Brandon O'Brien

Tuesday, July 16, 2013 @ 9:15 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 20

In order to tour the Highlands, Eric and I thought that renting a car for a few days would be the best way to see everything we wanted to. We found the Europcar rental station and picked up our car at the Edinburgh train station. It was rather exciting trying to get out of the city. After several stalls and issues getting into first gear, we made it onto the motorway and on our way into the highlands.

One of Eric's coworkers has a pen pal in a town called Sterling and he gave Eric something to drop off at his pen pal's house. We made our way there and Eric dropped the gift off and then we headed north to Inverness. The scenery was great along the drive. A lot of it reminded me of the pacific northwest mixed with a little bit of Colorado. We hit a little bit of rain here and there but it ended up passing pretty quickly.

We decided to head over to Loch Ness to get some photos before heading into Inverness to walk around. The drive to some viewpoints along the Loch was nice. We stopped at a gift shop so Eric could pick up something for his nephew and then went to the Urquart Castle. Unfortunately they wanted 7.80 pounds to enter the castle so we took a few photos and opted not to go in.

We navigated back to Inverness and found a parking garage and then walked around the town a bit. We saw the Inverness Castle and walked along the River Ness. Both of us were getting hungry so we found a sandwich shop to get some food at. We were thinking about getting a drink in Inverness but decided to head to Nairn where we had a hotel for the night.

Nairn is a tiny town on the North Sea. We got in around 4:30 and the place already seemed a little bit dead. The hotel is definitely a mom and pop run place. The rooms are laid out strangely and there's a really random mismatch of furniture. Fortunately, there are some really nice views from the window.

We walked down to the harbor and took some photos. I got to put my hand in the North Sea. It wasn't quite as cold as I was expecting but there were only two kids in the water and they both had wet suits on. On the way back from the hotel we grabbed some stuff at a local grocery store and then came back to the room.

Tomorrow we're going to go on a distillery tour and then head down near Dundee Scotland for the night.

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Tags: daily journal, scotland, edinburgh, loch ness, inverness, nairn

Posted from: Scotland

Monday, July 15, 2013 @ 6:29 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 19

Today was the day we set out to hike up Arthur's Seat. It's the remains of an old volcano on the east side of town that once climbed, gives a great 360 view of the entire town of Edinburgh and surrounding areas. Last night we planned ahead and bought some blueberry muffins to have for breakfast. After eating we started our journey to the peak.

The walk to the base wasn't that bad. The route Google Maps said we could take didn't actually exist so we had to improvise a bit but we finally made it. The climb started out really easy. It was only a gradual climb and the path was paved. Soon after the path went to dirt and the real elevation started happening. After a few rest breaks we made it to the top and enjoyed the view. The wind had really picked up and it cooled down pretty good up there.

We ate a snack and took some photos and enjoyed the view before heading back down. There was an area called Calton Hill that we wanted to check out so we headed there. There were a bunch of monuments and an observatory at the Calton Hill park. I wanted to climb a tower to see some good views of the city but they wanted 4 pounds to enter. I couldn't justify it after just hiking to the top of Arthur's Seat so we carried on.

We then checked out the Scott Monument (again, I wanted to climb it but wasn't about to pay 4 pounds for the pleasure). After that we were both pretty hungry so we found a pizza place and had a good pizza. Being nice and full, we decided to go find a whisky tasting and after checking out a few places we ended up at a bar called Whiski. Each of us had a flight of 4 different whisky's. My favorite from this flight was the Aberlour 10 yr. It had the right mix of peaty, smooth and creaminess.

We felt pretty good after that flight so we headed to Sainsbury's (the local grocery) and picked up some more snacks and water (unfortunately you can't drink the tap water at this hotel for some reason... there's a big sign in the bathroom saying so). I also picked up a couple containers of mixed fruit and devoured those when we got back to the hotel.

We're just relaxing here for a while before heading out again in a little bit for dinner. Tomorrow we head north up to Inverness and Nairn for the night.

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Tags: daily journal, scotland, edinburgh,

Posted from: Scotland

Sunday, July 14, 2013 @ 6:42 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 18

Eric and I started the day by grabbing some breakfast at a local cafe. We walked up the Royal Mile towards the castle which we planned on touring. There was supposed to be a great view of the castle from the end of the Royal Mile but they had a big stadium set up there for some kind of event.

We waited in line for about 45 minutes for tickets (If you're going, buy your tickets online... it gives you FastPass access so you can skip all the lines) and then we entered the castle. As soon as we got in they were starting a tour so we jumped onboard and walked around the castle for about 30 minutes listening to the guide give us information about the various buildings on site and the history of the castle.

