Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Wow, what a trip. How are they going to keep me down on the farm now that I've seen Paree? Please make yourselves comfortable, as I will be sharing what ended up being a two week journey from Orlando, to Dublin, to London, to Paris, and then back to Orlando in time for the 24 hour summer kick-off event at WDW. Our travels took us to Disneyland Paris, where we stayed two nights in their version of the Fort: Davy Crockett Ranch. But, we will get to that in due time. It all started back on Tuesday May 12. We had long ago encouraged our oldest daughter to take a trip to Europe. But, the way things worked out is that she never had time to go while she was in school. So, we agreed that she would go as soon as she graduated from Auburn this spring. The whole TCD gang was in attendance on Saturday, May 9 to see her accept her Master's Degree. Then, it was back to Florida to pack for the trip. Just a dad and his daughter, out to see the world. Mrs. TCD and the twins sat this one out. I was in charge of planning the trip, and had done so for months. I've never been to Europe before, so it was no easy task. For flights, I used Google Flight to find the least expensive option to get us to Europe. It ended up that the best deal for a direct flight was on Aer Lingus from Orlando to Dublin, which ended up being over $500 cheaper for two tickets from Tampa to London on a flight that required a connection. So Orlando to Dublin it was. It's a long way from Orlando to Dublin, and with the time zone changes, you can lose a lot of time flying. I decided that we should fly overnight. So, we left the USA on a Tuesday evening, and began our trip in Dublin on Wednesday morning, May 13. It has been hot in Florida, and it looked like a typical summer evening as we waited to board our Shamrock decorated plane at MCO: I never really thought about how far north Ireland is, or what route our flight would take. But, the handy on board video screen showed us: I have read mixed reviews about Aer Lingus, but we had an absolutely great flight. We were on time, and they fed us twice. There were all kinds of free movies and TV shows to watch, and in between all of that, we tried to catch a bit of sleep. Before we knew it, we were flying over a very green landscape: It was 9:35 am local time when we arrived in Dublin. That's 5 hours ahead of the time when we left. So, to us, it was 4:35 am ,and we were going on very little sleep. This wasn't a problem for us, though, as we were excited to be there. For our hotels, I relied heavily on the Tripadvisor website. I liked how they rank the hotels in each city, and allow you to search for rooms by putting in price parameters. Putting this trip together was like putting together a puzzle. Dublin was not on the list of places my daughter wanted to visit, but since the flight brought us here, I decided that we should at least spend a day and night before heading off to London and Paris. So, I ended up booking us a night in a place called Waterloo House. Tripadvisor ranked it as the 22nd best hotel out of 174 hotels in Dublin. And, we got a good deal on the price- just 129 Euros, which is around $140 a night- with a free full breakfast included. I had thought about renting a car, but the hotel website told us that they were near a bus stop for a bus that runs from the airport. I decided to use that, and it worked great. We had to walk about a block to get to the hotel. That was not a problem, because we were traveling with only carry on luggage. I had read this tip from several travel experts, and first was skeptical that we could do it. It ended up that we could, and I'm really glad we did. We did a lot of moving around on this trip, and it was great to have just a small bad and backpack each to manage. And, we didn't have to worry about our luggage getting lost, because it was always with us. This is the Dublin airport- the terminal we were in is new and very nice: Hey- they have articulated buses here just like WDW!: What a lovely color scheme: Since it is good to be TCD, we ended up with a beautiful sunny day to enjoy as we explored the city. The hotel website told us that we were within walking distance to many of Dublin's famous sites, so we dropped our bags off at the hotel, and headed right on out to enjoy the day. We hadn't walked very long at all when we came to a beautiful park called St. Stephen's Green. We entered through a corner entrance marked with this statue: Do you recognize that guy? My neither. Here's his name: That's Wolfe Tone. Do you know him? He didn't live very long. He was the leader of the Irish Revolution of 1798. You will note that is also the year of his death. Things didn't go so well for old Wolfe. He was killed by the British while in prison. But at least he got a statue out of the deal. Just inside the park, we saw this statue, which commemorates the famine in Ireland: Geez. How about a statue of something fun? Here's a map of the green. The entrance we came in is there on the top right. We're heading to the Grafton Street exit over there beneath that arch on the top left: This is the park. It was beautiful and very green. And notice how everyone is dressed in the next few photos- it was probably only in the 50's that day: They hadn't been getting a lot of sun here in Dublin, so everyone was out enjoying the day: This is what they called a Waterfowl viewing area on the map, and those birds you see are the waterfowl: Spring has come and gone where I live in Florida, but trees were still sprouting leaves here in Dublin: Look at this nice stone bridge- it's way over 100 years old: I liked how there was no rail to keep guests from accidentally walking in to the waterfowl viewing area. I also couldn't help but notice the lack of personal injury attorney billboards and bus benches in the park: Here's a bunch of filthy pigeons enjoying a free meal from a filthy pigeon guy: They have rocks like this in the movie Brave- must be an Irish-Scottish thing, right?: People were loving this weather, and so were we: It didn't take us long to find the arch that we were looking for. This arch says it was erected in honor of those who lost their lives in the African war of 1899-1900. We know that as the second Boer War: This is Grafton Street. It's a pretty well known pedestrian shopping district in Dublin, with lots of famous stores. You can see there's a Disney Store there on the left: Over here, we have the Captain America Grill. We passed. We didn't fly all this way to eat there: Of course we had to check out the Disney store. The stuff they had for sale in there was the same as the stuff you'll find for sale in your local store: Of course, there was a big Frozen display: I thought this shot came out kind of cool: Now we're back in the street: I loved this big display of fresh flowers: DD saw this store and needed to go in. I agreed to stay outside and people watch: It was 10:59 am local time when I took this photo. This street sure was busy: The busyness made for some good people watching. I'll have some photos of that, including the recipient of the first TCD Real Man of Genius Award ever awarded on foreign soil. TCD diane+ not THAT monte, BradyBzLyn...Mo and Avatab.... Steve 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Am I first Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm in! I just gotta go back and read! