trip to England | virtual book

trip to England

 (mod. )

#journal #travel — Mentioned in what I'm doing now #13, trip to Ireland

Z and I are vacationing in England for ten days from August 15th til the 26th.

Friday 08/15/2025 – Bristol

  • arrive in Bristol Airport in the evening, take Uber to Airbnb in Montpelier
  • eat late dinner @ Nadu (really good)
  • shower and go to bed before midnight

Before we settled on Bristol, Z and I considered visiting Liverpool. When I noticed that Wrexham was nearby, I fancied a day trip down to see them play their first ever(?) Championship match at the Racecourse, or at least to grab a pint at The Turf and meet Wayne, the charming bar owner and Wrexham A.F.C. devotee. I just realized he reminds me of Karl Pilkington. Agh, I’m almost regretting not pursuing this plan. Commute from Bristol to Wrexham would be long and I can’t imagine tickets would be cheap to get, if any were available at all. I suppose it might still be worth it if I can watch the game at The Turf. We’ll see. Z won’t be thrilled with the idea, but the 16th is my birthday and for it she’ll do whatever possible to make me happy. I’m a lucky guy.

Saturday 08/16/2025 (my birthday) – Bristol

  • solo coffee @ Poquito
  • breakfast @ The Bristolian
  • coffee @ Radford Mill Farm Shop
  • bike to north end of Bishopston on dott ebikes
  • browse bookstores along Gloucester Road
  • buy Yuro Press @ Perfecto Coffee Co and chat with barista
  • get a beer & watch last 20 minutes of Aston Villa vs Newcastle @ Industry Bar & Kitchen
  • browse more shops along Gloucester Road
  • walk back to Airbnb and rest
  • have lunch @ Nadu, then drop off leftovers at Airbnb
  • scooter to Old Vic for free Sofar Sounds gig
  • walk through Queen Square, then back to Old Vic for next set of Sofar Sounds gig
  • attend stand up comedy @ The Gaffe Comedy club
  • get takeout from KFC and get uber to Airbnb

Our

time in the Irish countryside

trip to Ireland

 (mod. )

#journal #travel — Mentioned in what I'm doing now #13, trip to England

Z and I are vacationing in Ireland for a week from August 8th til the 15th.

Thursday 08/07/2025 – Vancouver, BC

  • 4:30pm flight YVR -> YYC -> DUB
  • watched two interior design videos
  • read about Dublin, The Easter Rising, The Troubles
  • watched Thomas Flight’s 1hr video Why Movies Will Never Feel the Same
  • read about Marshall McLuhan, the New Criticism, Harold Innis

The late afternoon flight gave me lots of time to get the apartment in order before leaving. I watered my plants and gathered them all into the office for Z’s mom to water while we’re away. Baxter is staying with my mom in Victoria. I expect he’ll bond with her and my younger sister in the three weeks he stays with them as he did with our friends who dogsat him while Z and I were in Indonesia in 2023. In particular he loves our friend A, who playfought with him. He loves to playfight.

Friday 08/08/2025 – Dublin

  • arrive at Dublin Airport in the morning; take cab to Airbnb, drop off luggage
  • get coffee @ The Little Cactus; walk through Smithfield, across River Liffey and into Usher’s Quay
  • eat lunch @ SPACE JARU, then browse @ Marrowbone Books & chat with the worker about authors
  • continue walk: lounge in St. Patrick’s Park; Grafton St., thronging with tourists; St. Stephen’s Green
  • coffee @ Coffeeangel on the sidewalk patio
  • walk into Trinity College: Fellows’ Square, around the pristine College Park cricketground
  • visit National Gallery of Ireland; dinner @ All Bar Chicken; walk back to Airbnb to shower and unwind

The locals have been very friendly and helpful. The cabbie chatted with us cheerfully. Z anticipates being upstaged in the realm of enthusiastic socializing.

It surprised me how small the city feels. The weather is gray and mild and windy, good for walking outdoors. There is a good deal of car traffic. Many if not most buildings are made of brick and sit at two or three stories.

Saturday 08/09/2025 – Dublin

  • solo coffee @ The Little Cactus
  • brunch @ Brother Hubbard; read on our phones about The Easter Rising
  • visit The Spire and GPO, site of The Rising
  • coffee @ Copper + Straw
  • tour @ Kilmainham Gaol Museum (great)
  • eat dinner @ Gallaghers Boxty House
  • attend stand up comedy @ In Stitches Comedy
  • get takeout pizza & fries from Manor Takeaway Foods

I like it here. There is an abundance of pubs, quality coffee shops, public transit, bike lanes, leftists, and young people. Z says it reminds her of Vancouver.

