Recap: It’s been 5 miles and 3 hours later since Sam and I have eaten so naturally we are starving. So that is the first thing on our mind. We have arrived to the City Centre and we finally caught up with the Trinity girls: Simone and Rebecca to watch the Gaelic football match.
On Sam and I’s way to the City Centre, we discovered a pub that looked like it was going to be packed during the match; obviously we are going to want to be there. We all decided to make that our destination which means more travelling. But by which means? We’d all experienced the buses and taxis back home and I don’t think Sam and I could’ve possibly walked any further without eating (but you’ll be surprised at how resilient the human body is). So we chose to take the LUAS which is Dublin’s tram system. The four of us had seen them as we went into the City Centre so why not give it a chance…
Remember that we are four Americans that have just arrived in Dublin for really the first time with limited knowledge of the area, no recollection of the name of the pub that we want to go to except for its on approximate location on Drumcondra St, and no clear instructions on how the tram system works. This sounds like a solid plan… Outside of Trinity College, we find a LUAS station and we assume getting the tram to a place near Croke Park will be our smartest bet since we want to be as close to the crowds as possible. We buy our tickets and we wait for the next one to arrive.
We hop on the LUAS and of course it’s packed. It’s a beautiful Sunday in Dublin with a huge match happening too, which means we have to be on the lookout for places to sit… tough luck—we have to stand. To describe the LUAS simply: an above ground subway train: same smell but no performers. We’ve been on for about 10 minutes and we start to notice that it is getting further and further from our destination and decide to get off at the next stop… little did we know, we would have to cross LUAS tracks and run for our lives for the next tram that was coming and pray we make it on time and don’t get hit in the process.
Looks like our stop is approaching, all four of us get out in time and see on the monitor that another LUAS going in the direction we need will be here in 1 minute. We rush across the tracks and make it to the other side right on time. The LUAS stops and opens its door and people are rushing off and we are trying to find our way on… Rebecca, Simone, and I make it on in time; Sam is left outside of the LUAS as the doors are closing. Now is the perfect time to demonstrate how foreign we are in this country because we start screaming and banging the door so that it will open for Sam. In our struggle to make anything happen in those few seconds, a kind stranger presses a button on the door and it opens quick enough for Sam to jump on before it slams closed again as the LUAS starts to depart. Talk about a close call.
At this point, we are another hour into this journey, Sam and I are on the verge of passing out from hunger and sleepiness, but we keep trekking on. Determination and pure grit keep us going further, plus we were able to snag seats on our ride back into the city.
This is when yous reading ask, “can it get any worse?” and to that I respond: “check out part 3 of my blog to find out…”
Fun fact: Dublin transportation consists of buses, taxis, LUAS, trains, bikes, but mostly walking. It is also one of the most expensive transportation systems I have experienced thus far.
