Get Me Out of Here

2004-12-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

A page from the Book of Kells

An overview of Dublin

2004-12-18T08:27:00.000-05:00

I always thought that visiting Ireland would be like taking a stroll through a very big, very green park. Dublin did not live up to that expectation. Yes, traveling to Ireland in mid November isn't the smartest idea. It was raining when we landed, and the grey skies and cold weather were fairly consistent for the entire trip. But what surprised me is that Dublin itself is kind of a grey city, with some interesting architecture but very little to recommend it as a whole.

That's not to say that there isn't anything to see or do in Dublin. I was just betrayed by my own unfair expectations of what the city might be like. My friend and I visited a number of sights, ate at some pretty good restaurants, and visited quite a few bars. I am glad that we didn't just visit the city during our five days in Ireland.

The Book of Kells and the adjoining Old Library in Trinity College was an interesting diversion. The medieval illuminated manuscripts were unusual and quite detailed. The Long Room of the library was quite impressive with it's seemingly endless collection of books. I enjoyed viewing much of the collection at the National Gallery, and there was some interesting Asian works on display at the Chester Beatty Library and Galleries.

I think much of one's experience in Dublin is shaped not by the sights that they see, but by the people they meet and the interactions they have with them. I think the fatal flaw in my not thoroughly enjoying Dublin was that I didn't expose myself to enough people and engage in meaningful conversation. Not that my friend Grant and I didn't try. But I'll get into that later in another post...

Cheap but not so easy

2004-12-17T07:44:00.000-05:00

My most recent trip was to Europe, where I spent two weeks between Ireland, Scotland and Spain. With such a weak dollar, now is not the best time to be vacationing in Europe. But with the ridiculously low autumn prices being offered by Ryanair for travel between countries, I couldn't resist. They advertise some of these fares as just 1 cent, but with taxes all one-way flights cost at least $10. I flew from Dublin to Glasgow for less than $20, London to Barcelona for less than $30, and Barcelona back to Dublin to catch my return flight for under $30.

Of course, there are drawbacks to using Ryanair. You'll need to book in advance to get the cheap fares, and there is little flexibility to changing your flight once purchased. Neither of my flights to/from Spain actually went to Barcelona's international airport, and I flew out of London Stanstead. Just like Southwest in the U.S., Ryanair flies to smaller airports that are not as centrally located. Also, the seats are smaller and more cramped than budget airlines here in the States. Advertisements for Ryanair services are broadcast throughout the entire flight, particularly for drinks and snacks, which all come with a price. But if you want to travel long distances within Europe it is much cheaper than driving or train travel.

Who is this guy?

2004-12-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Kyle and I'm 33 years old. Originally from Seattle, I now reside in New York City. When not travelling across the globe I work as a database analyst at an advertising agency. For one reason or another, I'm also working on a doctorate in education, although I don't plan to make a career out of teaching.

I have lived in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Michigan, New York, and Virginia. That's made it fairly easy to visit 49 out of the 50 states. Arkansas has so far managed to elude me... I also lived in Florence, Italy, for a half year. This enabled me to explore much of western Europe. I have been to Asia, visiting China, Singapore and Malaysia. And in Central America I have vacationed in Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Still, I feel like I haven't seen all that much of the world. I suffer from a serious case of wanderlust. Hopefully I'll not only soon be back on the road, but have photographs to share with you from the trip.

2004-12-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

Visiting Hong Kong, atop Victoria Peak

What's with the blog?

2004-12-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

Hopefully everyone has a passion in life; mine is travel. I love to explore new places, meet new people, and shake up the routine of my everyday life. I also enjoy writing and communicating with friends. While I have been somewhat resistant to blogging, enough people have asked to look at my pictures from a recent trip, or if I had a recommendation of where they might stay in a particular city, etc. I thought I'd make an attempt to learn this new technology while sharing some of my thoughts and travel knowledge. Who knows how good I'll be at updating the information or whether I'll have anything interesting to share after a week or two. But if you'd like to ask me a question, praise or pan the content, or otherwise grab my attention, please feel free to contact me at kylebarber@hotmail.com.