After the tour we hunted down some water (apparently water fountains in public places in Europe don't seem to exist). We went into a cafe that had carafes full of water and glasses next to it for free drinking. I ended up pouring several into my own water bottle (and didn't feel a bit guilty after paying the 16 pound entrance fee to the castle).

We got to see the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny (the rock that's used in all coronations in the UK) and then toured through several of the other buildings and walked through the various museums and memorials they had on site.

After the castle tour we left and walked down the Royal Mile again. We passed a few whisky shops (It's not Scotch here... it's just whisky) and decided to do some sampling. We didn't want to pay for the tour at the Whisky Experience shop so we found a restaurant that was offering some flights. For 11.95 pounds each, Eric and I each sampled 4 different whisky's. I had a Highlands flight and Eric had the Speyside flight. I really enjoyed one of mine in particular and will probably try to hunt it down and buy a bottle before I leave Scotland.

We also went into several wool shops. I'm tempted to buy something woolen but I'm not sure what I want yet. I've been happy to see all of the labels say that the stuff is produced in Scotland and not imported from overseas for tourists.

We stopped into a Sainsbury's to pick up some snacks and breakfast for tomorrow and now we're just relaxing in the hotel a bit before heading out for dinner and another drink or two.

Tip of the Day:
I've heard the name of the city pronounced many different ways, but the majority of people here seem to pronounce it "edin burrow."

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Tags: scotland, daily journal, edinburgh,

Posted from: Scotland

Sunday, July 14, 2013 @ 12:00 AM in 2013 Europe

Day 17

Today was a long day of traveling. I started in Galway, Ireland this morning and jumped on a bus to Dublin Airport at 9:45am. I got to the airport about 5 hours before my flight but wasn't able to check in until 2 hours ahead of time. I ended up spending the entire time reading another mystery novel I picked up from the hostel.

I finally got checked into the flight and headed toward the gate area. When it finally came time to board I saw that I was going to be on a really small prop plane. The flight was fine but it was definitely one of the noisiest commercial flights I've been on. Everything inside the aircraft was shaking around.

When I landed I had a couple hours before Eric showed up so I just hung out at the Edinburgh airport. Eric's flight got in a little earlier than expected so we jumped on the bus to the city center and checked into our hotel (the Royal British).

Both of us were pretty hungry so we set out to find some food. It was pretty late already and most of the restaurants had closed down for the night. We ended up finding a place that had a pretty wide variety of food and I got a calzone (I had been craving italian for the last few nights). By now it was after 11 and pretty much all the pubs had their last call so we just came back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we're going to check out the Edinburgh castle and walk the Royal Mile. There will be some amazing photos tomorrow so stay tuned!

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Tags: daily journal, scotland, edinburgh

Posted from: Scotland

Friday, July 12, 2013 @ 8:26 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 16

Last night Chris and I ended up finishing the whole bottle of Southern Comfort. Fortunately I was drinking a lot of water so I woke up feeling pretty good. Chris took off this afternoon for a different hostel and then he'll head back to the states tomorrow.

After breakfast I got my book and went out to the river and read in the shade. About an hour later I finished the book and walked around the city a little more before deciding to get lunch. I got a chicken baguette and ate by the River Corrib and the Spanish Arch. It was another beautiful day although it was a little cooler.

After lunch I came back to the hostel and worked for a while before deciding to go see the new Superman movie. I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was much better than the last remake of Superman.

I ate some dinner and have been working on editing and uploading some of my photos to IndePrinted. I want to print off some of my best shots from the trip when I get home and hang them in my place.

I'm going to head out in a bit and grab a pint of Guinness. I figure I'll have one last glass before heading to Scotland tomorrow!

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, galway,

Posted from: Ireland

Thursday, July 11, 2013 @ 5:24 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 15

It was another beautiful day in Galway so I decided I'd take advantage of this freak weather and head to the Salthill beach (about a 3 mile walk away). I ate a quick breakfast and got an early (in Irish standards) start to the beach and arrived around 10:30. I lathered on the sun screen and then walked about knee deep into the frigid North Atlantic waters of Galway Bay. The cold water really helps cool you down!

I didn't really like leaving my back with wallet and phone and camera sitting on the beach so I went back to it and ended up reading on the beach for a while. After I got nice and hot again I moved into the shade and read some more. It was relaxing not really having a schedule and just relaxing around the beach.

I had some lunch and then decided to get in the water again. This time I got up to my waist and was sufficiently cool down enough to stay out for a while longer. I read in the sun some more then went back to the shade. I walked down to a pier where people dive off into the ocean. I saw a few people do it but no one was doing any cool flips or anything so I ventured back into the shade.

