Traveling Faster than We Can Blog

Since our last post we've had loads of fun, but internet access has been a little spotty, but I'll give you the overview now and go back over it specifically later.

After Shannon, we took the bus to Limerick. All we knew about Limerick is that it was near the train station that we'd need to take to start our hike on the grand canal way. Limerick was a great big city though ( at least it seemed so in comparison to Shannon ). There seemed to be a great deal to do there, but we were only there for the night. We managed to get a little internet access, but only enough to skype home briefly. Also got a replacement cord for the 3DS, because the AC cord for it crapped out, but it works perfectly now.

After Limerick we took the train to Tullamore, Eurail passes worked great, no problems, but I got incredibly motion sick on the train, but Jessi took good care of me. Tullamore was a smaller city than Limerick, but still very much a city with a downtown and heritage center and all that. We got some good fish and chips there. It's not quite the beginning of the Grand Canal Way, but it can be a good starting place. We stayed the night in Tullamore without reservations thanks to the nice lady at the tourist office.

The next day we began our hike along the Grand Canal, which we'll go into more detail later, but we met up with a nice fellow around Dangean where we were thinking of staying the night. His name's Dan and he was giving us good advice, and offered to put us up for the night.

We're actually in his kitchen now on the wifi, we spent the night drinking and playing music with him and his friend JP. We bought him dinner and he put us up in a bed for the night, and we've had an absolute blast. Certainly more pictures and stuff in the next couple of posts, but we're actually getting ready to head out on the next leg of the hike. To Edenderry!

Shannon in Pictures

Welcome to Shannon, Ireland. Our B&B was in Shannon Town proper, about a 10 minute walk from the center of town. Angela, our host, was a friendly, brisk Irish woman, who made a mean Irish breakfast.

Our room (post-sleeping). The bed was incredibly comfy, but what wouldn't be after a day of planes and airport benches? Even had our own bathroom.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get the house wi-fi to work on our laptop, but there was free internet access in the food court at the mall/town centre. We spent a few good hours there booking future accomodations, and checking in with the family.

The full day that we spent in Shannon, we had planned to go to the farmer's market. But we couldn't find it! Instead we walked around the neighborhoods, and along this trail going by the woodlands.

Then we thought we'd go to see Bunratty castle (which Jessi had actually been to before, on her first trip to Britian). But the price of entry + bus fare didn't seem really worth it. So we settled at the library, where Jessi diligently researched the next parts of the trip. And Mack read comics.

Friday night, Mack got his first (and certainly not last) Irish Guinness. It was pretty good, but we both decided it would be better with a meal. Jessi got a whiskey (the glass behind the Guinness), and it almost put her to sleep. Too strong for Mack.

Jessi's new favorite treat: a hot chocolate muffin with ice cream on top, available at Supermac's.

Even the second night, we still went to bed early, for the next day we were off to Limerick!

-Jessi

Landed and Safe in Ireland

After being told by various TSA agents that our lack of a return flight would prevent us from entering the country, force us to buy a return ticket, make it nessecary to prove that we had funds for the trip, ETC, we walked right through customs without a problem.

We also were joined at the airport by an adorable irish seven year old who commondeered our attention.

We're safe in Ireland, and glad to have started the journey.

We're Off!

Flight for JFK is all ready to go, and Shannon after that. Excitement!

The Plan (or lack there of)

Wednessday August 24th we fly out of Dulles and the next day we fly in to Shannon, Ireland. Geared up with a backpack each, and a small soft duffle, we'll hit the ground running. Which begs the question, what then?

After 4 years of intense structure in college, planning, scheduling, rescheduling, etc, we're going to play Europe fast and loose. Pick a dirrection and see where the road takes us. We do have a general idea though, so here it is.

The Plan Thusfar

We'll land in Shannon and have booked 2 nights at a Bed and Breakfast within walking distance of the airport. Shannon looks nice, we'll see how long we spend there.

Our destination from there is Shannon Harbor, which will likely require a short train ride.

There is a walking path from Shannon Harbor to Dublin, littered with hostels and small towns. It should take about 5 days to make the trip.

Dublin looks like party central, and has ferries across to England, which will land us in Liverpool.

A train from Liverpool will get us to Leeds where a friend has offered to put us up for a few days and show us around. We have another friend in Scotland, so we'll likely visit up there and eventually make our way to London town.

From London we'll hop the channel to France, and depending on how France feels we may make our way down to Spain or across to Switzerland or simply make a B-line for Italy.

There is a ferry from Spain to Italy, should we take that route, and we're likely to hit the Greek islands and fly out from there.

Of course depending on the timing, if it's later in the season we may want to hit Germany in October. Which could have us cut across France for Italy and then make our way back up to Germany through Switzerland.

Then of course we might skip the mediterranian entirely and make a run for the Nordic countries. I've heard excellent things about Sweden and Denmark. But we're not really packed for cold weather if we end up getting there too late in the season.

We have our Eurail passes and plenty of flexibility for moving across Europe, so we'll play it by ear, and let you know how it's going.

A Trip Begins

After a good two months in California, and two weeks in Maryland. Jessi and I are getting ready to depart for our trip to Europe and ready for a departure from our childhood homes.

We had an excellent summer though. A spectacular wedding and a great reception on the west coast, good times with family and fun with friends, and gracious support from everyone.

With the best of send offs, we look forward, towards Europe and eventually Boston, but know we have good people to back us up. We may be distant, but that won't stop us from being in touch. We'll be chronicling our travels here, so if you're interested in where we are, check in.

Thanks for everything, and best of luck on your own adventures.