a benefit of traveling

one of the benefits of travel is relating news items to travels i've made...in recent news, queen elizabeth ii visited dublin and laid a wreath at the garden of remembrance...our hotel, cassidy's, was in the same block as the garden and i remember walking up to take pictures...there was an interesting collection of people; however, the garden was looking a little shabby (maybe so was dublin with its gray skies)..i guess they spruced it up for the visit...here's a web connection to the queen's visit...http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/8519272/Queen-lays-wreath-in-Dublins-Garden-of-Remembrance.html.

in fact, here's a summary of the irish republic visit in the summer of 2009...i'll share getting there and day #1..
this was the summer of the free upgrades, all the way from hnl to lhr and back, four legs and four upgrades...
Leaving on June 10^th, we checked in quite easily and headed for gate 8 and an 8:40 pm departure for LAX. As I sat in the waiting area, I heard my name called and was told that I was upgraded to business class on the 767 2-cabin vessel. So my seat assignment changed from 10B to 1E although my seating companion didn’t change. I dubbed this flight the kiddies’s crusade, so many kids on board. We got a good meal for a late flight of chicken salad and brownies. I washed it down with two glasses of champagne. I didn’t watch any movie as I tried to get some sleep on this red-eye.
We landed early which added to our waiting time. With a seven hour layover, we decided to leave LAX and have breakfast in the city. we collected ourselves outside gate 77 and headed for Manhattan Beach for breakfast. We arrived at Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Manhattan Beach for an al fresco brunch. I ordered a waffle with eggs and pork sausage,
We returned to gate 77 to catch our Boeing 777 overseas, flight UA 934, for our 12:59 pm departure for LHR. I was upgraded to business class, seat 12B. I dubbed our crew the granny crew, the average age of the flight attendants being somewhere between 70 and death. I think one of the passengers was Tony Gonzalez, mainly famous for being a tight end with Kansas City. At least, someone that big better be an NFL player.

The highlight of the upgrade was the dinner. I started with an antipasti platter of smoked salmon, Genoa salami, and vegetable crudite, a main course of braised short rib of beef with red-wine demi-glace roast, and a glass of port with coffee and an Eli’s caramel tiramisu. I washed this down with glasses of Iron Horse champagne. I spent most of the flight resting (it is very peaceful in business class contrasted with the “steerage” feel in economy, people in various stages of rest or desperate acts to keep busy for ten hours) or reading (Pipeline by Peter Schetcher) or watching The Reader.  We enjoyed a breakfast of Monterey Jack cheese omelette, turkey sausage and Black Forest ham, and a grilled tomato with tons of coffee.
It was now Friday the 12^th and we landed early about 20 minutes before our planned 7:30 am landing, meaning some circling over London, and docked at Terminal 1, gate 46 aka gate 146. A BA worker showed us what path to take if we were connecting or landing. We cleared a biometric security area where my picture was taken and a re-entry card was provided. I spent some time in the Star Alliance Lounge, recharging my mobile and enjoying a cup of coffee. I topped up my mobile at Dixon’s and then went looking for a nerd to give me a refresher course in my mobile. I found this kid at Zurich’s to help. He looked geek-y. After helping me turn on the mobile (did I say I needed a refresher), he showed me a few things i needed to know to make calls.
We waited until 1315 for our plane ride to Dublin. After clearing immigration and using our re-entry card to establish visual identity, we headed for gate 80 (aka 180) on BMI to Dublin, flight BD 127, an A319. We landed in Dublin (Dubh Linn, black pool) and cleared immigration, claimed our luggage, and caught a ride into the city.  We arrived at Cassidy’s and checked in, spending about a half hour to put our luggage away in room 123, clean up a little and start our tour of Dublin.
I left a little early and walked up to the Garden of Remembrance for a photo op. There was a black couple taking “model” shots around the memorial, two black guys talking on mobiles (to each other?), and an assortment of couples talking and eating. I met up with the gang and we started the walk down O’Connell Street and the many statues on the strip separating the two-way traffic. Before we started, I found out that the common name for the city in Modern Irish is Baile Átha Cliath (meaning "town of the hurdled ford"). It was first written as such in 1368 in the Annals of Ulster is a place-name referring to a fording point of the Liffey in the vicinity of Heuston Station. Áth Cliath
Our first statue was the Parnell Monument which was at the intersection of O’Connell and Parnell Streets. This is one of the assessment of Charles Stewart Parnell’s role in Home Rule. We then took to the medial strip in search of a series of pedestal statues. We passed Father Matthew’s statue. He’s the temperance dude. The next statue was Big Jim Larkin, the labor leader, known as Séamas Ó Lorcáin The final statue on the strip was that of Sir John Grey (July 13, 1815- April 9, 1875), an Irish physician, surgeon, newspaper proprietor, journalist and politician. We left O’Connell for Earl St. North in search of the Prick with the Stick, James Joyce’s statue. We found it and took pictures.
We completed our statue tour with a stop at O’Connell’s monument at the other end of O’Connell Street. O’Connell became my hero of the trip and I will spend a little more time on him when we visited his birthplace in Kerry. Suffice it to say, Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847) (Dónal Ó Conaill), known as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the nineteenth century. He campaigned for Catholic Emancipation - the right for Catholics to sit in the Westminster Parliament, denied for over 100 years - and Repeal of the Union between Ireland and Great Britain.
We continued our walk crossing the Liffey River on the O’Connell Bridge. We passed a Viking memorial, recreating a Viking stanchion, in search of Temple Bar and Hard Rock Café. We found it and stopped for a well deserved rest. We had our first Guinness pint, washed down with an order of nachos made with a sweet chili sauce. It was a good thing I had seen a pint poured on several travel shows because I knew to wait until the pour was finished and allowed to settle.
After shopping at Hard Rock’s store, we continued our tour of the Temple Bar area, stopping at a souvenir shop where I purchased two key rings from a fellow I thought was local until I detected some accent (“Oh, no, monsieur, I am French”). I saw Farrington’s pub, and it reminded me of my teaching career.

We noticed all the Bloomsday banners flying, noting we would miss the celebrations by two days. We continued in search of Brazen Head pub. We passed a skeletal monument of a Viking ship fronting a large commercial building, City Hall, Christchurch. We passed the Handel house where The Messiah was written; “Hallelujah, Hallelujah.” We were also in search of St. Audoen’s gate, a medieval entry point to Dublin. We found the gate and the attached church where evening services were in progress.

We took our second break at Brazen Head for a second pint and potato skins. brazen head, showing off how old it is, had a fine collection of antiques. The crowd was building as it was Friday evening and the partying was starting. We left after an hour or two, leaving the locals to their party. We walked along the quay, passing the Four Courts, and crossed the Liffey via Ha’ Penny Bridge. Accepted as the symbol of Dublin, the Ha'penny Bridge (offically Wellington Bridge after the 'Iron Duke') was opened in 1816. We returned to the hotel, and my back began its three day protest. Wow! That’s a lot to digest; more later.