Day #20 - Wicklow & Waterford, Ireland

Parade in Waterford, Ireland

Waterford, Ireland

Wicklow, Ireland

Saturday, April 3rd

Happy Birthday to my little niece Abigail today! What a great time of year for a birthday - spring is starting and Easter has arrived.

The hostel last night turned out OK. I am convinced of one thing for sure. If you plan to stay in a multi-room hostel (let's say 6 person or more), it's imperative that you go into the experience with some level of intoxication. Now I'm not saying that you must drink all night, but certainly a glass of wine or a couple beers should happen. Matter of fact, I believe there should be an inscription outside all hostel dorm rooms of more than 6 people with the following statement: "It's recommended for all those staying in this room to consume a minimum of 2+ drinks before calling it a night." I would like to patent that sign and have it proudly displayed in all hostels across the world. (For my little nieces and nephew potentially reading this - I'm not promoting drinking. Of age, in a responsible manner - that's the way we roll - just remember that)

Let me explain. First off, the average age of a hostel-goer is low 20's. Generally speaking, most hostel-goers are very respectful, looking out for the other guy. Actually, it's an unspoken hostel rule - I've been to 2 hostels - and I can understand this already. However, no matter how respectful or honorful one person thinks they are being, if you are 22, have had multiple adult beverages, it's likely that you will be loud and noisy. It's not necessarily a bad thing - that's just the facts. Realizing the average night's end of 2am and average awake time of 9am, if one were to sleep in a 8 person dorm room from the hours of 10:30pm to 6am -- you will effectively be trying to sleep in the wheelhouse of these said hostel goers. This means that you will have multiple people coming in and out of the room during your peak REM sleep hours. There will be conversations going, bags slamming against you, people tripping over things. Unless you are a dangerously deep sleeper, you will be awoken on several occasions. Therefore, going back to my original statement - if you were going into this event slightly under the influence of alcohol yourself - you may sleep through things easier and perhaps find some delight in what you are hearing or seeing. That's it - not good, not bad. That's just the straight up facts. I'm good with this rule. I'll partake in hostels during this trip when deemed appropriate. I can adapt - it's all about growing.

Today I took two train trips to the small towns of Wicklow & Waterford, Ireland. Arising at 6am, I was at the train station by 7am. My first stop was Wicklow. Wicklow is said to be "the Garden of Ireland". Also, this town has the Wicklow Mountains. The train ride was about 1 hour and the scenery along the way was stunning. We were riding right along the coastline. The day was bright and sunny - great. I really didn't spend much time here - but did enjoy the experience of seeing the mountains and the ocean. Nice city - would like to spend more time. On the train ride home tonight, I was thinking how even though I will be spending 9 months in Europe, there will still be many things I just can't get to. Everywhere I go is recon for the future - that's what I tell everybody.

My next train trip was to Waterford. A little longer trip. I spent about 4 hours here. I'm not sure if they had some sort of event or not, but the streets were filled with people. People were singing, a little parade was going through the town, all the shops were open, people were sitting outside (it's was near 50deg today). A great day in Waterford. Waterford is famous for its Irish-castle-turned hotel - simply called "The Island". The castle is situated just outside of town - a unique place for sure. I was able to see in the distance but did not go to the island itself.

I made it back to Dublin around 9pm and got to my hotel about 30 minutes later. I look forward to a relaxing Easter Sunday - with mass, laundry, and a good long run on the agenda.