The Real Dublin

Actually, Dublin wasn't all rainbows and happiness.

After two days of speedy, comfortable driving from Heathrow to Bath and up through scenic Wales, Dublin was a huge frustration. We seemed to take every possible wrong turn and get into all the biggest traffic jams available. We were also stuck on the wrong side of the Liffey, after starting on the right side (the South side... the side with the even-numbered postal districts. We live in Dublin 4... more on that later).

We were just trying get up into the center of the city close enough to find a decent currency exchange. I (Mike) brought U.S. cash along for the first month's rent, and I needed it in Euro right away.

We arrived in Dun Laoghaire at about 11AM on Friday. We needed to meet the real estate agent by 5PM. All we had to do was change the money and get to the agency. If we didn't, we would be shut out of the house until the following Monday.

Well, I think we finally made it to the real estate agency around 2:45. I think I made every amateur move in the book as far as driving around Dublin goes.

But then...