Gather round boys and girls for a little story.

A story I like to call "How I Almost Died In Dublin".

So when I left for Ireland the travel company said all was taken care of and that they would have additional information for me later. The flight from Indy was fine and paid for, great. The flight out of Chicago was fine and paid for, great. Since I hadn't heard from them I assumed someone would be at the airport to pick me up and get me to the hotel in a city/country I have never been to before. As the old saying goes assuming just made an ass of me. I get there and thought I would wait around because surely Travel Guy who I know would be there to spot me and whisk me away in time to make it to the parade you know the one thing we were there for. I waited. I waited and I waited some more. At this point I have been trying to get my phone to work and alas it is failing miserably. I try the pay phone to call Travel Guy, no answer... hmmmm? Now I am worrying, it's nearly 9am and the buses where loading to head to the parade in like an hour and I have been in the country for 2 and all I have seen of it was the airport. So I run outside to check how much a cab to my hotel would cost 50 euros and if you can't do the math that is roughly $75 I say fuck that. Plus I only had 30 euros on me. So I go to the ATM and my card is not working. So I go to the foreign currency exchange and my card doesn't work there either. A big WTF. It's now 9:30 and I am looking at all the people holding signs just in case I am one of them, nope.

10 am swearing and talking to myself in the airport I go to the tourism desk and ask how much the bus would cost and if it would get me to the hotel. "Well the 748 WOULD take you right to the Hotel but because of the parade it will drop you off here." The nice man at the desk marks on the map. "And then you just walk 4 blocks to catch the 69 bus that will take you to your hotel."
"Great, how much is a bus pass?" "6 euros and it's good all day and all buses." Even better. I head out jump the bus chat with the also very friendly bus driver and we are off. I get downtown Dublin and the driver directs me to the bus shelter. The 69 bus will stop here in 5 minutes at 10:30. I wait no bus at 10:30. The next one is at 11:30. I wait, no bus. Next one is at 12:05. I wait, no bus. Though in that time Bus 66 stops 8 times, Bus 25 4 and Bus 67 6. I hope on the nest Buss 66 and ask the driver if 69 was ever going to stop. "No, that route was canceled to due to the parade."

Shit, Shit, Shit.

"Does this bus go to my hotel?"

"No"

Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!

Ok the Parade is downtown and should be starting soon I can't be that far away and there are a ton of people heading in that direction so I follow dragging 40lbs of luggage behind me. 15 blocks later I hit the parade and luck would have it the were running late. I asked which way the parade was heading and I was off to out run it. My biggest fear at this point was that I wasn't going to be able to catch them and be stranded in Dublin and die here. I started off trying to stay right on the route but with the luggage I decided side streets would do better. Because the people count for this parade was 500,000 people I bumped into roughly 450,000 of them. I did on accident find Temple Bar. For those who don't know it's an area of the city that between the ages of 18-22 I would have lived there, wall to wall bars and drunken revelry also some very cool shops. For Indy folk imagine Broad Ripple down and alley and cooler. So anyway, seriously thought of popping in for a pint but didn't. Seriously thought of chucking my luggage, my arm hurt. After 7 hours after I land I finally find the charter buses and and waited for the band. 36 hours after I got up on Sunday I was finally in bed.

Lets recount, 9 hours on a plane, 8 hours in airports, an hour and a half at the bus stop and a 2 hour self guided walking tour of Dublin and that was my day, to say the least my dogs were barkin'. I really thought I was going to die there. Kudos to me for still not feeling all that great and trudging I would guess 5 miles through downtown Dublin. But now I know the place so if I ever go back I am golden.


Fucking travel company.