Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

Initial brag: a good friend of mine just scored a gig being Frank Black's tour manager overseas. (He did the job in the States and they liked him enough to keep him on)! The international tour kicks off in Dublin Feb. 9 and continues in Glasgow Feb. 10 and then Manchester/London/etc.

I've been invited to go to the shows, and since I've never been to Ireland or Scotland (I have been to England) I think I shouldn't pass up the opportunity to not only visit Dublin and Glasgow but also hang out with Frank Black and potentially Bono, who evidently has drinks with Frank after the show every time Black plays Dublin.

That said, I need to plan the trip (with 1 friend) and figure out how to do it efficiently, with as much fun/ideas as possible but also not too expensive (we're not broke, but we're not ballas either).

[Note: I can't actually travel with the band; we're just friends of the tour manager so we can only join up at the show itself and at the pubs afterwards; we have to take care of transportation ourselves.]

1) What's the best way to get from place to place? I'm thinking flying round trip from Los Angeles to Dublin, and in the middle having a round trip from Dublin to Glasgow for the second show, so we can hang in Glasgow too, but come back to Dublin to catch the flight back to L.A. Is this OK? Or should we just like take a ferry from Dublin to Glasgow and ferry back? Are there ferries? Are they cost-effective?

2) The second show is a Sunday (Feb 10) in Glasgow. Should we hang out and see the city Monday/Monday night as well? Is there stuff to do there on a Monday in February? Or will it be so freezing cold that everyone's shacked up inside. In which case we should head back to Dublin or even go to London and fly back to L.A. from there.

3) I'd love some ideas of what to do in Dublin when we get there. We might arrive Fri. morning Feb 8, the day before the first show, so we'll have 36 hours on our own. Any recommendations? And what about lodging -- B&Bs? Hostels? Hotels?

4) Same goes for Glasgow -- recommendations, lodging, sights, etc.

5) Weather -- I've heard Dublin doesn't get that ridiculous in the winter for some reason. True? I'm a pussy when it comes to cold weather so I'm afraid. Glasgow... aiya. It sounds like I'm going to turn into a block of ice. Is it really unbearable?

Thanks for any advice, etc...

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

You know Glasgow is quite a way inland, right? I would just fly. Oh and you should see Edinburgh for a day or two.

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

So, fly from Dublin to Glasgow, see the show Feb. 10 then maybe take some sort of train to Edinburgh the next day maybe? Spend Monday night there? Maybe I could then fly back from Edinburgh to Dublin...

*sigh* So much traveling!

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

yeah you can get the train or a really really cheap bus if that's your bag. they are very well connected.

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

I enjoyed riding the tour buses around Dublin. Although the open-air part might be a little annoying in the winter. Also check out the jail (Kilmainham Gaul) if you get to do any touristy kind of stuff. I thought that tour was fascinating. Other than I don't think you can go wrong getting drunk at a pub! There are a lot of cool areas of town other than Temple Bar, which is the most touristy. Don't be afraid to try some of the other, hipper areas.

And that's about all I know of Dublin. Never been to Scotland, but I'm hoping to go with my Dad in 08.

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

Anyone know anything about Manchester? Since getting to Glasgow seems annoying, we're thinking of skipping the Feb 10 show, staying in Dublin one more day, then going to Manchester (by ferry? or do we need to fly?) on Feb 11 for the Feb 12 show there.

Historically, Manchester holds a place in my heart -- but what's it like, is there stuff to do? Or is it a dark cold place full of hooligans and thugs waiting to beat up Americans?

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

I've been to Glasgow in late March and it wasn't terribly cold (maybe I was lucky). I didn't care much for the city, and if you have enough time, I would recommend driving north through the Highlands. I believe I saw most of it in 2-3 days.

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

pj,

Heh, a lot of these cities are dark and cold at this time of year.

You could ferry to Liverpool then get a train to Manchester. Manchester is pretty cool, it's basically England's #2 city so there is obviously tons of stuff to do. I just have trouble actually thinking of anything, cos when you live nearby you don't tend to actually ever go to any of the stuff a tourist would, ya hear?

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

I don't want to do touristy things... I mostly want to go out, drink 7 pints of Harp, and listen to some trance DJ spin in front of a floor where 300 24 year-old Brits are dancing their arses off.

Re: Help me plan a trip to Dublin & Glasgow
 

Oh. Then you will love Manchester.