Our trip to Ireland was on Jim's suggestion, for his 50th birthday. While his birthday isn't until March, we checked up on ticket prices and decided to combine this trip and Boskone.
In an attempt to give us lots of leeway (in case of bad weather), we flew up to Boston on Thursday, February 10th. The weather was really rotten and we landed in a snowstorm (oh well). We had a free night due to the Marriott frequent stayer program, and stayed at the Courtyard in Copley Square - a nice hotel with small rooms, so it was fine for one night. We ventured outside long enough to cross the street and go to Turner Fisheries at the Westin for dinner. That was great - I highly recommend it.
We did a little walking around Boston on Friday but we didn't go too far as there was a very frigid wind. We had lunch at Stephanie's on Newbury which was a real treat. Eventually, we went to the airport. Once we got there, we learned the plane would be delayed by about three hours. Oh well. I got some Euros in the airport, which was another classic tourist mistake - I got a much better deal on Euros a few days later in Dublin.
At the airport, we ran into Alex Lazko, Bridget Boyle and their daughter, who were en route to Amsterdam (and Germany, I think). They, too, were delayed by a few hours, which was more of a hassle for them since they have a toddler. Eventually, we took off in our respective planes for Europe.
We cleared Customs and retrieved our luggage pretty quickly. Then, we made yet another classic tourist mistake - we bought the DublinPass. It's a real waste of money.
Dublin Airport: When Pigs Fly Statue
Arch at St. Stephen's Green
ChristChurch
Jim at St. James Gate
Guinness Bottle Collection
Dublin from the Gravity Bar
Jim Hoists a Pint in the Gravity Bar
Dublin's Literary Pub Crawl
Pub Crawl Host
Interesting Structure on Trinity Campus
O'Neill's Pub
Posing in Front of Davy Byrne's
Sidewalk Plaque Quoting from Ulysses
Martello Tower at Sandycove
Jim Outside of Martello Tower
Dalkey Castle
Statue of James Joyce and Parnell Tower
An Interesting Building in Dublin
Dublin Castle
Temple Bar: Quay's and Oliver St. John Gogarty
Irish Fan Dave Stewart
Galway - View of the River
Galway - View of the Houses by the Shore
Palm Trees? In Ireland?
Bars in Galway
Galway - Home of the Claddagh Ring and Interesting Sculpture
Visting Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker
Foley Pub
National Museum of Ireland
A St. Stephens Green Garden
The Castle Inn
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Main Stained Glass Window
Saint Patrick's Cathedral Organ
Saint Patrick's Altar
Jonathan Swift's Plaque and Grave
Garden Outside of Saint Patrick's