Dublin feels bigger today. It’s the weekend and this afternoon there was a friendly game between Leeds United and AC Milan so the streets are chock full of people, many in yellow and white Leeds jerseys and a few Rossoneri sprinkled about. The city center is swarming with pedestrians, pubs brimming with cheerful drinkers pooling on the sidewalks by the entrance. Out the windows the sound of live music streams laced with singalongers. Cars rumble and buses whine and bike bells chime on the street. Sunshine stretches out on the asphalt and above it lights up the translucent flags that hang angled from building fronts.

Sunday 08/10/2025 – Dublin -> Galway

  • solo coffee @ Little Cactus; then breakfast & coffee together
  • tour @ Henrietta House
  • tour & tasting @ Jameson Distillery
  • shop for used books in Temple Bar
  • pick up car rental @ Dublin Airport (faff and a half)
  • pick up luggage from Airbnb & get quick meal from Manor Takeaway Foods
  • drive to Galway, settle at B&B, chat with host about what to do tomorrow

At the Jameson Distillery, our host was the most animated one we’ve had in Dublin. He waved his arms wildly and in husky bellows rattled off his lines, punctuating them with dual finger snaps and tossing of the Jameson bottle from one hand to the other, the glass clinking against his hand jewelry. He concluded his opening speech by ramming the bottle down onto a prop book, then as if waking from a trance he commented mildly and mostly to himself that this bottle hadn’t broken. I too was surprised.

Monday 08/11/2025 – Galway

  • breakfast @ 8am; I had a Full Irish Breakfast & Z had french toast with fruits
  • drive to Cliffden & around Sky Road on the peninsula (scenic!)
  • drive to Letterfrack & hike most of Diamond Hill (scenic!)
  • stop at Kylemore Abbey; lunch @ Connemara Woodfire
  • drive to Killary Fjord (scenic!); get ice cream @ Hamilton Grocery & enjoy view
  • spend evening & have dinner in Galway

This was a supremely scenic daytrip. Exactly the kind that makes our car rental worth it.

Tuesday 08/12/2025 – Galway -> Doolin

  • breakfast @ 9am, we both had french toast with fruits; leave B&B
  • ice cream @ Linnalla Irish Ice Cream; coffee @ The Oir House
  • drive up Corkscrew Hill
  • attend sheepdog demonstration @ Caherconnell Stone Fort
  • visit Poulnabrone Dolmen, tomb from the Stone Age
  • dinner @ Vaughan’s Pub in Kilfenora; arrive @ Airbnb in Doolin to rest & do laundry
  • visit Cliffs of Mohar
  • struggle to find restaurants serving food after 9:30pm; get takeout pizza from Riverside Bistro

I have an anecdote about my doing laundry at the Airbnb. I’ll write it here later.

Wednesday 08/13/2025 – Doolin, Inis Oirr, & Dingle Peninsula

  • pack and leave airbnb; get coffee & breakfast @ Rocket House Coffee; ferry to Inis Oirr
  • rent pedal-assist electric bikes & ride them around the island, visting the sites; lunch @ Flaherty’s Pub
  • bike some more; ferry back to Doolin
  • drive south along coast, through Kilkee buzzing with activity
  • take Killimer Ferry into County Kerry
  • eat dinner @ Dough Mamma in Listowel; continue drive to Dingle Peninsula
  • settle in guest house of Tig Bhric & West Kerry Brewery
  • get a drink at the pub downstairs & listen to the locals sing together in Irish

Thursday 08/14/2025 – Slea Head Drive on Dingle Peninsula, then Knocknagoshel

Part I
  • get coffee & breakfast in Dingle; set out on Slea Head Drive
  • visit Ceann Trá Beach, where several locals lounged in the water & two kids lazily hurled a ball between them
  • visit Lios Stone Circle to see the ringfort & to feed alpacas, sheep, goats, donkeys, and horses
  • visit Bee Hive Huts, which belonged to pre-Christian Celtic chieftains
  • stop at Cross at Slea Head; get coffee at a cafe nearby with a spacious patio facing the view
  • hike up Dunmore Head (one of my highlights of the trip); stop near Dunquin Pier to look down at it
  • eat lunch on the scenic patio of The Blasket Centre, a small & wonderfuly architected museum
  • returned to Tig Bhric & West Kerry Brewery to pick up leftbehinds and a bottle of beer for my friends Kieran & C
  • visit the Gallarus Oratory, a small stone house believed to be over a thousand years old
Part II
  • drive to Tralee to buy spray paint to cover some scratches on the rental car’s front bottom bumper
  • meet with my friend Kieran in his village of Knocknagoshel during a scavenger hunt he helped organize for the local kids
  • chat with Kieran’s girlfriend’s mom about the village, England, immigration, the patriarchy, and more
  • go to the pub with Kieran & another local B who until recently was working for the UN in Kenya
  • drank beer & caught up; met several locals including Kieran’s girlfriend Eva & a man named Niall who they dubbed “the village philosopher” and who Z & I thought looked like Joaquin Phoenix
  • meet my friend Chris, who like Kieran I met and last saw in Berlin in June of 2019 during my post-graduation travels
  • drink more beer & eat dinner from a nearby takeaway; sit in a small circle chatting
  • return to Kieran’s cottage, where Eva & Chris live as well; drink tea, eat chocolate, play music, & chat
  • sleep upstairs in Chris’s attic room while he slept in his camper van outside

