First, I must apologize. My plan all along was to write blog posts as I went along, because that way (1) I wouldn't have so much to do right after I got home, and (2) I could remember more easily what went on each particular day. Otherwise, I'm afraid things would start to blend into each other. And also because I know Some People are interested to hear about those crazy travelers who just up and took off to another country. (Hey, I would be interested, too!) So then, to the trip.
Our Irish trip actually began on my birthday. That was in itself noteworthy. Mom dropped us off at Logan, we made our way through the check-in and security without incident, and we settled down for an hour or so before the flight. Aunt Linda and Erin did a little shopping, we picked up some food for dinner... all in all, the time passed quickly. I was, however, so excited I found myself with too much energy. Rather than spend it sitting idly with my muscles quivering, I decided I needed to do some laps of Terminal E to work off all that nervous energy.
The flight itself went well. I watched "Life of Pi" for the first time. I had heard from a few people that it was a good movie. I did enjoy it, especially the question Pi posed at the end of the movie. That question really made me pause and think. After that I listened to some of the greatest singers of all time... namely Sinatra and Buble... as they tried to sing me to sleep. They didn't succeed, sadly. Yes, that's right. I slept not a wink on the airplane. I did get into the state I can sometimes achieve at work: the state where my body is relaxed, even if my mind won't turn off enough for me to fall asleep.
We got into Shannon airport right on time (5:30AM local time or 12:30AM EST). There was a bit of a kerfluffle at the baggage claim because a poor little kid's carseat got caught in the belts. So we had to wait a bit while our luggage got sent around to a different carousel. Then we got out, got a quick breakfast at an airport cafe. Aunt Linda picked up several guide books from the airport information center, then we got our rental car and headed out of the airport.
It only took us three tries to get out of the rental car parking lot.
I think they need to invest in better signs that even exhausted and jet-lagged tourists can read and understand, even those who exist (like I did that morning) in a slightly brain-fogged state.
And yes, in that same state, I drove across the country. From Shannon airport all the way into Dublin (technically to the B&B south of Dublin, but it's still within the city area, just as Arlington is part of Boston). Driving on the left side of the road wasn't as much of a challenge as driving on the right side of the car was (and still is). On the motorways, especially, I kept ending up running over the rumble strip and Erin, who was my navigator for that portion of the trip, kept reminding me to move over to the right. For those of you who haven't traveled in Ireland since the completion of the "M" roads... they are fun to drive on. I get go so fast......... just kidding. Kind of.....
We made it to the B&B without too much fanfare... only to find that we were missing a few key items. Namely, Mark's (the man who booked the B&B for us) number and the B&B's number. When we got to the house there were no other cars around, save the workmen in the neighborhood. So we, being as tired as we were (and stressed... it's a lot of work concentrating for three hours of driving on foreign roads) decided we would just sleep in the car until someone showed up.
When Carmel (the B&B owner) arrived, we looked so pathetic she took pity on us and let us in like the strays we were. We slept for two hours (and I had to drag Erin out of bed... a pattern soon developed), then got up. We grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby market, and to my surprise, we decided to go into Dublin on the bus. I wasn't ready for a whole afternoon in Dublin, but, hey, this isn't just my trip. We grabbed the next bus heading north (nort) into City Centre. Well, it worked almost perfectly. We didn't realize we needed exact change (which we didn't have) but the bus driver took pity on us American Tourists and took the paper and gave us a slip that we could redeem at Bus HQ.
We were getting up towards Trinity College, when Aunt Linda spotted a bright green "information" sign across the street. We hopped off the bus and headed across the way. We ended up purchasing a 48-hour "hop-on, hop-off" tour bus ticket, which was a great purchase, because the whole day (and all day the next day) that was how we made it around the city. We rode around a bit and got a great overview of Dublin city. Saw many things and had a good idea when we went back to the B&B of what we'd want to see the next day.
When the afternoon in Dublin started out, I did not have a good attitude, to my shame. But, sitting down on the bus, seeing the city, getting rained on, and relaxing, I started to feel much more like myself. I didn't want to make decisions, I didn't want to do anything other than sleep, I didn't want to be adventurous, nope. For a traveler, all I wanted to do was set down some roots and go to sleep. However, I think the tour bus helped me set down "roots" in Dublin.
As well, I discovered an interesting fact... no matter where we were in the city, I could locate the correct direction towards... Trinity College Dublin. Talk about roots... even a graduate school that I declined to attend had enough of a pull to make me feel a little more at home. Plus, the food in my stomach helped.
Eventually, around 9PM, we got back to the B&B, and ended up playing a game of "Five Crowns" between the two twin beds Erin and I had in our room. We were sitting there, talking, when I asked, "Did anyone bring any travel games?" Erin raised her hands high. I was surprised. Out of the three of us, I wouldn't have expected ERIN to be the one bringing the cards with her. But I'm glad she did. I happened to win that particular game, if you're curious.
That night... I slept so deeply and so long. Probably close to ten hours of sleep. And I needed it since I was working on no sleep since 7AM EST on June 10th.
Coming up:
Our second day: Dublin II
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