Finally, the time had arrived when we were to leave for Ireland; the trip that we'd been planning for over a year!
It was kind of sad to leave everyone back home, but we knew that it was only 16 days till we'd see them again, Lord willing (and He was willing!).
We flew out of Eppley Airfield at 1:20 pm.
It was my first flight in all my 20 years, so I was very excited!
A very excited Abi. :)
Our flight to Chicago O'Hare Airfield was very smooth with no hitches or delays.
After getting in the huge line to go through security, we learned that you couldn't get food beyond security,well, except for vending machine snacks. So, we scooted out of line and went to eat at McDonald's. :)
Beyond Security
Security was pretty crazy and rushed, but we made it through! Gram had to have her palms searched, or something, but that was just a random thing they were doing, but she was the only one to get searched, thankfully.
4 hour lay-over in Chicago... Ugh!
To say the least, we were very bored and tired!
Sunset from an altitude of 11,280 ft. going 600 mph
We boarded our flight to Ireland, called Aer Lingus, about 6:45 pm.
Supper time!
The flight attendants were very attentive... We had a snack and drink, supper at 9:30 pm., then breakfast at 12:30 am (CST).
My gluten free supper...
...was interesting, I'll just say that. (If you've ever had airline food, you'll know what I mean) No, just kidding, it was actually pretty good. :)
Night-night
Gram and I trying to get some rest, which is very hard to do on an airplane!
Route tracker
Almost to Ireland, only a couple hours left (sigh)!!!
Sunrise at last!
It was -60* outside, hence the frost... Burr, no wonder it was so cold on the plane!
Celestial City
This picture made Abi and I think of the Celestial City in "Pilgrim's Progress".
Is that LAND?
LAND!!!
Our first glimpse of Irish soil!
Beyond excited?
These next couple of pictures show the various levels of excitement that the sight of Irish land brought upon us.
Gram- a life long dream come true.
Poor TJ.
After being up for close to 24 hrs and his breakfast not agreeing with him, he wasn't feeling so great.
"Baile Atha Cliath- Dublin"
We landed around quarter to 8 am. in Dublin. They are 6 hrs ahead of us, so that meant that it was 2 am back home. We were very tired.
All of us together at the Dublin Airport!
L-R: Aunt Carol, TJ., me (Emily), Mom (Mary), Gram (Pat) and Abi
European
We thought the European bathroom fixtures to be very interesting.
Luggage Pile
This wasn't even all of it! We were carrying some of it... Actually, it wasn't too bad for 6 people.
Rental Car
Loading up our Dan Dooly rental car. The Irish drive on the wrong side of the road, with the driver's side on the wrong side too.
License Plate
We thought that the Irish license plates were very funny looking.
Getting ready to go!
Aunt Carol drove while Mom "nagavated".
BTW, don't let the "complete insurance" on the car fool you. An Irish native told us (he'd had experience) that the insurance does not cover tire damage.
How in the world does this work?
First, we couldn't figure out how to take the parking break off (the Irish use the parking break a lot, so beware), then, Aunt Carol couldn't figure out how to put it in drive. It was very funny.
Amach- Exit
All the signs are Gaelic on top and English on the bottom. It was hard to get used to reading road signs like that.
Motor Way
This 'motor way' out of Dublin was a lot like our 2-lane interstates.
We were on our way to Kilkenny to our first Bed and Breakfast (B&B), Norely Theyr.
Lorries
Someone told us that there were no semi trucks in Ireland. Well, that's not true, there ARE semi trucks there, but, they call them lorries. :)
Ancient Stone Walls
The scenery was just gorgeous! After our parched summer, the green almost hurt our eyes! :) The Irish people told us that their summer was way too wet, so wet, that it actually ruined some of their crops.
Shop
After about an hour of driving, the inevitable, "I have to go to the bathroom" came up. This little grocery was convenient, so we went in there. The shop owner was really nice, but he could hardly speak English. I didn't go into the bathroom, or "toilet" as they call it, but apparently it was pretty yucky- a big mettle door that wouldn't close all the way, no toilet seat, no hot water and no soap. :)
The Narrow Way
Something everyone should know before they go to Ireland is this, most of the roads are very, very and did I say very, narrow. We had many scares (and screams). :)
Hedges
Another thing you should know- all those beautiful pictures you see of Irish scenery are taken on the other side of the hedges. Hedges, that are so high that not even bus passengers could see over them, line almost every road. Not just ordinary hedges, but hedges that have been planted around the stone walls that line the roads. The moral, don't ever pull off on to the grass unless there's a designated pull off.
Finally THERE!
We finally made it to our B&B just outside of Kilkenny, Norely Theyr. This is Mom, Abi and my room.
Planning
After getting settled in, we had to do some planning. It was always very interesting. :)
Come and smell the roses...
Some of our hostesses roses in her garden.
Fireplace
The fireplace in the sitting room was beautiful!
Conversation Room
We all sat around planning and discussing the rest of the week, drinking Irish tea and laughing and joking. After that, Mom read to us from her Bible, then we sang hymns for awhile. It was very sweet. I think that we all slept very well that night. :) Just a note, notice that we all have our jackets on? The Irish must not believe in heat. It was cold every place that we stayed at.
I will just be adding days as I have time. The next post will be day 3 of our trip.
Hope you enjoyed our first day in Ireland! ~Emily G.
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