself up. For those of you keeping count that was a sprained ankle, upper respiratory infection, and cut hand, typical week in the life of Billy.We made it to the hotel in Paddington London and I said my goodbyes to Chris and Geoff.

So here I am in Paddington which is a very posh area of London checking into a hotel where I am informed we have been upgraded to an apartment at no extra charge...SWEET! I headed up to the room and dropped off our stuff and waited for Mike in the lobby. Mike arrived not too much longer at this and we got settled into the room.

Mike and I decided to head out and enjoy our last night in England. We started by going to Abbey Road where we saw Abbey Road Studios and where both Mike and I walked across Abbey Road barefoot. I was a very cool experience! By the way it is a very busy stretch of road and is difficult to cross the street.

We set out from there to the London eye and took the half hour ride on the giant Ferris-wheel enjoying the sites of London at night. We then enjoyed the "4D" London eye experience, basically a 3D movie that shoots foam at you...it was free.

Mike and I then rode the underground to Piccadilly Circus the time square of London, along the way we stopped at Baker Street station, that's right the street that Sherlock Holmes resides. We stopped at Piccadilly Circus for about twenty minutes to visit and HMV record store and we stumbled upon the London Trocadero, a small slice of home.

We headed back to Paddington where we ate at a place called Garfunkel's but no relation to Art. We headed back to the hotel upset we never saw Paddington Bear and get everything ready for our journey home the next day.

Wednesday morning we woke up had breakfast and set out for Gatwick Airport. We rode the tube to Victoria station and then took the train to Gatwick. We arrived checked in out luggage after an hour wait then went to the terminal. We ate lunch and did a bit of shopping in the duty free stores while we waited for out flight to be announced. Our flight was announced and we ended up walking almost twenty minutes to the terminal. We were waiting to board when we were told our flight was delayed because they were unloading fish from the cargo bay... that is right Icelandic fish. Well we finally board and to our amazing surprise we board a plane named Ed Force One... that is right we flew on Iron Maiden's  tour plane. It was all painted with Eddie and the Iron Maiden logo. Miek and I sang a number of Maiden songs while playing Air Guitar and quoted Bill and Ted lines "Put them in the Iron Maiden," "Excellent!" "Execute them!" "Bogus."

The first leg of our flight went well, Mike and I read and we touched down in Iceland. Mike was selected in Iceland for a "random security screening." Mike was escorted to a room where he was questioned and searched then released. I was unsure if I was ever going to see my friend again...but he came back asking for snacks. We boarded Ed Force One again and headed home to NJ. ON the flight Mike finished his book and sat next to a girl who gets air sick. I on the other hand was sitting next to a student from Iran who was on a rush trip to Nebraska to enroll in his PhD program He had until Friday morning to get there he had been in Sweden that morning when his visa was approved. We chatted about America and what news networks to watch.

We finally touched down in NJ at 9pm Eastern standard time after leaving out hotel at 9am London time. We were tired and hungry. We zipped through customs and were greeted by my mom and sister. We talked about the trip and stopped at a Jersey Dinner for food. Mike was dropped off home and I headed home where we were finally able to sleep in our own beds!

During our trip we had been through four countries, rode on planes, buses, taxis, subways, trains and boats. We had slept in planes, buses, boats, six hostels, couches in an London flat, guest rooms of an English home, and a hotel. We had sampled ales, lagers, ciders, and whiskeys. We poured our own Guinness, mixed with locals, hung out with rock stars, toured historical locations, flew on a rock band's plane and enjoyed ourselves on a once in a life time trip that started off as a Bogus Journey and ended a truly Excellent Adventure!

Sunday, Monday (happy days)

As mentioned in the previous post, we last left our intrepid heroes disembarking from a boat into the lovely country of Wales. And so begins the next leg of the journey...

Yup, another overnight bus drive. Happy happy joy joy. Billy, Jeanette, Michelle and I tried sleeping, but much like on a plane, its damn near impossible to rest in a moving vehicle. We groggily stopped at some roadside mart in England and then continued onto London. Eventually, we pulled into Victoria Station, and after saying our goodbyes to Jeanette, we schlepped out to Earlsfield (on the outskirts of London). Graciously, Michelle let Billy and I crash at her flat. And crash we did.

After sleeping for most of the day, Billy and I figured it'd be a good idea to actually see London. We trained it in and began a whirlwind sightseeing trip of the Tower of London, London Bridge, the London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament. It being Sunday night, most of London was empty. Like really empty. It was downright eerie to see a major city with barely anyone around. We also scoped out Buckingham Palace in hopes of wooing the sisters Middleton, but alas, Pippa and Kate were not around. Billy and I then trekked back to Earlsfield and had a delicious home-cooked meal, courtesy of Michelle (Yorkshire pudding is freakin' amazing). After watching the movie Hall Pass, we then fell asleep.

