Day #21 - Dublin, Ireland - Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 4th

Happy Easter!
Today was a very relaxing day. No adventures, no pictures today. I got up about 10:30am. Went down and had some lunch at the hotel restaurant. Then, I took about a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. Next, I caught a bus to downtown Dublin where I went to 5:30pm mass. Came back to hotel - ran a 10K on the treadmill and then had some business to attend to.

I have 1 credit card and 2 ATM cards with me. I keep the credit card and 1 ATM on me at all times. The other ATM is usually packed in my duffel. While I'm out during the day, I will keep cash on me in 1 location and my credit card/ATM in another. If I were to get mugged - hopefully I could give away only 1 of my money sources.

I spent many hours on Easter night going over my on-line statement to make sure all is OK. Things seem to be in order right now. I've spent 21 nights in Europe to date. My average hotel stay is $71.30. Not terribly bad, but I'd like to see this number reduced.

Some very good things have happened in the first few weeks on the business front. My tax returns have been filed and depositted. My final pay check from my company has arrived back home and will soon be depositted. And, best of all, I have received an offer for my house - and have accepted. It's still pending inspection, etc - so I'll keep the fingers crossed.

People have asked me if I get bored. Actually, it's the opposite of that. I find that I have tons of things to do. In addition to travelling daily and figuring the details for this travel, I'm working things back home via email --- planning upcoming trips with friends/family, monitoring my house status, and keeping my journals. Not at all bored - for sure.

I'll be leaving Ireland tomorrow for Paris. Then, a train to Bordeaux, France. Although my itinerary says that I'll be returning to Ireland, I do not intend on doing this. Not at all because I didn't like Ireland, but I just about did everything I want to do at this point. I'm going to have to work the temporary resident angle to satisfy the Schengen Agreement to make this OK.

Let me say this, Ireland is fantastic. It's so great because it's comfortable. From the laid-back English speaking people, to the good-ol-boy pubs, to the hard-working farm raised mentality, to the predominantly catholic background - it's like talking with someone where nothing is forced. Add on the unbelievable sites and scenery - I'd recommend a visit to anybody.

My eurail pass arrived via fed-ex at my hotel in Dublin. I purchased a 2-month continuous pass for now. I feel more prepared because they sent me a map and the time schedules for all the trains in Europe. My planning should become easier - I just need to figure out how this thing works. Specifically, it's staed that some high-speed trains and overnight trains require a reservation - I need to understand this better.

Ireland, although great, was pretty simple to get around. I'm ready to turn up the intensity. Bring on France, Spain and Portuagal in the next couple weeks. I'm not even sure I laid this out before, but I'm going to be travelling through Christmas. Therefore, if you were getting tired of Ireland, no worries mate, hang on for the ride. I have 25+ countries to visit, a 2-week trip to Peru to take-on, 2 marathons to run, and a whole truckload of experiences ahead of me. Let's make miracles happen.

Oh - I've been asked a couple times about the extremely hot foreign babe from the hostel. If I remember correctly, the story went something like this: (I went back into the room after working on my computer. The remarkably hot girl was there, all alone. The lights were dim and the moonlight shone through the window. She said softly: "I've been waiting for you." She turned and slowly walked toward me saying: "Hey, you big stud." I said: "That's me honey" . She said, "Take me to bed or lose me forever". I said, "Show me the way home honey").................... Really, do you really think I would write something like this for my whole family to read. Anyway - she couldn't speak English and that was pretty much the end of it - sorry to disappoint. This was, however, a prime time opportunity to come through with a classic Top Gun quote. I had the shot, there was no danger, so I took it.