A Brief Trip to Dublin

It all started with the Ryanair deal at the beginning of September featuring flights for just 1 cent. Considering that Dublin is one of those destinations that rarely go on sale, I took the opportunity to spend a different kind of day, after such a long time, but especially to start exploring a corner of Europe that I honestly don't know at all. With these expectations, the long and boring month of September passed, which seemed like it would never end. Luckily, it was all just an impression, and the departure day was approaching, coinciding with the first week of classes at the university. And with this "mood," we arrive at:

Tuesday, October 6A rather chaotic day at the faculty, but at least it starts well because I meet a girl from Budapest on Erasmus. Somehow, I keep her company until the last possible moment before I have to return home, prepare a couple of necessary things for the distant trip, and be perfectly on time for the check-in for the Pisa - London Stansted flight. I chose to fly to Stansted since I wasn't sure about the situation at Dublin Airport for spending the night, and according to this forum, we know that Stansted is "the airport" where you can sleep, so I wanted to add experience to experience.

After passing through the document checks performed by a very bored police officer on the first floor of Pisa Airport, I went to look for a place in the crowd of people filling the hall. Besides my arriving flight, there were departures for Sharm El Sheik and Edinburgh... I can let you imagine what that hall was like. Here, my attention was caught by the fact that my flight was 20 minutes delayed, by a group of wealthy English travelers, laden with gold jewelry... by the usual (let me say it) messy way of managing (or not managing) children by Italian families (a recurring motif...), and by an attractive girl who, like me, was heading to London.

The boarding moment arrives, and I make a point of being the first among the passengers without priority boarding to step foot on the plane, also to see what the crew will be like.

The steward who insists that I board the plane is a friendly Englishman, kind and helpful with the passengers. And here, the first stereotype that portrays the English as arrogant and unyielding is shattered.

In the boarding of the other passengers, I hoped that the attractive girl mentioned earlier would come nearby, but instead, the seat is taken by a grouchy guy while the Italian girl sits four rows ahead of me... No worries; there will be other opportunities. The flight from Pisa goes smoothly, and it's a shame not to see anything from the window because the sky is clear. Unlike Scandinavian or Italian pilots, the Englishman doesn't say anything particularly about the route unless when the plane is already over Paris, about half an hour from London Stansted. Well, if the sky remained clear throughout the flight, once over the Channel (or La Manche if you prefer), England greets us with a light blanket of clouds that will increase throughout the night until it rains. Strange.

A fun landing in London Stansted because there was quite a strong wind, but other than that, everything was calm. In fact, when I started to see the Stansted terminal, I remembered the words of DarioV84 describing it as "big and bright." In this regard, I must say it's a really beautiful structure, well-designed (in hindsight, I will discover it was designed by Norman Foster), so much so that the flows of people arriving and departing never cross. I stepped off the plane, and it was already past midnight, so the rest of the story unfolds on:

Wednesday, October 7From the airplane to customs, there's a lot of ups and downs, comfortable bathrooms, so... I took it easy since the flight to Dublin was scheduled to leave six hours later. All of this, including the document check, took about half an hour (but it could have taken longer because there weren't that many people in line).

After that, the arrivals/check-in area opens, with huge signs indicating trains, buses, taxis, and parking dominating along with vending machines for drinks and small kiosks/bars for refreshments.

In the countless check-in areas, I arrived under those marked with the letter I and noticed the yellow and blue colors of Ryanair, the famous bag drop and scales. Honestly, I don't view bag drops as an absolute necessity because when I went to Stockholm (in February 2008), Skavsta airport already had them and they were valid for all low-cost airlines, and not just Ryanair. In any case, for this trip, the pairs of towers turn out to be only useful for sleeping...or at least pretending to do so. Especially since I'm surrounded by a multitude of young and less-young people, equipped with sleeping bags and lying in the shade of the bag drops. It's nice to know that London Stansted turns into the largest dormitory in Europe at night (for free).

