Cambridge Week 5

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Destination: Dublin, Ireland!

First and only trip out of the UK over the 8 weeks.

Welcome to Stansted Airport, a haven for cheapo overnight airport campers like me. An experience to forget asap... The airport was a hive of activity when we reached at 12 midnight! There were obviously seasoned campers... who were already sprawled across the prized benches by the time we arrived. The champions were those who set up shop on the floor with their sleeping bags and blankets. And you thought a jacket was sufficient. No... not at Stansted because, for some reason, the entrances were left open. I barely caught a wink, no thanks to the cold drafts. At around 3 am, I saw 2 armed policemen patrolling the terminal. Got a bit worried... They were called in because some joker left his bag unattended. After some instense interrogation and admonition, the poor guy was let off. He probably would never dare leave a packet of tissue on the table to reserve his seat anymore...

Dublin in a day!

Avalon House, the hostel we stayed on Saturday night...

A trip to where it all started... the St. Jame's Gate Brewery.

Guinness is good... not that I have tried lots of other beer. But yes, I like the clean taste of the brew... it's particularly refreshing... Cheers~

It started pouring by the time we reached the temple bar district.

We scrambled for shelter at a random restaurant/bar, and the food was not bad!

Guinness beef stew...

Really glad that we went for a tour to Wicklow and Glendalough the next day!

A view of Kiliney coastal area, where all the rich and famous stay... See if you can spot Enya's castle towards the top left of the picture

Wicklow Mountains... Loch Tay aka Guinness Lake

the view was marvelous!

Glendalough... at the ruins of a monastery.

with yunqin at Upper Lake...

The famouse Trinity College of Ireland, where the Book of Kells is kept. Unfortunately, we got there too late, and the library was already closed to visitors...

The fickle weather did dampen our spirits... but still it was a fun-filled weekend, thanks to the wonderful company!

photos stolen from khian hong!