Friday 08/15/2025 – Dingle -> Killarney -> Cork -> Bristol

  • drink coffee & eat toast that Chris made for us; shower, pack, dress, and load car
  • fix scratches on rental car with Chris & Kieran’s help
  • hike in Glanageenty Forest Recreation Area with Chris
  • eat lunch with Chris @ O’Riadas Bar along the N21 between Tralee & Castleisland
  • drive to Killarney to buy Kerry jersey
  • drive to Cork Airport & return rental car; drink beer & write this journal while waiting for our delayed flight to England

On our hike through Glanageenty forest we spoke with Chris about various things. At one point we got on the topic of gender and he expressed his resent for the anti-masculinity messaging he received while growing up. Lately he had been collecting opinions from people about what it is that makes a man. A positive definition instead of a negative one. I offered an answer. To be a good man, you need self-esteem.

was fantastic. There we found the conventional tourist attractions well worth seeing. It is making me reflect on cities and what about them makes them worth visiting. Good food of diverse types. Art shows like galleries, live music, and stand up comedy. Historical landmarks and notable architecture.

A remarkable aspect of a good city is its density. I think I have to shift my mindset. Here it isn’t about covering ground but about drilling down in single spots. Spending hours at a museum. Eating a great dinner in a restaurant mere steps from another where you had breakfast. Even returning to the same restaurant to try different items on the menu. Doing these things feel less like exploring and adventuring.

Sunday 08/17/2025 – Bristol

  • sleep in; get coffee & pastry from Poquito; shower & dress
  • scooter to Temple Meads train station and ride fifteen minutes to Bath
  • eat late lunch @ Comptoir Libanais Bath (really enjoyed it)
  • buy airpod bud tips from nearby Apple store
  • walk through city centre, visit The King’s Bath, drink from host spring in The Pump Room
  • walk Z to Jane Austen Centre then walk alone to Assembly Inn
  • watch Arsenal vs Man United and chat with fellow Arsenal fans
  • walk with Z to The Circus then Royal Crescent then Pulteney Bridge
  • walk to train station, ride to Bristol Temple Meads, scooter back to Montpelier
  • get takeout from Oowee Diner and eat at Airbnb

I can’t help but chuckle to myself sitting here on my first train trip in England. The platform was occupied with travelers waiting for the train and when it arrived everyone flocked to the carriage entrances. Z and I were confused to see everyone standing so close to the doors before they opened. Wouldn’t there be people on the train already, some of whom would be disembarking here in Bristol? Indeed there were. The doors opened and people started trickling out, many with luggage and one with a stroller and yet the travelers waiting to board barely made way for them. Z and I looked at each other.

Once we got on the train, we waited for people in front of us to stow luggage and find seats. The seats were mostly occupied but we saw a few single open seats remaining so we stepped down the aisle towards them. Nearest us there appeared to be two single seats open at either side of the aisle but when I came to what would be mine I discovered a small dog panting where he lay before a bowl of water. I considered asking for the seat but then there were more open seats down the aisle. Still it felt funny to give deference to a dog. I turned to the other side of the aisle and asked the girl if she’d mind moving her luggage from the seat next to her. To my and Z’s surprise she replied that she did mind, that she had documents in her suitcase. I said Oh, you can’t put it there? pointing overhead. She said No, it doesn’t fit. Two dreadful excuses. Z and I looked at each other again, mutual incredulity growing. No matter, ahead were more open seats.

A woman with a baby strapped to her chest asked me for help putting her stroller in the overhead compartment. I did and as she turned to get in her seat the backpack on her back touched the face of a middleaged man sitting across the aisle and he moaned and clutched his nose as if he’d been struck. The mother turned to him and said I’m so sorry, are you ok? with all the polite concern in her tone of voice but none much on her face. The man didn’t look at her anyway — he was still holding his face — and he waved her away and said Just sit down. The mother exchanged silent looks with us and sat down.

