Tag Archives: Honeymoon

Dublin: Zombies & Brazenhead.

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While Julie and I were in Galway we read about a Zombie Mob that would be in Dublin about the same time our train was arriving.  We didn’t think we’d be able to make it, unless we lugged all of our luggage to the park where they were starting their mob so we skipped it.  After getting to the hotel we went back into the city to find a place to watch the USA – Ghana World Cup Game.  On our walk we ran dead smack into the middle of the Zombie Mob.  The Zombies were raising money for the Irish Cancer Society.

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Brazenhead:

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After breaking some kind of social rule at a ‘Wild West Themed’ bar we hiked back to Brazenhead where the environment was much more to our liking.  We got seats on the patio before the crowd rushed in and there were a good number of Americans watching the game.  Of course when Ghana won everyone else in the bar cheered but that’s part of being American in 21st Century.

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Side Notes:

* The rest of my Dublin photographs are here on Flickr.
** All of our photographs from our Ireland trip are here on Flickr.
*** I’m pretty sure the second to last thumbnail above is of Harry Caray.

Galway, Ireland.

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The best part of our trip in Ireland was the time we were in Galway.  If we could have spent more time there we would have.  The whole vibe was much more laid back that the rest of Ireland.  The old part of the city is much more intact that any of the other places we visited, the bartenders/waitstaff was much more engaging and the entire pace of the city was on a different level.

When we first arrived in Galway we made our way around the city looking for dinner and then we decided on doing our own pub crawl.  I’m not sure how far we made it but we did well.  Julie managed to keep track of the places we stopped and what we drank during our entire trip including this impromptu pub crawl.

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Side Notes:

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* At the The Knigshead we found one of the wider selections of beer in all of Ireland (nearly every bar we went to had all of five bears:  Guinness, Smithwicks, Coors Light, Budweiser, and  Balmers).  They actually had a Pale Ale from Belfast called the Headless Dog which we never came across while in Belfast.  Needless to say it was the best beer I had the entire trip.

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** In addition the Headless Dog beer, the best meal we had the entire trip was also at The Kingshead.  We both ordered the grilled lobster and chips and it was by far the best thing we ate the entire trip.  It took every ounce of moral strength not to eat this twice in two days.  The logic being it would never be as good the second time around.

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*** Potato Chip flavors in Ireland is a topic that must be discussed.  They are offensive and bizzare.  These were a small sample of what is availible:

German Bratwurs Sausage
Argentinean Flame Grilled Steak
English Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding

Seriously,  how do they make potato chips taste like pudding?  We’re not even getting into the Shrimp flavored chips.

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**** This guy is the Mad Max of Galway.  When the end comes he will be more than ready for it.  He drank beer on the street and in public the entire time we were there.

Belfast: Pearl Jam & Ben Harper.

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Our main purpose of stopping in Belfast was to see Pearl Jam with Ben Harper & The Relentless 7 at the Odyssey Arena; granted it was a great city to see for other reasons.  We used Julie’s Ten Club seats for the show and they ended up being GA floor seats.  In other words the best seats I’ve ever had at a Pearl Jam concert.  We waited about 20 minutes before the gates open and then managed to hit the vendor booth for a poster before heading to the floor.  By the time we got to the stage we were about 8 people back from it.

Ben Harper played about 7 songs during a quick set but it was good.  Pearl Jam sounded really good but I wasn’t that into the set list.  Maybe it was just the second encore but the first three songs of the show might have been may favorite songs from their respective albums:

Sometimes
Do The Evolution
Animal

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Side Note:

* Being in General Admission we had to deal with people all night trying to move their way up to spaces that didn’t exist.  Julie and I nearly had to throw down but luckily we made a strategic move.  There was a group of girls behind us who were insisting on moving up and gettting in everyone’s way.  About two people in front of us were two Italian guys who weren’t putting up with anyone’s shit.  We stepped aside and watched the madness as these girls tried to get past these guys.  They nearly smacked the girls in the face and the one guy literally did the ‘Momma Mia’ thing with his hands while saying “You don’t fuck with an Italian!”.

** I took this picture because of the amazing advancement in beer transport technology:

This is the Tour Guide/Body Guard/Drinking Partner that I hired for my time in Ireland. His references were good...