We are still in flight over the Atlantic Ocean. The breakfast cart is on the way! What a rough night! The bumpiest flight I've ever been on! Sometimes it felt like we were on a rough, county backroad! Bumpy, Bumpy! I napped sporadically, but it is very difficult to get very comfortable on a plane, and it is hard to nap when it feels like we may ditch at any time, so I prayed a lot!
Dinner was served to us a couple hours into our flight. I've never had a full meal like that on a plane! It was quite good and very filling! B.B.Q. Chicken, mashed potatos, green beans, garden salad, Biscuit w/butter, crackers w/cream cheese, and a snickerdoodle cookie!
Norma and I are so ready to get off this plane! Even though we walked around in the airport to get some exercise, we have been sitting for much too long! This plane has rows of two seats on either side with rows of three seats each down the middle, but it's still a plane! Crowded!
Yea!! A safe landing at the Dublin Airport!! When we get inside, we immediately go thru Customs. Only today, that turned into a long ordeal! There were 4 or 5 International flights arriving this morning, one right after the other. To say they were not prepared for us would be a huge understatement! There were hundreds of passengers, lined up in 10 serpentine que lines, and the line continued out of the que lines, down the hallway and around the corner, back toward the arrival gates! At first the line rarely moved, because there were only a couple af agents working, however they eventually staffed severaly more windows w/agents, and we finally made it to a window to see an immigration agent! This process took well over an hour!
We made to the Baggage Claim area to retrieve our checked bag, and I saw mine right away and grabbed it. But Norma's bag never showed up, so I walked down to the end to see where they were coming up from below. I heard someone saying "Where's Norma?" It was Carol K., our tour guide! She was on the other side of the Baggage Claim area, pulling bags off the moving belt, if she saw a yellow Holiday Vacations luggage tag on them! What a relief to find she had pulled Norma's bag off the belt! We then headed out to the big "golden pretzel", a large art sculpture, which was our designated meeting place.
Well, our Tour Director, Carol, headed out there as well; with Judy's (a fellow guest) suitcase, which Carol had pulled off the moving Baggage Claim belt! Guess what! Judy and her friend, Barb, never showed up at our meeting place! Several of us suggested to Carol that Judy and Barb were probably still at Baggage Claim looking for Judy's bag! (which Carol was holding on her own cart!) We were already out of the "secure area", and could not go back to where Baggage Claim was. So finally, Carol had the Airport page Judy and Barb twice before they heard the page. And sure enough, here they come, just a little frustrated with Carol for not letting all of us know that she was pulling some of our bags off the carousel.
It was a little past 10:00 a.m. by the time we were all on the bus, and met our Irish driver/guide, Noel. Noel is from the village of Kilkenny, and is very knowledgeble about Ireland, and is a very trim, attractive gentleman with a great sense of humor!
We traveled through the three mile long tunnel that goes under Dublin's Seaport, and connects the Airport to Dublin's City Center. We saw a variety of interesting bridges that span the River Liffy, which flows right thru the middle of Dublin.
We viewed Phoenix Park and Grafton Street, and the famous Georgian Doors.
We also toured St. Patricks Cathedral, which is several hundred years old. So much history here, and very intricate, beautiful architecture. St. Patrick is said to have baptised converts to Christianity at a well that once existed in the park alongside the Cathedral.
We enjoyed lunch in downtown Dublin on Nassau Street. I went to the "toilet" before we sat down to lunch, and laid my camera on top of the tissue holder, and left it there! Norma and I ejoyed our lunch with Lou and Travis, and when we were done snd started to leave, I missed my camera! Oh no! I ran back to the toilet to look, No Camera! Norma and I immediately asked an employee of the cafe if it had been turned in, and she asked the Manager and he said "Yes! Can you describe the camera for me?" I replied "I sure can"! I did so and he went into the office and retrieved it for me! Thank the Lord! I would have been devastated if I would have lost my camera on the very first day of my trip! It was a very good lesson for me! I was much more aware of my surroundings and much more careful following this incident.
Dublin is a bustling city! Lots of traffic, but even more bikers and pedestrians! Driving is done on the left side of the road, with the vehicle's steering wheel on the right. Lots of very old buildings dated all the back to the 1100's! That's so much older than our country is! We kept noticing that the doorknob on many frontdoors was in the middle of the door, so we asked Noel about it and he said he did not know the reason for this. I guess when your grow up there, it doesn't seem unusual!
3:00 P.M.
We arrived at Dunboyne Castle Hotel, which by the way, is not a castle!
We (all 31 guests on our tour) were served a delicious dinner together in the Hotel's restaurant. It reminded me of dining on a Cruise Ship. Excellent food and great service! Tonight we sat across from the family from South Dakota. Gerie Sorenson(81 yr.), her daughter, Julene Pike, & grandaughter, Kristina Pike(12 yr.). Also Angela Sorrenson, from O'Fallon, Mo. who is married to Julene's brother. It was such a pleasure to get to know them a little better.
9:00P.M.
We are exhausted but happy to be on this adventure in Ireland! I must say I am really enjoying the luxury of sleeping in a 5-Star Hotel! Wow, I feel spoiled! I love all the comfort this far from home. Now it's time for a wonderful night's sleep in this luxurious bed!
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