Collapsing in a Heap - Ireland Day 2
September 13
The problem with the overnight flight is not being able to sleep. This becomes more of a problem when you land. There are so many things you want to do, but your body just can't keep up.
I never really did sleep on the flight. I think I missed the Vegas Flight scene in Bridesmaids, so a tiny amount of sleep must have happened. The Delta people did feed us pretty well. We had our choice between chicken or pasta. The chicken was fine, but the wine was plentiful. They served us a breakfast a few hours later. Not bad. I was getting squirrelly near the end, though. I just couldn't get super comfortable. I don't know what I expect though...it's a plane...not a La-Z-Boy.
We landed. We went through Immigration. We got some Euros. We met our group. All easy enough. I was thrilled to get a new page started in my passport. I liked that the stamp was green. Nice touch, Ireland.
The trip from Shannon to Killarney took about two hours. We had a lovely bus driver who started out being chatty, then wisely shut his mouth to let us sleep. About an hour and a half into the trip, we stopped in Tralee for Brunch. And we did get the full on Full Irish Breakfast. We started with Musseli, then scones with jam and cream, then the meat plate. This was a lot of breakfast for a marathon runner. For us, the people that were fed twice on the flight in a 5.5 hour timespan, it was massive. Though I won't deny that I gave the food pile a good college try.
The Musseli was fine. It was a cereal. But the scones. The scones!! I want to eat scones and cream every single day. I can't imagine that would work well for the whole Weight Watchers thing, though. But the scones!! I kept trying to stop eating the scones, but I should have realized the combo of carbs and sugar would make stopping highly difficult. The meat plate came shortly after the scone was demolished. Fried egg, roasted tomato, pork sausages, hash browns, bacon (ham) and then the Blood Pudding and White Pudding.
I am all for trying new foods. Especially when others are paying. Why not?? This is the perfect time to try things. I was excited about trying the Blood Pudding. I've seen it on Bourdain enough times. The Blood Pudding...not bad. I don't think I'd seek out the Blood Pudding like I seek out other foods,but I wouldn't thumb my nose at eating it again. One of the guys in the group asked the waitress what was in Blood Pudding. I shook my head as she explained, cause he wouldn't do well once he learned the truth. I don't think the guy ate the blood pudding after he found out what was in there. Wussy.
Thirty minutes later, we were at the hotel. Before we passed out while watching BBC One, we did some crazy twirling and gasping at the hotel room. Normally, our hotels are basic. We don't need much. We'd like a bed and a restaurant and maybe a view that doesn't include a dumpster or a parking lot. This was a Samantha Brown kind of hotel. It is very modern and spacious. There is a gorgeous balcony that overlooks the lake and mountains. And the bathroom is one that I'd appreciate in my own house. Then again, that doesn't take much. It was completely unexpected and very lovely.
I don't remember much after our initial hotel excitement. We both tried out the bed. I'm pretty sure Mom was snoring. Though she doesn't really believe me. We both had been up for so long that a nap was highly necessary. Dinner wasn't until 7p, so we had some time to kill before hand.
We are dealing with rain right now. It's the tail end of Hurricane Katia that's causing the ruckus. Funny enough, you never hear about hurricanes after they leave the United States. But they obviously go somewhere. The bus driver said the Northwestern area of the country had really gotten hit with the remnants of the storm. Here, it just rains. Then stops. Then rains. Then stops. And while it's raining, the sun is shining. Weird. I am very much looking forward to putting the contacts in. The sunshine is pretty strong. I need my sunglasses.
Our last event for the day was our first dinner with the full group. We found out that only 14 of us came in on the flight from JFK to Shannon. The others came in from Dublin, then drove the 3+ hours to Killarney. They'll then have to go the 3+ hours on the train back to Dublin. Suckers. We win!! We ended up sitting with a group mostly from Columbia, SC. They were impressed by my ability to get up and in line first for food. I told them nothing gets between food and me. The quicker they learned that, the better life would be for them not the trip.
