Living On A Prayer

We woke to brunch at The Botanist and after some delicious eggs benedict, we decided to venture out to the London streets.  Wandering somewhat aimlessly with guidance from street signs and Mac, we found ourselves walking past a gathering crowd and rock music coming from Hyde Park.  We decided to investigate and quickly realized that Bon Jovi would be taking the stage later that night and felt obligated to see the living legend in concert.  With hours to kill, we once again followed our instincts and headed towards Wellington Arch, and soon found ourselves standing in front of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The London Eye, St. James Park and various other London memorials. Travelling for hours Chase and I began to notice the empty bottles we were carrying for hours and asked Mac where the hell are the trashcans?  Not expecting a story, Mac went on to tell us how during WWII, the Germans would hide mines in trashcans and wait for people to incidentally detonate the bombs and spread panic in the streets of London.  Fun facts with Mac.

After regrouping back at Mac’s apartment, securing tickets through legitimate establishments and getting our mind right for Bon Jovi, we arrived at the concert just in time for “It’s My Life.”  It was clear mounting an excursion to the front rows would be too miserable to bear, so we posted up towards the back, reliving the glory days with adults who rocked out to Bon Jovi in their heyday.  He performed all the classics, returning three times to “Bad Medicine,” killing a version of “Hallelujah,” and delivering the full admission price with “Living On a Prayer.”  Overall, it was quite the experience, surrounded by hundreds of thousands** of diehard fans.

Back In The UK

After another early ferry, this time from Dublin to Holy Head, we were blessed with several hours of down time before the next train to London.  We decided to sleep for most of the train ride back as we had already seen most of the landscape on our train to Holy Head two days before. When we were not sleeping, we were either eating or playing more competitive games of gin rummy. Before we knew it, we were back in London and ready to meet up with our friend Mac.

Our train arrived in London Euston station around 6:00 PM, which worked out perfectly because Mac did not get off work until then. After riding the subway, known as the “tube” by the Brits, we found ourselves walking on King’s Road in Chelsea. After passing Sloane Square, it was obvious that this part of town was a hotbed for shopping, with designer stores lined up and down the street. As we walked, we began noticing that every single car on the road was top of the line as well. It looked like a scene from a television show. Think of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, except every 5 minutes you see a Bentley or Ferrari driving back from the grocery store. In Mac’s own words, “Sloane Square is the Madison Avenue of the UK”. Mac’s directions led us to his apartment in Chelsea Cloisters, where we would be staying for the next two nights.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat after catching swapping stories of our summers with Mac, and decided that the best way to blow off some steam from our travels and his hectic week of work was a drink. Rather than heading to a pub, Mac brought us to the lobby of his apartment complex and led us to the back of the building. As we walked down an empty hallway, we noticed that a man in a suit was awkwardly standing next to the wall as if he was a bouncer. And that is exactly what he was. Mac had somehow infiltrated an exclusive Speakeasy after being in London for only one week.  The bouncer then funneled us into a smaller waiting area with that was covered with Mickey Mouse wallpaper (seriously). Moments later, a slit opened in the door we were now facing. Luckily Mac was at our side to deliver some type of password or proof of worthiness.

            The Speakeasy was unlike any bar or club we had seen. The room consisted of several small tables with lit candles at every one. The waitresses were dressed the part in red velvet outfits and took Mac’s specific and complex order for 4 Manhattan Cocktails. As we made it through our second drink, the place began to fill with more guests, many with elaborate costumes, others grabbing a mask or wig from the bin at the front door. Not prepared for such an occasion, we finished our drinks and met up with Mac’s friend from Austria for her birthday party. The cab dropped us off at Public, a high-end nightclub that was far from public admission. As we entered the club, each new girl seemed prettier than the last and the DJ kept everyone dancing till the wee hours of the morning.  Sorry for no pictures