While our family and friends went to this thing called a 'job' on Monday morning, Billy and I got picked up by his cousin Chris and her husband Geoff. They drove us out to a lovely town in the English countryside called Swindon, where they lived. Also living there were 2 HUGE dogs that were more than happy to have 2 additional folks around. After munching on some biscuits (cookies), their sons came over with their kids and we struck out for the pub. We drank in the pub's backyard where there was a kid's playground, in addition to a bartender supervising kid's games. Definitely not like the States! After 2 drinks, Billy and I were feeling pretty buzzed (mind you, the alcohol percentage of beer is much higher outside the US, so you get drunk quicker). At this point, one of Chris and Geoff's granddaughters (think she was 5) asked me to go on the playground with her. Get your mind out of the gutter, sicko. So yeah, there I was, buzzed, swinging on monkey bars, climbing cargo nets and going down slides. Quite an experience.

Chris and Geoff took our buzzed American hides home for another great home-cooked meal (and more Yorkshire pudding!). Absolutely delicious. After the meal, we watched a bit of the BBC, where they showed Manville, NJ completely flooded (which is like 3 towns over from our hometown). We ended up watching a classic NFL game between the Chiefs and Broncos (Montana and Elway were still playing), trying to explain American football to them, but alas, they stuck to their version of football. After another action packed day, Billy and I hit the sack. More adventures in London awaited us!

Saturday

Sadly, Saturday was the last day of the Ireland leg of the trip. However, it would be a fun one with stops at 2 Irish institutions.

After a tame evening for Billy and I (but not for most of our fellow travelers), we had an early start at 8:45am. We were more than happy to leave the maze-like hostel in Cork. We had a new bus driver (Barry) as our previous driver, Mike, had to leave for a wedding.

Our first destination was Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone. Unknown to Billy and I, the castle is on a large property with gardens, forests, rivers and even caves (you best believe we spelunked a bit!). Of course, though, the main attraction is kissing the stone. After a series of spiraling stairs that became quite tiny the closer we got (I don't know how a fat person could make it up there), we arrived to the top of the castle. After standing in the queue for a bit, we got our chance. It was disappointing, though, as the stone was just a grey stone attached to the wall - nothing spectacular. Ah well, guess its just another tourist attraction.

We then rocketed up to Dublin to finish the trip at quite possibly the most sacred site in all of Ireland... the Guinness Storehouse! Yes, it was time to celebrate the magic and wonder of 'the black stuff!'

We entered the storehouse and were presented with many options: Buy swag at the store, check out the worldwide marketing campaigns for Guinness, see how Guinness is made, have a pint overlooking Dublin or learn how to pour your own pint. While our fellow travelers learned the joys of marketing, Billy and I made a beeline to pour our own Guinness. A fresher pint you will not find! I refuse to drink it in the States since Guinness will never be this good (until I return to Ireland/UK). Yes, I'm a beer snob.

You start out pulling the tap forward and the glass at a 45 degree angle. As you fill the glass, you straighten out the glass. It should be upright as the beer line reaches the bottom of the harp symbol on the glass. Once it reached the middle of the harp, put the glass down. Leave it alone for a few minutes so the famed foam head can develop. Then, you fill the remainder of the glass (pulling backward on the tap) just so that a millimeter of the foam head rises above glass rim. You can then say a toast to Arthur Guinness and enjoy a pint! As you can imagine, it was utterly delicious. We each got certificates saying we poured a perfect pint, so yeah, we're official now.

After bumming around the storehouse a bit, Billy and I wound up at the Gravity Bar, the aforementioned bar that overlooks Dublin. Another traveler didn't care for her Guinness and dared me to chug it. Not wanting to disappoint, I slugged it down (Billy has a humorous montage of photos of this, similar to a flip-book). I felt pretty good after 2 quick glasses of Guinness.

The bus then brought us back to Paddy's Palace so we could all go our separate ways. It was tough saying bye to our new Aussie, Kiwi, American, Dutch and English friends, but alas. Thankfully, we found out that two UK travelers, Michelle and Jeanette, were also taking the ferry and bus back to London. At least this time, we'd have friends to commiserate with! The four of us, plus Rachel from Australia, got dinner before we had to catch the bus.