When I was in the shade reading I overheard a young couple talking to some police about how all their stuff got jacked when they were in the ocean by the pier. I'm glad my instincts were right about not leaving my stuff exposed for too long (even though I was keeping an eye on it while I was in the water).

By about 4:00 I was ready to head back and shower. I made the hot walk back and enjoyed washing all the sweat, sunscreen and salt off me. I'll probably stay here tonight. Chris messaged me on facebook saying he bought a bottle of Southern Comfort and some cokes so we'll just chill here and drink for a while. That's what we ended up doing last night too.

One of my bunkmates is volunteering at a film festival in town and was talking about some of the showings. I might go do that tomorrow since the weather is looking like it might rain. There are some schedule books laying around the hostel so I'll give them a look over and see if there's anything that looks interesting.

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, galway

Posted from: Ireland

Wednesday, July 10, 2013 @ 8:53 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 14

Last night I ended up finding a book at the hostel called the Moscow Vector so I've been reading that lately. It's a pretty good mystery book about Russians developing a super virus that can target individuals. I'll try to finish it over the next day or two and then swap it out for something else at my current hostel.

My bus for Galway left this afternoon and went through some of the Burren through some extremely curvy and steep roads. I'm still amazed how these buses are able to navigate some of these roads. No bus breakdowns this trip and I made it to Galway around 1:45pm.

I ate a sandwich and apple in Eyre park and then went to the Sleepzone hostel to check in. People are out and about everywhere since the weather has been so nice (although the humidity is really getting to me). All of the Irish and Europeans are walking around completely burnt to a crisp. It's pretty funny seeing how they're not used to the sun what-so-ever.

After checking into the hostel I walked around the town a bit through some nice canal areas and busy shopping/cafe areas. The heat was starting to get to me again so I came back to the hostel for a bit. I met up with Chris (the guy from Tennessee I originally met in Kilkenny) and we chatted for a bit.

I needed to get some food for dinner so I went to a Lidl for the first time. It's basically an Aldi and this was the first time I was able to go shopping without feeling like I was getting completely ripped off. For dinner I got some Irish sausages, peppers, onions and bread and cooked it up. I also had some wine (out of a coffee mug) with dinner which was a nice change from beer.

Since then I've just been taking it easy waiting for it to cool down so I can head out again to try and find some music or entertainment of some kind.

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, galway

Posted from: Ireland

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 @ 4:58 PM in 2013 Europe

It's only been 2 weeks into my journey but I feel like I'm learning a lot about the art of traveling lightly.

Things I've Learned:

• Bring a small flashlight or have a cellphone that can help light up dark hostel bedrooms. (Don't be the guy that turns the light on at 3am when everyone else is asleep)
• If you go grocery shopping in Ireland, make sure you have your bags. It's something I've been doing in the States for years, but here you must bring your own bags or else you get charged 20 cents per plastic bag you need.
• Make sure you have a pen close by. You always need to write something down or fill out paperwork when going through customs or crossing borders.
• When you're walking around a city and find a tourist information booth or a map of sights in the city, take a photo of it so you can refer to it later. It makes searching out sights much easier.
• The first Wednesday of every month in Ireland gets you free admission into all Heritage Ireland sights.
• I haven't used my Platypus drink tube in conjunction with my day pack and water bottle. I had good intentions to use it but it's just not as practical as I thought.

In addition to the above things I've learned I also have some more observations.

Random Observations

• Aero candy bars are pretty tasty (and I don't even eat candy hardly at all). I'm not sure if they're available in the States.
• For some reason women of all ages here seem to think dying their hair an almost neon red looks good.
• Not a single clock on any of the Bus Eireann buses has been even remotely correct.
• All of the hostels I've stayed at so far use powdered instant coffee.
• Bus Eireann lets you do amazing things on their website as far as finding schedules and booking tickets (you even save 5% if you book online). The downside is you still need to print the confirmation page and give it to the number. They have no clue how to handle looking at a phone screen to read the confirmation number and type it into their console.
• In Ireland, so far buses have been cheaper forms of travel than trains

Tags: tips, observations

Posted from: Ireland

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 @ 4:19 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 13

I woke up at 6:00 this morning in an effort to hike to the Cliffs of Moher so I could see them in the morning light and have breakfast with quite a view. Unfortunately the sun wasn't really playing nice and since there wasn't a cloud in the sky it was casting some pretty harsh shadows on the cliffs. The views were still incredible and there wasn't another soul out there. The freshness of the mornings always makes walking through nature so much nicer.

I made the 8km (plus a few extra) to the O'Brien's Tower - the highest point along the cliffs - and had the entire viewing spots and surrounding areas to myself. By now the sun had already been up for a few hours and the temperature and humidity was really starting to crank up. I stayed in the shade of the tower for a little while before starting my journey back.

