Dublin: Part 1

Well our weekend didn't get off to a great start to say the least. We arrived at Stanstead Airport about 2 hrs and 15 minutes before the flight time and went straight to the information screens to see what check-in desk to go to. However, we couldn't find a 10am flight to Dublin but there was one at 09:35. We then checked our documents and discovered that we were supposed to be at Gatwick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a couple of planks! We both just looked at each other in shock and the realisation set in that we would never make it to Gatwick in time for our flight, bearing in mind that we were in North Essex and needed to get to Sussex! John went to the ticket desk to see if there was any way we could transfer the flight to Stanstead to save us driving all that way but it would've cost us £300! How the hell do they justify that? They rang through to Gatwick and informed them we wouldn't make our flight and also advised there was 6 seats left on the next flight at 13:30 which would cost us an extra £40 each.

So off we went. There were constant announcements on the radio of two accidents affecting the M25; fortunately we took the opposite direction around the motorway to avoid it. We could see tailbacks of about 7 miles going in the opposite direction - thank goodness we didn't go that way, we would've been stuck in that for hours and hours.

When we arrived at Gatwick, we headed for the ticket sales desk where the lady took our £80 for the next flight. We whiled away the next couple of hours eating breakfast and wandering around, then 2 hours before the flight, went to the check-in desk. Confusion set in with the rep there as it appeared the ticket sales lady had checked me in but John was on stand-by!!! What use was that?!! After several phone calls, she fortunately got it sorted - what a relief. When it came to the time to make our way to the gate, we discovered the flight had been delayed so we sat and waited for another hour or so. Would we ever get to Dublin? Well, yes, we finally did and arrived at our B&B some time after 5pm.

After a cuppa and unpacking, we headed out in the pouring rain to Temple Bar, the best place for pubs and restaurants. The bus driver recommended a pub called The Ha'penny Inn for good traditional Irish music so we went with that suggestion. However, after ordering drinks, which by the way, cost an arm and a leg, discovered that the live music didn't start until 9:30. It was only about 6:30 at this point so we drank up and decided to move on and have a look around. We stumbled upon a very lively pub called Oliver St. John Gogarty, named after a poet and friend of James Joyce (see photo above). It was still early, yet the bar was absolutely packed with people. As we entered, Andy Williams was belting out 'Can't take my eyes off you' and everyone was singing along - what an atmosphere! Yes I thought, I like it here, sod eating - let's stay for the party!

After a couple of hours, we decided we'd better eat something. Seemed like we wandered around for ages coz either the prices were ridiculous or there wasn't anything on the menus that either me or John fancied. We did eventually eat at 10pm! After that, we went back to Gogarty's to sample some live Irish music in the upstairs bar. Again, it was packed - probably all tourists, but it was a terrific atmosphere with everyone clapping their hands and singing along. Fab!

It had been a very long day, getting up at 6am was a struggle for me, and although I'd got my second wind by the evening, we called it a night at about 11pm.