Ireland - Travel Day

My apologies for my lack of blogging. I have been informed I need to step up my game or my adoring fans will stop reading (hi Susan & Sharon!). I've been busy with work as well as packing for Ireland. And then of course - I actually went to Ireland. So I thought what better way to get back into the swing of things than by blogging about the trip.

My dad went to the Naval Academy and they were playing a football game against Notre Dame in Dublin. Once they announced this last year - my dad made it a mission that we would make a journey to our homeland, where his grandfather came from. Unfortunately, Kenny wasn't able to come. (Stupid work). But spinning that into a good thing - I was able to upgrade my economy ticket to a first class seat (winning!).

My dad told both my mom and I that we could only bring 1 suitcase and it had to be the "medium" size one of the big, medium and small suitcase set. I am pretty good at packing so I was able to fit an outfit for everday, plus one extra, and 7 pairs of shoes (3 of them being boots). Kenny and my dad said there was no way I could do it with that many shoes, challenge accepted and defeated gentleman..thank you very much.

Our flight left Dulles @ 6:50PM. My dad wanted to leave for the airport around 2 - please keep in mind the airport is only 30 minutes away from our house. So, if you ever wonder why I'm always 5 minutes early - it's because I was raised by he-who-must-get-to-the-aiport-3-hours-in-advance. I had rented a car to drive to and fro (I was up there for the week for work), so we got gas in that car, returned it and then took the shuttle to the airport.

Even with checking our bags, and going through security - we were at the gate by 4pm. The good thing about being in first class, is you get to go into the "Lounge." There the provided free drinks (of the adult persuasion) and food. We got a little snack and hung out in there until they called us for boarding. Of course, like the ametaurs we are, we were taking all kinds of pictures.

The Virgin Atlantic Lounge

After boarding the plane, we came to our seats, which were nothing like I had seen before. They were like a little Pod or Cubicle. They had a main seat for you to sit in, and then another seat @ your feet which you could use as a prop, or if you wanted to have a companion come sit there during dinner, so you could eat together. The seat also folded down into a bed. This is our family photo shoot in our awesome seats, the people around us were probably like "Amateurs," but sorry I'm not sorry.

 

                 

After a free champagne toast to a good journey, (also a secret weapon to get my afraid of flying mom to calm down a little)...it was time for takeoff.

Once dinner was served - pork with mashed potatoes, gravy, & veggies, and dessert was eaten. It was time to fold the seat down into a bed and try to cozy up for a little nap.

Watching a movie while laying down in bed

I actually only ended up sleeping for about 2 hours. They give you real life comforters so I woke up SO HOT! and then couldn't get back to sleep. I ended up enjoying more of the movie selections until we landed.

After we landed at London Heathrow, we made it through the maze of buses, escaltors and waiting in line again to go through customs/security. Once we figured all of that out - we had some time to till before our next flight to Ireland. We ended up at a place in the airport that served breakfast.

Dad, at breakfast

Mom, and I at breakfast.

Next up - walk through another BMI checkpoint (they scan your fingerprint and your eyeball) to get to our gate. There wasn't enough space in the overhead bins for big carryon luggage, so they were gate checking what seemed like the whole plane's luggage. This was a very speedy process and didn't annoy my dad at all. (This is where I need a sarcasm font). After that debacle, we got on the plane for our 1 hour flight to Dublin.

Flying over Ireland

After landing, going through customs and then to baggage claim we were finally free to walk into Ireland :) They had the airport all decorated for the American fans coming into to watch the "American football" game. It made it really easy that Navy & Notre Dame have the same color scheme.

Our driver for the day, Jim, suggested that since it was only noon - our hotel room wouldn't be ready yet. So he decided to take us on a little driving tour around the outskirts of Dublin as well as the city to kill some time and so that we could see the sites.

On the hills overlooking Dublin Bay

After a bit of seeing the landscape, we went to Clontarf Castle Hotel - the site where Brian Boru (the ancestor where the O'Brien's come from) defeated the Vikings in 1014. We stopped there to admire the hotel (where we would stay a night later) and take a potty break. My mom found it necessary to also take a photo opportunity.

After that, we drove down to Dublin city. And got to see how city life works in Ireland. Not all that different than American cities - other than the fact that it's much smaller. The whole country could fit into New Jersey, population and all.

Store fronts in Dublin

The Guiness Factory in Dublin

After driving around for awhile, it was finally time to check into our hotel. We were initially supposed to stay at the Clontarf Castle Hotel Thu-Sat nights. But seeing as the Notre Dame football team (we later found out) was staying there - they had moved us out of that hotel and put us into another. The Royal Marine was a nice hotel that sat right on the water in a little suburb of Dublin called Dun Laoghaire. After checking in, we headed to the bar for an afternoon snack and drink (we hadn't eaten lunch) and it was an attempt to not take a nap. We were still on American time and had been up for over 24 hours (not counting the 2 hour nap on the airplane). But we knew in order to get our bodies on schedule as soon as possible, we would need to stay awake and go to bed at a "normal" time in Ireland.

Mom & Dad at the Hotel Bar

Dad and Me @ the Hotel bar

We were in Ireland, of course we had to get potatos!

After our afternoon snack, we went back to the room to take showers/get refreshed. And then decided to take a walk around the town of Dun Laoghaire before dinner.

The town

After walking around for a little bit (most of the stores were closed because it was 6pm), we made our way back to the hotel where we ate dinner at the restaurant there. After that it was up to bed for some much needed sleep.