The 4 of us soon caught the bus at the nearby station and were shuttled onto a ferry. Unlike last time, we were all awake so we had to occupy ourselves for a few hours. I bought a deck of cards and we played a bunch of different card games. The sea was incredibly choppy, which made for rough going. At around 11pm, we got back on the bus in Wales (which, as was pointed out to me, is NOT in England, but its own separate country. My mistake!) and began the soul-crushingly boring overnight ride back to London.

Friday

Well, Friday was an interesting day. I woke up sick with a cold that I am sure was given to me by the Aussies on the trip because they were all coughing the past few days. We headed on the road and focused most of the day on travel. Along our travels, we went out on the Dingle Peninsula where I bought cold medicine, Mike and I purchased hurlies and slitters (hurling equipment), and visited the statue of a dolphin named Fungie who lives in the bay.

We departed for the bay, heading for Inch Beach, which is known for its surfing. We arrived at the beach and a few of us guys were dead set on swimming on this side of the Atlantic, mind you the air tempature was about 65 degrees and the water temparture was about 55 degrees. We changed in the local toilets, walked onto the beach and ran full on into the ocean, I tripped and fell a bit but continued on. The ocean water helped clear me up a bit and we swam for about ten minutes until our limbs became numb. We made our way out onto the beach where we toweled off got changed and had lunch (a bowl of Irish mushroom soup, which puts Cryan's to shame) and a cup of hot tea. 

We made it back onto the bus and headed to Kilarney. Once there, several people took a horse and buggy ride around the town, others went horse back riding and Mike and I headed into town. I found out then I had twisted my ankle running into the waves. Our search for an ankle brace started and I was able to procure one and mend myself right up. We walked around visiting shops and came across a car with a couple who had just been wed. We found a cupcake shop and had banging chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. 

We left and continued on to our last stop of the day, Cork. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland and was an interesting walk about. The hostel was like a maze and we slept 16 to a room which was not fun at all especially since most of the room went out drinking for a last big party night. Mike and I had decided fatigue was setting in and we needed to relax a bit. We headed out and walked around, had fish and chips and seafood chowder. We saw a stereotypical Irish man drunk and peeing on a wall. We even passed a traditional Irish wake. We made it back to the hostel by 10pm and began settling in. The rest of the tour group got in around 4am It was a fun day but we were definitely feeling the last few days.

Thursday!

A quick jump back to Wednesday night, as my evening diverged a bit from Billy's. After hanging out for awhile at a few pubs, I wound up at a rock club with a number of fellow Paddywagon travelers. A local band banged out all sorts of good songs (Bob Marley, Red Hot Chili Peppers and AC/DC, among others) that we all danced to until last call. This made it 3 consecutive nights in Ireland I closed out a bar, which I haven't done since my college days...

The big locale for Thursday was one of Ireland's most amazing sites, the Cliffs of Moher. This is comprised of two gigantic cliffs at the edge of the land, overlooking the sea. Much like the Grand Canyon in the US, the cliffs have hundreds of layers of different rock in them. With blue waves lapping at the bases of the cliffs, truly, its a fantastic site to see.

The path up the left cliff ends at a "Do Not Cross" sign. However, 9 out of 10 tourists we saw ignored this and continued up the path. Needless to say, you know what Billy and I did. We ended up paying for our sin, though, as the higher up you go, the more flies attack you. It was utterly disgusting being covered in flies. From what views we could see, it was very beautiful but we were better off in the park-sanctioned zone.

The right cliff leads up to an observation castle turret. Naturally, we went to the top of the turret and took in the views, which were amazing. Once you're done with the cliffs, you can visit the museum, which is built into a nearby hill (exactly like the Shire in the Lord of the Rings). One of the highlights was a virtual reality movie of a bird swooping in and out of the cliffs. Right as we departed on the bus, the heavens opened up, so we timed the visit just right.

We then struck out for lunch at a seaside town (whose name escapes me). After eating - I had seafood chowder, Billy rolled the dice on 'New York style' pizza - I went to the local beach. Really, it was a few feet of sand with large rocks. While hanging around with some fellow travelers, a powerful wave ended up knocking me backwards onto the rocks. Ouch. Some other folks got drenched in sea water.

After a few hours of driving and stopping off at another Irish town (other than the cities, the villages kinda blend together), our final destination for the evening was the remote town of Annascul. They have a dedicated Paddywagon hostel there. Yet again, Billy and I wound up in a 4 man hostel with the 2 other Americans and with our own private bathroom. Score. We had dinner at the adjacent pub (the only one in town!) and then began the karaoke. Michelle (who you'll meet later in the blog) and I took a stab at the B-52's classic "Love Shack" and later, Billy and I gave a faithful rendition of the Proclaimers' "500 Miles." Lots of good, clean fun. Since the pub closed at midnight, we all turned in for some much needed sleep. And if you're keeping score, that made it 4 bars closed in Ireland in 4 nights.

