Arriving at Dublin: Just follow the river

After about a 2 hour and 45 min ride, I was in Dublin. Ireland’s capital and most talked about city. Couldn’t wait to explore this beautiful gem. Of course, when I got off the bus it was at the wrong stop. Great way to start your journey. Was about a 25 minutes walk from my accommodation.

Bus leaving me in Dublin photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Got into a nearby mall and asked a security guard for directions. You know that moment after traveling for about 7 to 8 hours, you aren’t really thinking as clearly. Didn’t even cross my mind to a buy local sim card. I was just focused on laying on a bed. I was told to just follow the river.

The river liffey photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I decided to just walk it. It was only 25 mins and needed to get the blood running. Also, thought it was another way great way to see the city and take photos. Glad to say I wasn’t wrong. The clouds kept moving over the sun making the atmosphere really look the British Isles.

Another view of the river liffey photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Followed the river and kept walking. I noticed how friendlier people are in Dublin compared to limerick. The locals here go out their to help others. I was genuinely surprised, when I got lost for a second. Yes, I get lost even following a river. Ironically, the person I asked was a taxi driver. He offered to drive me for free, since it was about 3 minutes away and he was heading in that direction.

Realizing I was lost next to the river liffey photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Took the chance and walked across the street to his parked car. I honestly felt bad that he was so nice to me, that I gave him 20 usa dollars. I know it would had been less if he would had just charge me; However, I never had someone genuinely want to help me for free like this. Coming from California and living in New York, when someone is this nice to you it’s usually a scam. If this was New York City, I probably would had been played as a fool in this situation. Funny thing, he rejected the money I gave to him the first few times. Eventually, he accepted the money. If he was a scammer, he would probably had been the best I ever met. Got dropped off and my Dublin journeys were just about to start. Couldn’t wait to see what the Dublin hype was all about.

Thank you so much for reading! Much love and safe travels!

Check out our eBook “How to Travel for Dirt Cheap” by Hugo Morel for ways to make your dreams of traveling come true without breaking the bank. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M848M47?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420&fbclid=IwAR0_mRF-eE9tODIshljVr7CQ8h6vKT6hHn_8gZfJ94DySY1ylPO2Itu2Qe

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January 18, 2020 42

First Impressions of Limerick, Ireland

When I got to limerick, it had a very different environment than I was expecting. Once again, I was thinking the “normal” Ireland that Hollywood engraved into our minds. Couldn’t really be mad that I was wrong. It felt so good to be away from the New York hustle.

20190831_052449 — Limerick bus station photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Limerick is Ireland’s third biggest city. Think of it as the Irish Chicago without the skyscrapers, traffic jams and hot dogs. Limerick was surprisingly very calm and quiet. This part of Ireland really feels like the suburbs. I know mentioned that in the past post. However, there is no other way to express the environment. It’s a place that most would love to raise a family in.

20190831_052534 — Train station at limerick photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

When you get off the airport shuttle from Shannon airport, you are dropped off at the central bus and train station. To get to Dublin, you can take either a bus or a train. If you take a train, it would cost you about 35 euros. Which, I did not see the value. I spent about 15 USA dollars for my bus ticket to Dublin. That was probably about 11 euros at the time. It’s more economically to use the bus. If you use the train, you are saving about an hour of travel time. Using the bus takes about 3 hours including traffic. However, you probably won’t see traffic until you are near Dublin.

20190831_065332 — Sitting outside of the Colbert station Photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Had about an hour before my bus was scheduled to leave. I had to explore what was nearby. Sadly, there wasn’t much activity going on near the station. It felt like a small city. I know this wasn’t downtown. So, I can not judge. Yet, there’s sense of emptiness. Maybe it’s because I lived in New York City for such a long time. It might be the background noise that I miss. Whatever it was, limerick didn’t have it. For some reason, I liked it. The slower pace of limerick, made you enjoy more of the moment.

20190831_065515 — Outside of limerick’s Colbert station photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Sitting down on a chair people watching near the station getting lost in my thoughts. Enjoying the minutes go by slowly. Truly the vacation I didn’t know I needed. First time in awhile, I felt at peace. No rushing to get to point A to poin B. This is what feels to just live your life away from the hustle and bustle. The more I travel outside of the USA and New York City, the more I realize how much a small vacation is needed for mental health. Ireland felt like a refreshing spa. Something everybody needs when living a stressful life. Hopefully I would still enjoy Dublin as much as I enjoyed limerick. Couldn’t wait to see what Ireland’s most famous city had to offer.

Thank you so much for reading!!! Much love and safe travels!!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.

January 11, 2020 40

Off to Shannon, Ireland!

Never been to Ireland nor had an interest in really going, besides seeing Dublin. However, when you see cheap tickets to Ireland it’s hard to say no. Only paid 250 for the roundtrip flight. After a crazy day, I was off to the land of the green leprechaun.

20190831_041948 — Shannon airport photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

It took about 5 and a half hours from JFK to reach the Shannon airport. It’s a rather small airport. Still gives you that classic European vibe. It was interesting to see signs in English and gaelic. One tip to know is that flying into Shannon is usually alot cheaper than flying into Dublin. I compared the prices before and after buying my tickets. You will usually save about 200 dollars, if you fly into Shannon.

20190831_044005 — Irish flag outside of the Shannon Airport photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Got outside and it was a weird feeling to finally see Ireland. For some reason, I expected Ireland to be that sterotype the media throws at us. I was expecting Irish music blasting and a pub nearby with people partying to sunrise. Yeah, in Shannon you don’t really get that unless you go to downtown, the main streets and/or the tourist sites. The place is pretty quiet and calm. It’s more like a suburb than a major City.

20190831_051108 — Irish road toll stop photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I got on the shuttle bus that would take me into the main part of the city. It was about three euros and it was going to be a short ride. Irish people in general are friendly. Most of the time they are very helpful. Had no idea there were different types of shuttles from the airport. In case your Wi-Fi connection is off, you can always ask an airport staff and they would be more than happy to explain the different routes with the corresponding numbers. However, the locals from Shannon aren’t as nice as the people from Dublin. So, you might find someone having a bad day.

20190831_051243 — The green grass next to the Highway photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

The green grass of Ireland. Makes you think twice about what the green on the Irish flag means.

The ride to Shannon’s transportation hub was probably the longest 30 mins ride of my life. I was so excited to be in Ireland. Made me wonder how I would look to the other people on the bus. An Afo-hispanic/American in the middle of Ireland sitting impatiently like I had to go to the bathroom. Luckily for me, everybody minded their own business. All thanks to smart phones. Whether or not that is a good thing for the progress of humanity, we can only find out in the future.

Thank you so much for reading!!! Much love and safe travels!!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!

Here are links to hotels and other deals.