Splitting the G in Dublin

The catalyst for our stopover in the UK was for Laura's good friend from Pharmacy School, Sophie's, wedding. Sophie brought her Irish boyfriend (at the time) Sean out to New Zealand for the summer back in 2022 and we spent time in Tekapo together and got to know Sean really well then. It was so lovely to celebrate with them in Ireland.

Sophie and Sean were getting married in Enfield, a lovely estate about 1-hour out of Dublin. It was a great opportunity to see friends again and celebrate with Sophie and Sean.

I held off publishing this blog hoping that the professional photos would be available by then. We will have to share them later, please enjoy our iPhone photos for now.

Reconvening with Laura in Dublin

After spending a week drinking espresso and Aperol and eating pastries as she beach hoped her way along the south coast of France, Laura made her way to Milan where a good friend of ours Giulia lives. Laura left her bike and everything there except a RyanAir-approved carry-on bag, making for a very easy flight across to Dublin for the wedding.

I made the short flight across from Glasgow on the day of the wedding to maximise my time with Campbell and Jess and to also save on accomodation.

I dropped my bike off at the airport storage for 24-hours and took the double decker into town where I met up with Laura and her friend Abby and her partner Cormack. Of course, my bike gets lost on every single flight until now when I could have really benefited from the airline losing my bike so I wouldn't have to pay for overnight storage - Murphy's Law.

Abby and Cormack were so incredibly generous to us and hosted us at their apartment in Dublin, allowing us to sleep on their couch for a few hours between getting home from the wedding and catching our flight the next day, as well as a place to hang out and get ready together.

The wedding

We caught the double decker past the famous Guiness factory, following one of the Guiness milk tankers and headed north to Enfield.

We arrived in the early afternoon which was ample time to indulge in a few pints of Guiness. I had been dying to get my hands on a pint of the black gold since I touched down in Ireland, ever curious about whether the adage that "Guiness doesn't travel well" actually checks out. After over-indulging on the first pint, I clinically split the G on the second and affirmed that the Guiness does indeed taste better in Ireland.

The ceremony started in the early afternoon with an outdoor setting for the formalities. The Irish summer weather played ball and the fiddle player brought Sophie and her bridesmaids down the aisle.

Plenty of socialising, catching up and a few drinks and canopy's were had while the wedding party did their formalities. It was great to see so many of Laura's friends who had been living over in the UK for the past 3-years that we hadn't seen in as long.

Dinner was a 4-course affair and we were absolutely stuffed from the delicious feast. But alas, there was always room for macaroons, wedding cake and a few more pints of Guiness.

The speeches were very well put together and towed the delicate line of humour when it comes to a wedding. Laura and I even got a shout out by Sean's father as having travelled all the way to the wedding by bike!

The Irish traditions ensued and we danced the night away with plenty of line dancing, Riversong dancing and lots of activities. The DJ was fantastic and read the crowd really well.

We caught the last public bus back to Dublin with Abby and Cormack.

Slán Ireland and ciao Italy!

After a few hours of sleep we were up early again and off to the airport. I collected my bike from the 24-hour storage and repacked everything I needed for a week of hiking in the Dolomites. I checked my bike in for our next flight and did some sensational negotiation work with the check-in staff to convince them I didn't need to pay an additional excess baggage fee based on a niche article I found written by their own airline supporting my argument. I'm getting pretty good at this now.

I waved good bye to the bike as it went through security and crossed my fingers and toes that it wouldn't make it all the way with us to Venice, but that rather it would get lost in transit and that would alleviate me of the hassle of having to store it somewhere in Venice for the week. Alas - Murphy's Law, the bike made it to Venice when I didn't need it to. It seems to only show up when I don't need it, and to get delayed when I do need it.

We flew with Laura's good friend Renee from Dublin to Venice, however we didn't see or hear much from Renee until the other end because by all accounts she had had a very large night at the wedding. But we all made it to Venice, and met up with Renee's friend Paula who would be joining us for the week.

After checking in with the rental car, I briefly hijacked the car and dropped my bike in to a bike shop in Mestre, near the airport. The man very generously stayed open for me after hours when our flight was delayed to give me enough time to get there and store my bike for the week. With my bike securely stored, I headed back to the airport to pick the girls up.

We stocked up at the local Lidl then hit the road for the 3-hour drive inland to Cortina in the Dolomites.

A whirlwind stopover in Ireland, but we're so glad we were able to make Sophie and Sean's wedding work, it was so nice to see everyone and a really special day to celebrate for the newlyweds.

More to come from our week hiking in the Dolomites!