Our Irish Holiday: Day 1 – Day 2 – Day 3 – Day 4 – Day 5 – Day 6
Day 7 – Day 8 – Day 9 – Day 10 – Day 11 – Day 12
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Jet Blue and Aer Lingus did a great job getting us to our destination after American canceled the flight. Traveling First/Business is the only way to go. We had excellent meals, and the seating was superb. There were as many knobs and controls at our seats as a car. The entertainment center had everything, and the seat could fold into a bed.I was having trouble falling asleep, so I decided to have a glass of wine every 45 minutes to help me relax. Surprisingly, the wine didn’t seem to have any effect on me, which I found quite amusing. On the bright side, my decision to consume less wine also meant that I was reducing the weight of the airplane, ultimately saving on fuel. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to watch movies while my companion, who I fondly refer to as Sleeping Beauty, dozed off and snored soundly for the entirety of the last 4,000 miles of our journey.
There is a fantastic amount of room!
After a challenging but successful journey, we completed a six-hour flight through the night, while also adapting to a five-hour time change. Despite the long and tiring journey, we were able to reach our destination by 8:30 am.
The airport was easy to navigate since they had Gaelic signs everywhere! English is the most widely spoken language, with over 80% of the population using it as their first language. Irish is the official first language of the country and is spoken by a little over 40% of the population. Polish is the third most common language, spoken by over 3% of the population.
Green airplanes are everywhere.
Before getting the car, I exchanged currency at the store near the car pickup. Mary got bags from the airplane. Mary has hidden talents! She and the other five bags came toward the currency exchange area. My Girl Friday does a wonderful job.
Standing in line, I almost yelled, “Over here Friday, and hurry it up!” But common sense and my desire for self-preservation kicked in, and I refrained from such a self-destructive outburst.
The words “Hurry up, Friday!” were never spoken.
We’re about to have some fun now that we’ve rented a (Pew-Got) Peugeot, a French car. It was a hatchback and quite spacious.
We had trouble connecting the iPhone to the car’s onboard system because our cables didn’t match. After leaving the car park, we went straight to Circle-K, about two blocks away, and bought 50 euros worth of cables. Finally, we got the iPhone GPS connected to the car.
I must admit I was a bit scared as Mary was driving, not because of her but because we had to drive on the wrong side of the road. We spent about an hour driving 33 minutes because we were getting used to the street signage and missed several off ramps/turns.
As expected, Mary adapted and did an EXCELLENT job. I felt safe and secure since I was locked in the trunk, wrapped in fireproof blankets, hugging my fire extinguisher and first aid kit, having my cell phone speed dial settings ready to call the police and local hospital, and strapped to the floor with a five-point racing car harness.
Tomorrow, if we drive, I will sit in the back seat and have Mary wear a bidet and gloves to look like my driver. Oops, beret—I keep forgetting.
We are located in the center of town!
We found a spot to park underground and unloaded it in preparation for going to the room. All eighteen bags surrounded the car, and this lovely lady came over and said hello in Galic. I responded with, “Dia duit ann. Nílimid ach ar cuairt ar feadh cúpla lá. Thug Mary a cnuasach culaith leis.” After being slapped a few times, she offered to help us.
OK, here is the truth: we only had five bags. The lady grabbed two and went to the lobby. She then came back and got the last big bag. Mary and I soon followed, hoping she wasn’t a homeless person making off with our clothes. With our carry-ons in tow, after Mary repacked hers after “the big cable search,” we headed to the lobby.
We asked the front desk person who this masked hero/homeless person was, and it turned out it was the hotel’s General Manager!! Wow, talk about service. We are going to write Hilton about her helping us.
Check-in was easy, and we were on our way to the room in minutes.
We were on the 4th floor with a scenic view of the next-door hotel. Oh well, we just wanted to take our pills and have a drink—well deserved, I might add. We had a better room reserved, but it was not ready. We didn’t care; we needed to freshen up after thirty-six hours of traveling. I was eyeing the firehose outside but decided to wait another ten minutes.
After freshening up (and changing my underwear after Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride), we went downstairs to the Bistro. We enjoyed a mouthwatering pastrami sandwich paired with a delightful glass of wine. And to top it off, I indulged in a refreshing whiskey sour.
When we returned to our room, I was exhausted. I decided to take a relaxing shower before climbing into bed, hoping to sleep straight through until Thursday morning. To my dismay, I woke up at 7:00 pm feeling wide awake and ready for action.We studied the local brochures. Mary took a shower, and we went downstairs for something to eat and a libation. You know what they say, “Nuair atá tú in Éirinn, déan mar a dhéanann na hÉireannaigh!”
It’s time for dinner.
The Bistro was open, and soccer was playing on every TV. We found a little area with two tables and no TV, yeah!!
We sat down and had dinner; six people came in a few minutes later. It was a “family” of six, three of whom were Irish and three from Venezuela! It’s a long story; ask us! Wonderful people!
Mary introduced us using her Spanish skills.
New friends.
They speak English, Spanish, and German. Mary had a holiday!! I assisted in the translations! My efforts did result in some raised eyebrows and two orders of fried grasshoppers?
Spanish is spoken here.
We will see them again tomorrow and celebrate again! It will be great fun! Mary and I ordered a round of Jameson Eighteen for the guys.
Fun with friends.
I made the toast after swigging down the Jameson. Burn baby burn!
The German-speaking person and Mary exchanged email/text numbers to coordinate tomorrow’s meeting.
They were speaking German and sharing numbers.
At 11:42 pm, we turned off the lights and fell asleep quickly. We were out like a light!
Tomorrow, Jameson Distillery and the On-And-Off Bus will be there before going to the Celtic Nights performance.
Time to celebrate!
We crashed at m night! Just before my glass slippers turned into moccasins!