On the way back I made sure to stop at some of the overviews and take in the views and sounds. I still had only seen 4 people in the 3 hours I'd been out hiking around so I could take my time watching the views without any interruptions. I made sure to take as many mental pictures as I could.

By the time it reached 10:00 it was getting to be uncomfortably hot. I was drenched in sweat and there isn't any shade on the exposed cliffs. I picked up my pace and by about 10:30 I finally started to see some more walkers making their way to the cliffs. I'm not quite sure any of them knew what kind of heat to expect but I'm glad I wasn't starting when they did.

I came back to the hotel where it was nice and cool and did a few hours of work and also made some changes to my blog (check out the Maps page. I added a new heatmap that shows where I've been staying each night). I also had a chance to do laundry for the first time! I was in desperate need of it and it felt great to have all of my clothes clean again.

Afterwards I changed and had the intentions of walking around a little bit but after about 10 minutes I decided I had enough of the sun and heat for the day and came back. I stopped in a local cheese/meat/wine/jam shop and sampled some of their treats and bought a bottle of cider that looked good. I'll crack it open tonight with dinner and see how it is.

I also bought my bus ticket to Galway so I'll be heading up there tomorrow. I'll stay there 3 nights then head to Dublin early Saturday morning so I can catch my flight to Edinburgh later in the day.

The Cliffs of Moher has been a great experience. Aside from the intense heat and sun, the views were amazing. I think I'd rather it be this way than cloudy and foggy though. It definitely let me see a lot more of the cliffs than most people get to experience in typical Irish weather.

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, doolin

Posted from: Ireland

Monday, July 8, 2013 @ 9:43 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 12

Today was a good day. It started off with a complimentary mini Irish breakfast that was included in my hotel cost. I took a couple croissants to snack on later as well. It was amazingly hot and humid here today so instead of sweating like crazy walking around Limerick I just relaxed in the hotel until I needed to leave for the bus station.

I stopped and got a few apples on my way to the station and was already starting to break a sweat. Not a cloud in the sky, 80% humidity and about 80 degrees. For a country that's been in the 60's and cloudy the entire time I've been here... this is hot!

The bus ride was going fine until the bus driver pulled over for a few minutes unexpectedly. He called in that there was some kind of issue with the gas pedal not working. He did a few things and we started moving again. About 5 minutes later we pulled over again and he said another bus is on the way and it should be there in about 10-15 minutes.

It was like sitting in an oven on the bus so most of us got off and waited outside in the shade where there was a nice breeze. I ended up talking to 4 sisters and their mom who were from Arizona and were finishing up a 4 week European trip. We agreed that dry heat is much better than heat and humidity.

The new bus came and we carried on. The hostel I'm staying at is in a tiny town called Doolin. The nearest grocery store is 3.5km away (more on that later). Doolin was the last stop so it was just me and a girl named Amy (also from the states) so we got checked into the hostel. I was looking forward to doing a hike along the cliffs so after putting my bags away I came out to ask about it. Amy was also looking to do the same hike so we set out together.

The hike started at the hostel and followed the coast for several miles up to the actual Cliffs of Moher visitor area. There were so many scenic viewpoints along the way it was amazing. The cliffs started gradually climbing and we had some good elevation gains. The highest cliffs we got to were somewhere around 700 feet worth of sheer drops above the ocean. We stopped at a spot where several other tourists were and took some photos hanging over the edge of the cliff.

By now it was around 5pm and the sun was still blazing down fiery doom from above. We set back and needed to get to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner. It took about an hour and a half to get back to the hostel and then we thought the grocery was just up the street (I remembered seeing it from the bus on the way in). Turns out it was 3.5km away and after hiking in the full sun for over 4 hours, that hike seemed to last forever.

Finally made it there and I got some food for dinner tonight, all three meals tomorrow and breakfast and lunch the following day. I made sure I wasn't going to need to do that hike again for any food. I also got an ice cream bar to help cool me down.

I got back to the hostel and ended up making some pasta and slamming a bunch of water. The wifi here is a bit spotty so it's taking forever to upload the photos from today. I desperately need to take a shower to get all the sweat and sunscreen off from the hike today and my clothes are in some major need of laundry. Fortunately they offer free laundry here so I'm going to take advantage of that sometime before I leave.

Everyone said to visit the Cliffs of Moher and all of the websites and travel blogs mentioned it as well. The photos and videos looked amazing but I have to say that being there and standing on the edge of a 700 foot drop into the ocean, you can't capture that kind of stuff on any medium except your memory.

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Tags: daily journal, ireland, doolin

Posted from: Ireland