Returning to the story, due to lights and noises, I never really fall asleep; I nap in spurts... feeling cold (I don't know about you, but I couldn't stand all those drafts). And so, the first three hours of the night pass until I notice that the departures area is open! Chapter of checks, which is the fear of this forum... it must be 3:30, but the checks are verbal. This applies to the cellphone, any belt, and liquids. Naturally, I pass under the metal detector, my shoulder bag too... and here I am in the departures section of the airport, despite the meticulous and fussy checks of London Stansted.

Once inside, I immediately rush to find those beautiful blue benches with three free adjacent spots so that I can lie down... It's a pity that the number of people was increasing inexorably... Neapolitans, Latvians speaking Russian, groups of brunettes and blondes, babies, and Sky news made me close my eyes for 15-20 minutes at most, enough time to hear and observe what was happening around me and fall back asleep.

Among the few news segments from the news that I followed entirely (or perhaps heard out of interest) was about British Airways... they mentioned there had been an additional payroll cut and that month after month the company was increasingly in the red.

Last but not least, at 4:30 they began assigning gates for the first flights, but everything progressed so slowly that it felt like being a broker at the stock market, standing in front of those screens until I finally saw the gate number for Dublin. However, the good thing is that the departure area, with its shops and at least twenty flights departing in the first hour, resembled a huge shopping mall. If you also add that the first three flights were heading to Riga, Stockholm, and Wroclaw, you can imagine the amount of beautiful girls wandering around in that area; it was a pleasure for the eyes.

Once I found out the gate number for Dublin, I strolled calmly toward the airplane, almost dragging myself from sleep. Before long, it was 6:30, and ready... for the second segment of the journey: London Stansted - Dublin. It was the most spectacular flight of the three made, especially because it was the only one with daylight or at least with the first rays of sun. As previously mentioned, in no time, we pierced the cloud cover above London and then away... toward the west, with the colors of dawn illuminating the clouds that accompanied me all the way to Wales... once reaching the St. George's Channel, the clouds magically thinned, almost as if to say... Welcome to the Republic of Ireland. The flight lasts an hour and fifteen minutes, but at least considering the weather situation it was interesting.

The jump from London Stansted Airport to Dublin is evident, mainly because the latter has three runways, two of which run parallel to each other, almost oriented on the E-W axis.

All equipped with CAT III, unlike our airports. Then, we move on to the terminal... right now, for anyone landing in Dublin from London Stansted, there's almost a desire to go back; the architectural difference is striking and blatant, but at least by 2010, T2 will be ready, which is larger and much more pleasant! However, personally, all this lack of space is compensated by seeing the signs first in Gaelic (rigorously in green) and then in English.

I arrived in the arrivals area at 8 in the morning, considering the checks (since EIRE doesn't adopt the Schengen protocol either). Considering the time and an average of 50°F for most of the day, I stayed tucked away in T1 for a couple of hours. I took advantage of the opportunity to have breakfast and buy the bus ticket to get to the city. Regarding the first point, I warmly recommend doing it in the city if you don't want to spend ten euros.

The store where I had breakfast is called "Upper Crust" with an orange sign and black lettering, located at the back of the terminal, near the stairs leading to the check-in floor. Here, 3/4 of a baguette and a cup of Irish coffee without cream cost €8, then €1.70 for water from the vending machine, and there's the €10 breakfast. Luckily, when asking for a round-trip ticket for the Airlink bus (which connects the airport with O'Connell St.), it costs €10, while if you request the Rambler Card, you pay €6 for one day and have access to all urban lines, including Airlink.

I spent at least a couple of hours in T1, mainly due to the outside temperature, and it was interesting to see that shortly after my flight arrived, one from Abu Dhabi came in, followed by all the flights arriving from North America, the furthest from San Francisco, extraordinary!

Moreover, what stands out most on the departure board is the impressive number of flights between Dublin and London (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, and City), and if you dig into Wikipedia, you'll find that it's the second busiest route in the world for the number of flights after Taipei - Hong Kong. And for now, I'll conclude the aeronautical curiosities.

The capital of the Republic of Ireland.

