I usually really like planning trips, but every so often, if I’m going to a country I’ve been to before, I decide my brain doesn’t want to do much and so I quarter-ass it. That’s the kind of trip this is. I have basically no plans – only the concept of a plan. Honestly it’s partially miraculous I at least know what my hotels are and what time my flights happen.
This summer, Aer Lingus resurrected a lot of its pre-panini routes that got discontinued in 2020, with nonstop service to a ton of cities across the US. I go where the deals take me and they are taking me to Ireland and Scotland. I’ll be spending about a week in Scotland, in the highlands and in Edinburgh, and then doing who knows what back in central Ireland for a few days.
Your bonus journey? Coming along with me to see how long it takes my Apple Watch battery to die. Its little brain is stuck boot cycling if I put it back on the charger and it refuses to hard reboot. How is this possible? Hard reboot is supposed to be a miracle button. So here I am, eagerly poking the buttons to make the screen light up as often as possible, just waiting for the battery to die fully. The internet told me to leave it unplugged til the battery dies and that it would take ten hours for this to happen. Ten hours passed seven days ago.
So meet my friend, Watch Watch. Watch Watch doesn’t know where it is and on this trip serves as both a science experiment and to tell the time back home. Poor, confused Watch Watch. Could I buy a new one? Yes. But I’d rather just FIX IT because I am stubborn and honestly it works fine otherwise.
We landed to glorious sunshine and freezing cold weather in Dublin. No plane pics for you cause I had an aisle seat (who is she????). On the way over, I solved a mystery: what is the weird dual-pronged converter in my headphones case used for now, in the year of our lord of wireless headphones 2024? Turns out, when the interior of the plane is ancient, you use it with the entertainment system. I don’t think I have seen one of these in at least….a very long time. But I was glad for it, so thanks Sony for including it with new headphones in 2019 so I didn’t have to use the shitty plane earbuds.
As a habit now, I do ye olde land and nap, which is the practice of paying for your hotel room on the night you fly over, if you are arriving way too early to check in (like 8am). It is well worth whatever I paid for an extra night in this hotel (see first paragraph about not planning) because now, I can do things in a less zombie-like state. When I leave the lobby at 1pm, there are little clusters of very sad, tired American tourists just waiting to check in. Smell ya later, cause my very strong black tea and I are going on a spontaneous adventure.
Jet lag is addling me today and on my way to my adventure, I noticed two things, but I do not process them properly. One – it is VERY windy. Wow, such wind. The trees are very wooshy and the flags are snapping. Two – the locals are bundled up in little puff vests and windbreakers. Wimps, I judge them, I am from Minneosta. It’s Not That Cold.
Oh, it was that cold. I didn’t quite grok that 45 degrees is in fact quite chilly. I am….mostly ok in my wool sweater, but it hasn’t been this cold at home in a LONG time. I walk quickly. At least I will stay awake. (If only Watch Watch showed me the temp instead of sometimes just the time….maybe I would have bundled up better)
The adventure takes us to the Epic museum, which has nothing to do with video games nor EMR systems, but rather is the museum of Irish emigration. My people, they are Irish, and this was recommended by a friend who just got back from this very same trip (the airfares, they were cheap, and I am the last person I know making this trip this year).
The museum provides an immersive experience of Irish tales of emigration and why exactly so many people claim Irish heritage. The tales ranged far back in history, and explored the challenges the Irish had emigrating and the impact Irish people have on the world since leaving. I am not really knowledgeable on the history of Ireland, and it was interesting to hear about it through the lens of what factors drove people to leave. Some left famine, and others were forced to live in penal colonies. Others fled restrictive, religious governments, after being in situations of abuse, or forced to separate from families for other reasons.
If you have Irish heritage or a general interest in Irish history and culture, this is a great stop! They had actors recreating a lot of the stories, which to me makes it a ton easier to absorb the narratives vs just a museum that is walls and walls of text. (It’s also easier if you’re eepy)
Bonus, it had a very broad selection of the chips of my people in the gift shop.
After the museum I judged that I was too cold-ish for a boat tour around the city. I just need to keep moving and really enjoy wandering around cities, I just walked all around central Dublin. Have a sampling of some pictures of back alleys, pubs, and cute little streets.
How far did I walk? I have no idea, because Watch Watch died and it didn’t tell me how many little activity rings I completed. (I labored and used my phone – 13k steps).
Tomorrow morning – after a 4am wakeup – it’s off to Glasgow!
For those who are frequent fliers of my blog, you may recall that I am very good at forgetting just one item every trip. This time, the item is toothpaste, much to my hotel-arriving, post-redeye flight chagrin. This is STILL better and far cheaper than the last time I was in Scotland and showed up with the wrong camera lens.
But it remains to be seen how long I will be patient with Watch Watch. Maybe that will be the true unplanned purchase of the trip….