Wednesday

We left Derry after a great night at the pub listening to Trad music and dancing. We were onto our next destination, Galway, the place immortalized by the song "Galway Girl'" (which apperared in the major motion picture, "P.S. I Love You"). This day was basically a day of travel,  stopping briefly in a few small Irish villages to eat and stretch our legs. Being that we had much time on the bus, the males on the trip thought it would be a great idea to "hunt" for the Galway girl. Being I was the only guy who was not single, I was the group's wing man. The challenge was to find a girl with black hair and blue eyes, but more on this later. 

We arrived in Galway, which is known for its shopping and party atmosphere. We walked around through the shops, along the river and to the Cathedral, which had a mosaic of President JFK on the wall. Galway loves the Kennedys; there was a bust of JFK in the town as well. After about an hour or two of exploring, we headed back to the hostel (one of nicest ones we had stayed in), showered and went out to the local pub for food, drinks, Trad music and to see traditional Irish step music. Upon leaving the hostel, "The Hunt" was on. Although there was a grand effort on the single men's part, they were unable to find the Galway Girl. I, on the other hand, did find the Galway Girl waiting for a bus when I walked back to the hostel by myself to call it an early night.

While at the first pub, we sat in a boat and ate veggie soup and local mussels, which were delicious. After watching several performances of the dancers, we moved on to another pub "The Spanish Arch," where we continued to listen to a band play Trad music. I spent an hour there and then left and returned to the hostel.

The walk back was amazing.  It was a crisp, clear night where music was seeping onto the cobblestone streets from the pubs. The street musicians were performing with vigor and I stopped and listened to a male and female duo for three songs and then tipped them 5euro. I was feeling so great I stopped at SuperMac, Ireland's version of McDonald's, and had an ice cream cone before returning to the hostel and hitting the hay for a nice sleep.

Tuesday

We promise more posts are coming. Its been tough to get online both because of dodgy connections and having not that much down time. Moving on...

After a night of partying with rock stars, it would be a tough act to follow. Thankfully, the natural beauty of the Emerald Isle was out in full force on Tuesday for us.

We set out from Belfast with an action packed day in Northern Ireland. Our first destination was Carrick-a-rede, which is famous for having a rope bridge. I was expecting a rickety thing with just a few ropes and planks, but regrettably that was not the case. Still, the water that was 40 feet below us was infested with sharks! Once you cross, you go to a cliff where there are incredible views of the surrounding beach, the North Sea and even Scotland. Its easy to see why JRR Tolkien was inspired by Ireland when creating Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

As we continued to drive along the country's eastern coast, we stopped for lunch at a seaside restaurant. While the place itself was unremarkable, their steak & Guinness pie was fantastic. Think beef stew but replace the gravy with a pint of 'the black stuff.' Can't wait to try that recipe out when I'm back in the States!

Up next was Ireland's famous Giants Causeway. The Causeway is an amazing rock formation comprised of thousands of hexagonal rocks (if you remember the video game Qbert, its really quite similar). The formation tapers right into the sea (there is a historic story of how Fionn McCool, a giant, built the Causeway to link up with Scotland and fight his giant nemesis Angus. I was hoping for an uplifting tale about Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor, but alas...). The young boy in both Billy and I came out, as we ran and jumped all over the rocks. Playing the part of the ignorant Americans, we blew by the warning signs and went right to the edge of where the sea meets the Causeway.

Our final destination was the city of Derry, which is also known as Londonderry. Derry's nickname is the Walled City because of the nearly 2 mile wall that encloses the town. The wall was heavily utilized for many years by the British (and their Nothern Ireland supporters) and Irish to keep each other at bay. We took a tour (courtesy of a tour guide who eerily looked like Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age), which was fascinating. Even though the troubles are over, you could still feel the tension between the Protestants and Catholics. Much like Belfast, there were a number of political murals around the town.

Over the course of the trip, we've gotten along very well with the 40+ folks in our group. Coincidentally, the 4 Americans (all guys too) wound up in the same dorm for the night. We also had our own bathroom, to the supreme envy of everyone else, who had to share 3 other bathrooms. For dinner, virtually everyone went to the cheap restaurant in town (steak and beer for 5 euro? Sold!). From there, we headed over to a local pub that featured live traditional Irish music. Over the course of several hours and many, many pints of Guinness, we all were singing and dancing to the music. In fact, we ended up shutting down the pub that night. All in all, another satisfying day on our trip