Leaving Dublin Behind

 Another planning hiccup played out this morning...Nothing serious though!  As we left breakfast this morning, we got the hotel receptionist to book us a cab for a 8:45 departure to take us to the Hertz Rental location by 9:00.  When we came down to the lobby to catch our ride, things were a bit hectic.  That is actually an understatement.  It was a circus!  Two bus loads of people (Americans) were 'milling' around in the lobby waiting for their ride to the airport.  The lobby actually was not a bad size but there were too many people in too small of space.  You could not move.  To make matters worse, our taxi that had been booked was for some reason cancelled by the dispatcher.  They said that they could not find the driver of our assigned ride...a strange explanation.  Dublin has a central booking system for all of its' taxis.  The Hotel Receptionist was not a happy camper!  Eventually the 'herd' of Americans made their exit.   The receptionist went out onto the street and hailed us a cab, not how the system works in this city. Our driver was a great guy who offered us some helpful tips about driving in Ireland...even if he incorrectly assumed that we were Americans! 

We arrived about 45 minutes late for our car pickup. It was an interesting experience to say the least.  I signed my name, paid a bunch more money (don't even ask) and was handed the keys and told the car was around the corner.  Hard to believe that we had to find our own car in their parking lot!  After about 15 minutes of us taking pictures of the car and figuring out how the wipers, turn signals and reverse worked we were ready to depart.

It has been a while since I have driven on the 'wrong' side of the road.  It is a challenge!  Most rentals in Ireland are standards.  This shifting with the left hand sucks.  Did I mention the weather?  It was raining hard and windy.  Water was coming down sideways.  This was not the kind of conditions that I was hoping for on my first day behind the wheel.  

Enough complaining.  We had a really good time in Dublin.  We saw some really interesting stuff and found the beer to our liking...now isn't that a surprise!

We had planned an alternative route out of Dublin.  Google Maps had us leaving on expressways.  We were having none of that. Our route took us on 2 lane roads which at times were 1 lane two way roads.  Just getting our feet wet I am sure!  We made our way to the site of the Battle of the Boyne that took place in 1690.  We immediately had coffee and a scone before we donned our raingear and spent some time wondering the gardens around the interpretive centre.  For more info on the Battle of the Boyne...google it...to put it mildly it did nothing for the Catholic cause to say the least!

Do to the lousy weather, we have arrived in Trim a little bit earlier than planned.  It just means that I can take Sue out for her birthday dinner at one of the 2 restaurants that is located here in the Trim Castle Hotel.


 Oldbridge House...The estate where most of the Battle of the Boyne took place

Amazing gardens despite the weather!

More of the amazing gardens

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