Hanging With The MacCoole's

It was an early awakening at 6:00 in the Avalon Hostel as we walked 5 minutes to the start of our MacCoole tour. After we met our trip leader, Caroline, we stood around meeting our fellow tripees from all over the world including: Malaysia, Norway, New Zealand, San Francisco, Madrid, Ottawa, Switzerland, Toronto, and France.  We grabbed some fresh croissants after our 10-minute walk to the bus pickup location to hold us over for the 3-hour bus ride to Galway. Our next introduction would probably be the most disappointing of the visit, the bus driver/tour guide/failing comedian/overall selfish human being. He moved us through the countryside and we made it to our first stop in Burren. Our tour would be brightened by John, Carolines brother, as he welcomed us into his family’s home. The tour began with a quick aggressive feeding session with a pair of sheep, Johnny and Jimmy as well as a petting party with 10-day-old Springer Spaniels. We then hiked up the beautiful limestone hills and learned some interesting history of the shire and fertile land. John gave us an appreciation for the untouched Irish landscape with never ending green fields, 1,000 year old castles and churches of their Christian and Pagan ancestors.

After the hike, we walked back down to the farm to partake in Grandma MacCoole’s homemade apple pie with a side of Irish coffee. This ended a very passionate; family oriented tour, and will be a major highlight of our trip to Ireland. Unfortunately they forced us back on to the bus where the bus driver’s shenanigans continued. We zoomed down the winding “Auto Burren” where the streets could barely fit two vehicles and the speed postings read 100 km/h. Fortunately, we survived the bus ride in one piece but were mentally broken. Regardless, we walked off the bus at the Cliffs of Moher and were instantly taken back by the beauty of our surroundings. We risked our lives going out of bounds to capture the best photographs and were inches from the edge of the cliff, feeling the power of the 600-foot cliffs.  It was obvious why these amazing cliffs were considered the best natural attraction in the country. From here, the bus driver pursued to follow his hidden agenda. While we were excited to explore “the best city in the world,” the bus driver decided to stop at Fitzs bar in a small town and an unnecessary pit stop to see insignificant rocks (Neither were on the trip itinerary). After this stop and some minor traffic we were left with only a little time, barely allowing us to eat fresh at Subway before the bus ride back to Dublin (thanks bus driver). We made it back across the country as we got to know two girls from Ottawa and a couple from New Zealand. They gave us some great recommendations for the rest of our time in Europe. Unfortunately both groups were leaving early next morning and broke our hearts as we were left stranded with a disappointing roommate upon our return to Avalon Hostel.

 

Upon entering our room it was clear that our roommates had arrived. Minutes later, we were introduced to a 45 year old gym teacher from Michigan who was hoping to go to sleep as we freshened up for the night. This is not what we thought we signed up for. Apparently the upside of our roommates was a daughter who was nowhere to be seen as she was off dominating the pub scene. We powered through the setback and enjoyed our final night in Dublin. 

We woke up early to catch our ferry and train back to London for the night with our friend Mac Morris. More to come.......

Bubblin' in Dublin

After arriving in Holyhead around 23:47, we indulged in Pumpkin Café’s finest snacks and began our never ending game of Gin Rummy.  Unfortunately, the next ferry would not arrive until 2:30, so we had some time to kill.  Once we finally made it onto Irish Ferries Sea Truck, we were extremely surprised to find hundreds of people facedown on nearly every inch of furniture in this massive beast of a ship.  Nearly four hours later, we finally made it to Dublin and rushed to the Avalon Hostel and crossed paths with my friends from Deerfield, Alex Forrey and Dan Piemont, who were unfortunately ending their month long Eurotrip that morning.  With the entire morning to kill and a strict 14:00 check in time, we realized we were in a bad place and went to the Dublin guidebook for some enlightenment.  Our prayers were answered when it said “if you only have a half day in Dublin, you must spend it at the Guinness Storehouse” and at 9:00, a Pint of Dublin’s finest and 360 degree view of the city seemed like the perfect solution. 

On the way we hit some hotspots around town – the Dublin Castle, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church and finally reached the Guinness Factory/Museum.  After a quick introduction, we self guided our way through the tour, learning the ins and outs of fermentation, yeast, hops, barley, etc.  We moved through the seven levels, getting the proper “taste experience,” of listen, look, touch, smell and taste.  At last we had arrived top cheddar at the Gravity Bar and could sit down and enjoy our complimentary pint of Guinness.  After waiting 119 seconds for the perfect pour, our bartender began to breakdown his back story to our friendly faces without hesitation.  Apparently he went to the University of Galway, located in “the best city in the world where the girls are quite savage but it is still a class place.”  In addition “if you like drinking pints (pronounced Points from here on out) Galway is the place to be.”  We sat down at the windows to take all 360 degrees of Dublin and met a couple from Nottingham on their anniversary (see Robin Hood).  Sleep deprived and one Point deep, we walked along the banks of the Liffey River, capturing everything around us.  We successfully checked into our first hostel of the trip, signing up for a six bedroom, mixed gender! with the “best bathroom in the building (not true).” 

