Wheels up.....

We had a very long wait at ABIA, a consequence of traveling in a group.  No travel company wants to cut things close so everyone had time to visit and get acquainted.  I have two other colleagues who laughed out loud when I said my husband found a high of 50 degrees off-putting.  They suggested I might be married to their husbands!

I will admit to some moments of unease this week as I thought about being without a buddy, although everything I have ever read bluntly suggests that women of my vintage should get used to the idea.  It just supports the adage that when well- partnered, every joy is doubled and every sorrow or problem halved.  So cherish your buddies.

It was an uneventful flight, unless you were the man in 17E.  We were barreling down the runway on takeoff when one of the male flight attendants raced up the aisle with all these paper napkins. Apparently someone had placed a large, poorly capped water bottle in the bin above and our acceleration had tipped it enough that water gushed through the hinges thoroughly dampening the hapless traveler below.  After using a couple hundred of those tiny cocktail napkins, the flight attendant got some cloth placemats and napkins from First Class and mopped him up as best he could.

Later we discover that it was his own water bottle, so just desserts, I guess.

Dublin was chilly and dreary for our arrival with gusty winds and light rain in fits and starts.  It was quite a hike on a covered path to reach the motor coach.  Our hotel, Riu Plaza ,The Gresham Dublin, is well located on O'Connell Street.  This is the main street in Dublin and home to many green spaces, monuments and historic buildings.  The street signs, traffic signs and most identifying plaques are printed in both English and Gaelic.  I asked a young woman in passport control about it and she replied that they just call it Irish and are required to take it in school, pronounced skirl, and that in reality nobody understands any of it.

After check in, everyone scattered to set up housekeeping.  I'm in a cozy single with an up-to-your-earlobes deep tub and heated towel racks.  But it was only midday so I resisted the call of hot water and jumped on the Hop on Hop Off bus.  

Parade warm-up?

The historic center of Dublin is a very dense place.  Many of the streets are one way or divided and our bus took the most circuitous route.  I know I saw the same parochial school five times and the sixty-four acres of the Guinness brewery from several different approaches.  The Georgian architecture is beautiful and many ornate cathedrals abound.  I will be revisiting some of these in later posts.

A rare glimpse of sunshine

I was almost frozen at the end so I dropped into our local pub, Madigan's, for a late lunch and substitute dinner of Irish comfort food served with a bird bath sized coffee with thick cream floating on top.

Interesting electrical work