Wednesday May 4th: Navan to Swords, Ireland
Bob: It was time to relocate to near Dublin airport as Lois had booked a 9:00 a.m. flight back to the States, which meant we would have to get her to the airport by 7:00 a.m., and that in turn meant we had to be quite close by. Monika had found a bunch of B&Bs in Swords just North of Dublin airport, so we drove from Navan to Swords and started looking for a vacancy. But despite having a book for B&Bs and being able to locate them with our GPS using latitude and longitude coordinates, we simply had no luck in finding one that had a vacancy. It was midweek and well before the high tourist season, so that was rather unexpected. After finding no vacancy at several B&Bs and one or two others that had not yet opened for the season, we ran across a Travelodge on the outskirts of Sword that advertised 48 Euro per room per night. Not being sure if we could find a suitable B&B, we decided to cut our losses and put up there for our last three nights despite lack of free WiFi, lack of breakfast, etc. However, when we parked and then tried to check in they insisted on charging us 69 Euros if we checked in directly. It turned out that the 48 Euro rate was an "Internet Special" (not mentioned in the advertisement!) and we had to sign up over the web in order to get that rate. Conveniently, the hotel had pay-as-you-go Internet connections available (for a stiff FEE every minute, of course!) just around the corner from the registration desk. Less conveniently, maintenance men were hammering and sawing wood to repair the stairway right beside the Internet terminals, so I had to contend with literally pounding in my brain while I was entering Monika's Visa card number and entering all the required information to sign up for three nights. In the end, I completed the form mere seconds before we used up the last of our change on the Internet session, and the transaction went through just as I was cut off on the computer. Thus, we did in fact get our rooms for the 48 Euro rate, but it was a darned frustrating experience and in the states would clearly be an (illegal?) example of "bait and switch" advertising. I'm surprised the Irish government lets that kind of advertisement go on. Still we had a place to lay our weary heads that evening, and after unpacking we had lunch in the attached restaurant and drove down the coast to Dublin Bay. It was interesting to see the eastern seacoast of Ireland at least a bit. It was far less craggy and austere than the western coast, in my view, but it was still rocky and scenic. |
Monika: For our last three nights, we had decided to find a B&B in Swords, a little town 4km north of the airport with bus connections into Dublin. I programmed in the coordinates for a place where there were two B&Bs close to each other. However, neither had a vacancy. Driving on into town we stopped at a third that also did not have a vacancy. I got panicky, and when I saw a Travelodge advertising 48 Euro per room, we stopped. But when we tried to check in we were quoted a price of 69 Euro. When we asked about the discrepancy, the rather helpful desk clerk told us, the 48 Euro rate was an Internet rate. She also pointed out the internet terminals with coin slots around the corner. So I put in 50 cents and went to the Travelodge website. Unfortunately, someone was hammering rather loudly right next to us, making the whole transaction more difficult. Just when Bob had pushed final "booking" the money ran out. I went back to the desk to find out whether our booking had come through, and indeed it had and we got our two rooms for 48 Euros each. The hotel had a little restaurant attached to it, where we had lunch before heading out for a drive along the eastern coast of Ireland along the Irish Sea and Dublin Bay. It was much less craggy than the west coast but still quite lovely. |
Bob: In one cove or bay we found a very long, curving sandy beach. Investigating a curious globe with paths traced on it, we found that it was the starting point of Kingston-Smith and the flight of the "Southern Cross" from Ireland to Newfoundland across the Atlantic. That may not sound difficult to you, but consider that flying across the Atlantic from East to West is against the prevailing winds and the aircraft of that time had quite low air speeds, so those head winds were a huge impediment. |
Monika: At one point there was a long beach, in fact a 3 mile beach, where Kingsford Smith took off to fly from Ireland to Newfoundland. They even had built a monument to him, a globe showing his flight track. |
Bob: Returning to our hotel for a rest and a snack, we finished up the evening by walking into Swords. The main street was mainly populated by banks, 4 Chinese takeout shops, 6 bookmaking shops, a couple of pubs, and the Irish equivalent of a dollar store. What an odd mix! |
Monika: The little towns we went through all looked prosperous and full of people, at this time of evening actually full of school children in different uniforms coming home from school. Back at the hotel, Lois went to the restaurant for some sticky toffee, a pudding she had longed for since she had had it in England. According to later reports, this one was not nearly as good as the previous one, oh well. After she came back we decided to walk into Swords. Bob needed more postcards, I was just curious to see what was there. The town was interesting. We counted at least 6 betting parlors, 4 banks, 4 Chinese take-away, just 2 pubs and one 2-Euro store. I always enjoy those, so we stopped in. Lois found some stuff for her hair and I found licorice but no postcards. At the farthest end of the main street was an "ABC" (Another Bloody Castle). This one was Swords Castle--surprise, surprise. |
Bob: On our way back we also checked out the shopping mall that was located on the edge of the old town area, and that was as modern and soulless as any shopping mall in the U.S.. More things to buy than in the little shops downtown, of course, but what a sterile ambiance. Not knowing the local shortcut, we had to backtrack all the way back around the mall to get back to our hotel, and we were all bone weary by the time we finally made it back. Once back at the hotel we put our feet up and rested until sleep just kind of snuck up on us. |
Monika: On the way back, we stopped at a rather small looking mall with a Pennys store. It turned out to be a heck of a lot bigger than expected with twists and curves and two big grocery stores. No wonder, I did not see any in town. Bob did find his postcards and I also found a couple to send to Martin/Tanya and Judson/Sarah. Getting out of the mall the most efficient way proved to be not the way we thought, and so we walked poor Lois all around the mall again to get back out again. Reaching the main street, we walked slowly back to our hotel which was fortunately just up the road. |
| Index |
| Prolog | Map of Transatlantic Cruise | Map of Drive in Ireland | Epilog |
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