 

We woke later in the evening and upon suggestion from a receptionist, headed to O’Neils for a delectable meal, great conversation, and live music.  Not disappointed, we paid our tab and made our way to Temple Bar, a famous nighttime attraction in Dublin and threw back a few more pints before calling it a night with an early excursion to the Cliffs of Moher already planned.

All Business: Flying Across The Pond

After months of hard work, planning, and endless threats from Bernard, our trip was finally here. It was almost surreal driving to Washington, Dulles airport Monday night, knowing that we were getting ready for the trip of a lifetime. After meeting the Sutton's in the airport parking lot, we checked into our flight and headed to the nearest airport bar (see: The Tap Room) for refreshments before take off. Once seated, we ordered our first beers of the trip and started mentally preparing for what lied ahead. The airport bar was both comical and frightening; comical because the entire table was carded (the parents were secretly flattered), and frightening because this was the last time we could have the grownups pay for our food and drinks. However, after making it through security, we would soon find out that this was not the case.

Upon arrival to the departure gate, we heard our names called over the loudspeaker and were asked to come to the front desk. We thought to ourselves, "How could we have already screwed this up after being alone for literally five minutes. Bernard is going to kill us." But to our surprise, the airport Gods, known as Christine Turner, had other plans for us. Instead of letting us "suffer" in the cramped seats in the back of the economy section, Christine upgraded our tickets to the first row of the Business section. Alcohol and food was now free. I know people say that nothing in life is free, but I'm pretty sure I didn't pay a dime for the complementary Champagne, free Wall Street Journal, Satellite Radio and plate of Braised Barbecue Short Ribs with a delicious French Red at its side.   

After a delectable meal and multiple glasses of wine, Chase and I found ourselves at London Heathrow before we could order another drink. Once we passed through immigration and customs, we met up with our other trip companion and friend, Adam, and began our journey. Unfortunately, the beginning of this journey consisted of a $30 train ticket to the middle of the city and a $25 burger at Ed's, short for Eddie Rocket's, cousin of Johnny Rocket?. After lunch we had several hours to kill until our next train to Holy Head to catch the Dublin ferry. So naturally, we decided to explore all of the free parks and museums London had to offer. Mostly because of our thirst for knowledge. It had nothing to do with the fact that we could enter these establishments for free. After a quick cat nap at Argyle Square, we ran into the most interesting man in London, possibly named Steve, but referred to as the Zen Master by all who witnessed his talents, we headed to the British Museum to get our facts straight about Egyptian and Greek history. 

                                    (Three amigos outside the British Museum) 

                                                   (Proof we went inside)

After what felt like a fort night in the museum and a new found disrespect for the British Pound, it was time to catch our train to holy head for the ferry to Dublin, our first stop. More to come......... 

Trip Itinerary

We will be traveling around the world on June 21st, starting in London and heading East until we are back to DC on August 26th. We are trying to hit the following locations at the times below. Please post if you will be in the area during these times and want to meet up somewhere or just want to give any advice/warnings for certain spots. 

Dublin, Ireland: June 21 - 23
London June: 24 - 26
Barcelona, Spain/Ibiza: June 26 - July 1
Switzerland: July 1 - 2
Austria/Prague: July 2 - 6
Amsterdam: July 7
Stockholm: July 8 - 11
St. Petersburg, Russia: July 11 - 14
Tel Aviv, Israel: July 15 - 18
Istanbul, Turkey: July 18 - 22
Delhi, India: July 23 -26
Bangkok, Thailand: July 26 - 30
Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam: July 30 - August 4
Hong Kong/Shanghai/Beijing: August 4 - 11
Sydney, Australia: August 12 - 15
Auckland, New Zealand: August 15 - 20
Fiji: August 20 - 25
HOME: August 26


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