As Z and I lurched down the aisle of the moving train towards the few remaining empty seats, nobody made to remove their bags from their adjacent seat to allow us it. Each of us had to walk up to a passenger, look them in the face, and ask that they make their spare seat available to us. An opportunity to interact more with the locals I suppose.

Monday 08/18/2025 (Z’s birthday) – Bristol

  • sleep in; get breakfast @ The Crafty Egg
  • get coffee @ Elemental Collective Grocers
  • accompany Z to a couple boutiques on Stokes Croft
  • visit Wake the Tiger
  • eat dinner @ Poco Tapas Bar (fantastic)
  • spend evening relaxing at Airbnb

We’ve been getting around on dott scooters. Bristol is not huge. The best ways for us to get around have been walking, biking, and scootering. We haven’t taken the bus yet because it’s rarely a convenient option.

Tuesday 08/19/2025 – Bristol -> London (Upton Park, SoHo)

  • eat breakfast @ The Bristolian
  • coffee @ Poquito
  • bus to Bristol Temple Meads; train to London; take tube to Z’s friend L’s apartment in Upton Park
  • eat lunch @ Chaiiwala
  • eat dinner @ Mele e Pere
  • get ice cream @ Ben & Jerry’s

Wednesday 08/20/2025 – London (Spitalfield, SoHo)

  • get coffee @ Nagare Coffee
  • eat lunch @ Bubala w/ my cousin P
  • get another coffee @ Nagare Coffee
  • browse shops in Spitalfields and Brick Lane
  • eat dinner from SushiDog
  • see Hadestown with Z’s friend A @ Lyric Theatre

Thursday 08/21/2025 – London (Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury, King’s Cross, Somers Town)

  • coffee @ Caravan Coffee Roasters
  • brunch @ Rosa’s Thai
  • coffee @ Omotesando Koffee
  • visit The British Museum
  • solo walk in Bloomsbury
  • visit Skoob Books, used book store with ample selection; ride Lime bike to King’s Cross
  • visit Word on Water book store, then walk around; ride Lime scooter to Somers Town
  • get takeout from Roti King & eat at Cock Tavern with beer; chat w/ three old men about Eze’s transfer to Arsenal

Friday 08/22/2025 – London (Blackfriars, Bankside, Waterloo, Covent Garden)

  • help a guy at Upton Park station catch the right train to King’s Cross
  • solo coffee @ Flow Coffee outside Blackfriars station
  • walk across Blackfriars Bridge and along south bank of Thames to Tate Modern
  • spend day alone @ Tate Modern; eat a delicious pork shoulder sandwich & good flat white @ The Corner Tate cafe
  • ride Lime bike to Waterloo; have a drink w/ Z and A @ Waterloo Taps
  • ride Lime bike w/ Z to Covent Garden
  • eat dinner @ Sartori
  • go to stand up comedy @ The 99 Club

Saturday 08/23/2025 – London

  • solo coffee & pastry @ Prufrock Cafe (James Hoffman’s)
  • walk in Farringdon & Holborn; ride Lime bike to Islington
  • coffee @ Miki’s paradise; walk around
  • browse The Armory; attend Matchday Stadium Tour
  • eat lunch @ Xi’an Impression
  • shop @ The Armory; meet w/ Z and walk around stadium
  • attend Arsenal vs Leeds @ The Emirates — the first home match of the new English Premier League season & my first ever Arsenal match!
  • wait in The Armory for over an hour to get name & numbers printed on back of jerseys
  • eat late dinner @ Nón

Sunday 08/24/2025 – London (Spitalfield, Hackney)

  • get Z supplies since she is under the weather
  • solo flat white @ Nagare Coffee; walk around
  • ride Lime bike to Hackney
  • get flat whites @ Elsewhere Coffee (good) and Incoming Coffee (great); walk around
  • visit Tate Modern Museum again
  • solo meal & drink @ Mercato Metropolitano

Monday 08/25/2025 – London

  • get flat white @ Origin Coffee at The British Library
  • eat lunch @ Xi’an Impression London again
  • get flat white @ Rua Coffee Bar
  • wait again in The Armory for over an hour to get name & numbers printed on back of my other jerseys
  • ride Lime bike to Camden Market; hang out there w/ Z and friends
  • drinks @ London Bridge Rooftop Bar w/ Z, friends, & my friend Anuj
  • get late dinner @ Silka Borough Market

Tuesday 08/26/2025 – London -> Vancouver

  • take train to Heathrow & fly back to Vancouver