It takes about half an hour (traffic permitting) to get from the airport to O'Connell St. The first impact with the city is strange, especially if it's the first time in an English-speaking country. Driving on the right is quirky (you must remember to look left first when crossing the street). For the rest, I got a map of the center from the Ryanair website and started my pilgrimage. It should be noted that unfortunately, my camera broke down, so there aren't any photos to document this escapade (a good excuse to return as soon as possible).

What can I say? It's lovely to walk along O'Connell St. and Grafton St., especially when the Dubliners start animating these two central streets. To be honest, I was surprised by the genetic traits of the people; they are practically Scandinavian. All having blue eyes and hair that may be red, blonde, or dark. Trinity College is magnificent, and you can feel it's a building steeped in history. The castle and city hall and the nearby Dvblin (the reconstruction of the medieval city, in a medieval building) make the city diverse yet homogenous.

All buildings have essentially similar heights! The museum area, the Government Palace, St. Stephen's Sq., and Merrion Sq. are fascinating, and this alternation of green spaces and palaces certainly makes it different from what we see in our cities. In conclusion, Temple Bar and the River Liffey... the most bohemian and characteristic area of the city.

Of course, seeing it around lunchtime or in the afternoon makes it rather mundane. It would be lovely to spend more days there... next time, I will.

Now, after having praised it far and wide, you don't think I've overlooked aspects that undermine it! I don't know about you, but living in Pisa, I didn't find many significant differences. There are beggars there just like here (fortunately, they don't insist), and there are immigrants of all kinds, but overall better integrated compared to Italy. Road signs (one in particular for the Guinness Storehouse) are lacking; you'll find a sign in front of the Bank of Ireland and nothing more.

I ventured up to a certain point, but I had the limited map, so... I didn't leave the boundaries. Another route should be the tram you can catch on Abbey Road (but I'm not sure about this). Returning to the digression, like in Italy, people cross the street on red but only when there's no traffic... Even just taking a step onto the road with bus drivers around means receiving some curse words.

Unlike other European cities, unfortunately, you see motorcycles, and in traffic, there are honks (though in Italy, everything is more extreme). A plus, however, comes from the cleanliness of the streets, sidewalks, and everything around. There are billboards (read: advertising space) on the lampposts and buses declaring that leaving dog waste behind, as well as throwing away cigarette butts, incurs a minimum fine of €150. For me, it was a nice surprise, and I plan to return!

To conclude the story, I read in several places that on the highway between 3 PM and 7 PM, there would be heavy traffic heading to the airport. So... once I had something to eat, a relaxing stop along the Liffey, and then a couple of laps between O'Connell St. and Grafton St. to make eye contact with the lovely Irish girls.

I took the bus to the airport at around 4:30 PM, arrived at the airport by 5 PM, and then spent some hours in the massive T1 waiting for the flight to Pisa. Just like at Stansted, the checks were conducted with questions. Here, there was a variant of having forgotten a water bottle with a little left in my bag. Naturally, I passed the checks as if nothing had happened! In fact, they asked me to step away from the metal detector when they saw I was clean!

As the time approached for my last flight, the number of people increased. I must say that the flight load for Dublin-Pisa was quite high, and it's a shame that from November 4, the flight will be canceled! Like the other nighttime flight, it would have been boring, but here, just like on the way there, I boarded among the first (after those with priority) and got a seat in the front rows. Thanks to a couple of Irish architects who were coming for a short vacation in Tuscany and the blonde flight attendant, I had a great return trip.

The flight of 3 hours and 45 minutes (including the time zone difference accounted for) went smoothly. Plus, thanks to the Scandinavian captain, we learned the route before departure (London, Paris, Geneva, Turin, Genoa). Once the plane was parked, everyone got off, and I searched for the blonde to tell her what I thought of her, except that I only managed halfway due to fatigue and excitement. I count on malamaca's help to try to find her; otherwise, I'll live in the Pisa terminal like in the movie The Terminal until I locate her.

I pass through the checks to re-enter Italy with another bored officer and return home disheartened for having halfway made my approach... at least starting to think about how to track her down.