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wdwpoohbear...Jennifer 40 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm in! Now going back to read. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Very nice start!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm on board. So far so good.And I read it first. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Page 1!!! :parrot: So far Ireland seems lovely and very... green! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Memphis 105 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WannaBeImagineer 98 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm in! Wow what a great trip! Looking forward to hearing how you enjoyed everything. WBI Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Cant see any pics on my work pc, but I bet this is going to be one major TR! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 596 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm in! Steve's sister and her family lived in Dublin for awhile. We kept saying we needed to get there while they lived there, but never did. Seeing your pictures makes me wish we had. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm in, now to go back & start reading!!!!!!!!! And page one for a change. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Neat TR so far! I've only ever been off of US soil on cruises and the ports are about as fake as you get. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sherryberry 35 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Went back and got caught up! This is going to be an awesome trip report! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm reading.... Best Regards,Norm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Count me in Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Yeahhhh!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dvccamper 32 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 How exciting, a European trip report!Do you descend from any of the countries you visited? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Did I make page 1? Wow, I did, and I even read it first. Love the Dublin pics! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Seals 111 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Posting AFTER I've read the installment (not pointing any fingers -- at all you "I'm in now I'm going back to read" people).And by reading along I found out that you already answered my first question -- did you plan to go to Dublin or did you go because of the airfare? And since you said the first, I guess that means the cost of staying in Dublin and then traveling to what would have been your first, or one of your, destinations, still made it cheaper (hotel + additional transportation)? I've never been across the pond so I am looking forward to your tips about what to do/ not to do. And LOL at seeing a Disney store on your first day! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
red...Susan 37 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I think I am going to need some of this info in the not to far away future. March maybe. Sounds like a neat trip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Page one is done, and it's time to move on. Am I first You are! Good job! I'm in! I just gotta go back and read! You're number two! I'm in! Now going back to read. Bronze medal for you. Not bad at all. Very nice start!!! Thanks for reading and posting, Carol. I'm on board.So far so good.And I read it first. Good man. And you still made page one. Page 1!!! :parrot: So far Ireland seems lovely and very... green! Yup, it's green alright. Emerald even. I'm in. Welcome Harold! I'm in! Wow what a great trip! Looking forward to hearing how you enjoyed everything. WBI Glad you're here Nick. I hope you'll get to take the Princess and Prince across the pond one of these days. Cant see any pics on my work pc, but I bet this is going to be one major TR! Dang the man. I hope you enjoy the photos when you get home. I'm in!Steve's sister and her family lived in Dublin for awhile. We kept saying we needed to get there while they lived there, but never did. Seeing your pictures makes me wish we had. Dublin ended up being very nice. It's a place we both agreed that we want to spend some more time in. And one of these days, hopefully, we will. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
diane+ not THAT monte 7 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Better late, well you know . Page two is better than 10 . NTM Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I'm in, now to go back & start reading!!!!!!!!! And page one for a change. Good job, Rennie. Page one bragging rights! Neat TR so far! I've only ever been off of US soil on cruises and the ports are about as fake as you get. :) It was the same for me, except I went to Canada a few times as a kid. I never really had any desire to go to Europe. But, now I'm glad that I did. Went back and got caught up! This is going to be an awesome trip report! Yeah, I think so. I'm reading.... Best Regards,Norm Thanks for reading and posting, Norm. Count me in OK. And thanks for your help. I should have taken some of the advice you gave me. But, we will get to that in due time. Yeahhhh!!! That's right! How exciting, a European trip report!Do you descend from any of the countries you visited? Good question. My maternal grandmother's maiden name was O'Reilly. So, yeah. I have cousins somewhere in Ireland. My sister and brother have visited them. But, they both told me that our relatives live out in the boonies, and are the Irish equivalent of rednecks. This was my daughter's trip, and Dublin wasn't even supposed to be on the itinerary. So, we didn't look for the cousins this time around. Did I make page 1? Wow, I did, and I even read it first. Love the Dublin pics! You did! Barely. But, you made it. Posting AFTER I've read the installment (not pointing any fingers -- at all you "I'm in now I'm going back to read" people).And by reading along I found out that you already answered my first question -- did you plan to go to Dublin or did you go because of the airfare? And since you said the first, I guess that means the cost of staying in Dublin and then traveling to what would have been your first, or one of your, destinations, still made it cheaper (hotel + additional transportation)? I've never been across the pond so I am looking forward to your tips about what to do/ not to do. And LOL at seeing a Disney store on your first day! Yes, it did end up being cheaper to fly to Dublin and then travel from there. There are ferries, trains and cheap flights to move around Europe once you get there. I did make an error on one of the flights, and that ended up costing me the savings, but I won't do that again, and it was great to see Dublin. Plus, I really liked Aer Lingus. I think I am going to need some of this info in the not to far away future. March maybe. Sounds like a neat trip. Haven't you already been to Disneyland Paris? TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmaul 65 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Page two. I am not one of those people who post then go back to read. This is gonna be a long thread. Anyone wanna take bets on the total number of pages it'll get to? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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