Saturday July 12 ~ Dublin, Ireland

Shocked out of a deep sleep by the hotels fire alarm blaring early this morning at the Ballsbridge Hotel. Not a pleasant way to start the day.  And then it stopped.  And then it started again.  And then it stopped.

Waiting a minute and listening, looking out the window and throwing on yesterdays clothes. Being on the fifth floor, we checked to find out where the closest stairs were located in case we had to evacuate the building.  Calls to the front desk went unanswered.

Several other people peeked out of their doors and questioned if it was a prank, false alarm or for real.  We could not smell any smoke, there were no fire truck sirens.  Fortunately Tim had read some of the hotel reviews before we booked this hotel, and a couple of people mentioned having a similar experience.  Evidently this is an ongoing problem at this hotel.

Over the next two hours the alarm went off a total of 15 times.  Some were short blasts (10-15 seconds), but one was continuous for several minutes.

The lady at the reception desk was very nonchalant about the fire alarm.  She informed us that there was a problem with it (oh really, I hadn’t noticed) and that they were in the process of installing a new system.  No apology.  Nothing.

Finally gathering all our belongings, packing up, we checked out and moved to the hotel next door. Thankfully the room was ready and we did not have to wait to check in.

We are now staying at the Clyde Court Hotel in a lovely upgraded room.  I am sooooo hoping to get to bed early tonight.

Here are a couple of pictures of our new room:

**Note to my best friend, Laura, you would love it.  It has a big bathtub!

We are situated further from the main part of town than I would have liked, but we were not willing to spend several hundred dollars per night to get something right in the heart on a weekend rate.

We thought we would use bus service in/out of city center, but the bus line only goes part of the way.  We ended up walking.  It took us a little over an hour, but we took our time, stopped and looked along the way.  Good exercise and a way to see the area.

We had a couple of “to do” items on today’s list.  First, we needed to go to the Three.ie office where Tim purchased our Ireland SIM cards a couple of weeks ago when our cruise ship stopped here for a day.  We wanted to top-off our account to make sure we had good Internet service for our remaining time in Ireland and the UK.  We knew right where to go, so once there the actual process only took a few minutes.

Check…

Next item was to find me a light weight over the shoulder bag in black or gray.  My current orange bag that I picked up in Barcelona has a chain metal strap that digs into my shoulder when I carry it cross-body.

Shopping Mall in Dublin that reminded me of New Orleans

I have been looking for several weeks, and just not finding what I wanted.  I was trying to find a Baggallini brand, but no luck.  Here is a link to the style I was looking for.

Instead I found a black canvas bag that was similar in style with several zipper pockets. The price was good, so I paid for it and we were on our way.  I no longer needed or had room for the orange bag, so it got donated.

Check…

Wouldn’t you know it – after looking for weeks, and finally shelling out some money, within a half an hour I found another bag that was perfect in a brownish gray color.  It was more expensive, but much better quality.  Sooooo, I ended up with a second bag.

Walking down Grafton Street, the pedestrian only shopping district, we passed several street entertainers.  We stopped to listen to one band called Mutefish for a few minutes. They impressed us enough that we purchased two of their CD’s.

Fun band called Mutefish

If you are interested in hearing a bit of their music, click here for a link.

Our final task was to stop in at the tourist office to ask about a three-day tour to the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula.  We ended up booking a two-day trip for next weekend that I am really looking forward to.

Check…

By the time we walked back to our hotel, my feet were ready to go barefoot, and hopefully I can talk my dear, sweet, kind husband into giving me a foot massage.

Gratitude Moment:  Today I am grateful for the technology that produced noise canceling headphones.  I don’t have any, yet, but my hubby does and I am seriously thinking about getting some.