BW Babe, My Cousin and Her Husband and Their Friend and Our Tour Guide Liam
Airport in Dublin, Ireland

Neolithic Sites in Boyne Valley

Knowth Burial Mounds

Newgrange Burial Mound

Sighted at Newgrange Burial Mound Site

 

Carrickfergus Castle

Carrickfergus Castle

Word of the Day

Tanggold - When two or more gold chains get tangled after one puts them on one's neck or wrist and does nothing else. Before one knows it, they're tanggold.


BW Babe and I left for the airport in Minneapolis at 8 AM on Saturday morning (Central Time). We arrived REALLY early so we could easily check in our baggage and hang out and relax at our gate. We found an area where we could plug in our electronic devices. We patted ourselves on the back for being so prepared. Unfortunately, neither BW Babe or I ended up having to check (temporarily) our rolling carry-ons...free...but, I hate to have my luggage out of my hands...even for this short flight to Chicago. However, we did get our carry-ons back and everything turned out fine.

We arrived at our first stop in Chicago at around 11 AM and headed immediately to discover where we needed to be next...after they gave us our carry-ons back. We stopped at the Aer Lingus area and then had to backtrack to where the gates were located. Gate 3. OK. Unfortunately, this meant that we had to hike clear across the airport, going up and down escalators, walking what seemed to be endless terminal corridors before we found the airport shuttle that would take us to Terminal 5 where we had to go through security ....again. We did arrive on time but not by much. We were relieved to connect with our cousin and her husband and their friend.

It was a LONG flight to Dublin, Ireland. They did have a selection of in-flight movies and TV shows but nothing I cared to watch. BW Babe enjoyed a couple of movies while I enjoyed reading on my Kindle for most of the flight. We both adjusted our watches to Dublin time...six hours further along then Minneapolis time. By the time we arrived in Dublin, it was 5 AM on Sunday morning. Upon arrival, we ALL had to go through a long queue to have our passports checked and were quizzed for how long and why we were going o be in Ireland. Then...onto claim check.

At the re-claim area, I had a big problem. Everyone was able to claim their luggage but me. My bag had mysteriously disappeared. I had to fill out a missing bag claim which took forever and I was told that the soonest I would see my suitcase would be tomorrow...if then...but they were sure that they would be able to find it and deliver it out to our hotel, eventually, maybe. *sigh* With nothing else to do...finally...finally....we were able to connect with our tour guide and driver, Liam. At this point, it was way past my bedtime but...

After a quick breakfast at the airport and some very fun stories, he loaded all our luggage, sans my luggage, into his van and we took off for our first destination of the day, a couple of Neolithic sites in the Boyne Valley. Knowth and Newgrange. The sites were spectacular. Huge burial mounds with underground passages. Lots of walking but well worth it. I've heard of these sites on The Discovery Channel but it was so much better to enjoy them in person. By this time, it was lunch time so we picked up a quick bite at a restaurant at the site. Very good!

Next stop? We all piled back into the van and drove to our next touring spot. A Norman castle called Carrickfergus Castle. Touring this site took a couple of hours. We all enjoyed the site, watching a couple of brief movies about the site and its history. By this time, I was REALLY starting to feel a bit foggy and tired...and still worried about my missing luggage.

Liam drove us to our hotel for the night, a place called BallyGally Castle. This place is awesome! And it's supposed to be haunted too. BW Babe and I are sharing a room that has three beds...nice beds. Unfortunately,...no free Internet. Worse, I NEEDED Internet to start tracking down my missing suitcase. So, I paid for the Internet connection and started checking to see what could be done. Hope? It sounds like they may have found my bag? Maybe? I hope? We ate a rather expensive dinner at the hotel restaurant but we were all way too tired to go hunting for an outside restaurant. Definitely, we'll have to search out something cheaper for tomorrow.

For right now, tomorrow will be another day and I'm done for worrying and stressing for one night. Hopefully, they will have found my lost luggage and deliver it here to the hotel. We have one more night here after tonight. More touring is on schedule for tomorrow with Liam but then we'll be packing up and flying off to Scotland to tour the Dumfries area. It'll feel good to spend five whole days in one hotel....I think. Especially, if I can change my clothes. Thankfully, I thought to pack a change of clothes in my carry-on bag or I'd be really stinky tomorrow.

Random Quote of the Day

Travel is only glamorous in retrospect.

Paul Theroux (1941 - ), in The Washington Post