I had grand ideas for the remainder of the night. I could christen the luxurious tub in the room. Or we could go down to the pool. Or we could walk around the grounds. But it's almost 930p and my eyes are burning. Other than a one hour and a thirty minute nap, I have been up since 7a on Monday morning. I can barely function. It's way time to sleep. Plus, we have a good day planned for tomorrow. We're off to the Gap of Dunloe. I don't know much about this, but it's an all day excursion and will involve a pony cart. I can only imagine this will be a ton of walking. I need to make sure I can actually function. A good sleep will be just the thing...
The problem with the overnight flight is not being able to sleep. This becomes more of a problem when you land. There are so many things you want to do, but your body just can't keep up.
I never really did sleep on the flight. I think I missed the Vegas Flight scene in Bridesmaids, so a tiny amount of sleep must have happened. The Delta people did feed us pretty well. We had our choice between chicken or pasta. The chicken was fine, but the wine was plentiful. They served us a breakfast a few hours later. Not bad. I was getting squirrelly near the end, though. I just couldn't get super comfortable. I don't know what I expect though...it's a plane...not a La-Z-Boy.
We landed. We went through Immigration. We got some Euros. We met our group. All easy enough. I was thrilled to get a new page started in my passport. I liked that the stamp was green. Nice touch, Ireland.
The trip from Shannon to Killarney took about two hours. We had a lovely bus driver who started out being chatty, then wisely shut his mouth to let us sleep. About an hour and a half into the trip, we stopped in Tralee for Brunch. And we did get the full on Full Irish Breakfast. We started with Musseli, then scones with jam and cream, then the meat plate. This was a lot of breakfast for a marathon runner. For us, the people that were fed twice on the flight in a 5.5 hour timespan, it was massive. Though I won't deny that I gave the food pile a good college try.
The Musseli was fine. It was a cereal. But the scones. The scones!! I want to eat scones and cream every single day. I can't imagine that would work well for the whole Weight Watchers thing, though. But the scones!! I kept trying to stop eating the scones, but I should have realized the combo of carbs and sugar would make stopping highly difficult. The meat plate came shortly after the scone was demolished. Fried egg, roasted tomato, pork sausages, hash browns, bacon (ham) and then the Blood Pudding and White Pudding.
I am all for trying new foods. Especially when others are paying. Why not?? This is the perfect time to try things. I was excited about trying the Blood Pudding. I've seen it on Bourdain enough times. The Blood Pudding...not bad. I don't think I'd seek out the Blood Pudding like I seek out other foods,but I wouldn't thumb my nose at eating it again. One of the guys in the group asked the waitress what was in Blood Pudding. I shook my head as she explained, cause he wouldn't do well once he learned the truth. I don't think the guy ate the blood pudding after he found out what was in there. Wussy.
Thirty minutes later, we were at the hotel. Before we passed out while watching BBC One, we did some crazy twirling and gasping at the hotel room. Normally, our hotels are basic. We don't need much. We'd like a bed and a restaurant and maybe a view that doesn't include a dumpster or a parking lot. This was a Samantha Brown kind of hotel. It is very modern and spacious. There is a gorgeous balcony that overlooks the lake and mountains. And the bathroom is one that I'd appreciate in my own house. Then again, that doesn't take much. It was completely unexpected and very lovely.
I don't remember much after our initial hotel excitement. We both tried out the bed. I'm pretty sure Mom was snoring. Though she doesn't really believe me. We both had been up for so long that a nap was highly necessary. Dinner wasn't until 7p, so we had some time to kill before hand.
We are dealing with rain right now. It's the tail end of Hurricane Katia that's causing the ruckus. Funny enough, you never hear about hurricanes after they leave the United States. But they obviously go somewhere. The bus driver said the Northwestern area of the country had really gotten hit with the remnants of the storm. Here, it just rains. Then stops. Then rains. Then stops. And while it's raining, the sun is shining. Weird. I am very much looking forward to putting the contacts in. The sunshine is pretty strong. I need my sunglasses.
Our last event for the day was our first dinner with the full group. We found out that only 14 of us came in on the flight from JFK to Shannon. The others came in from Dublin, then drove the 3+ hours to Killarney. They'll then have to go the 3+ hours on the train back to Dublin. Suckers. We win!! We ended up sitting with a group mostly from Columbia, SC. They were impressed by my ability to get up and in line first for food. I told them nothing gets between food and me. The quicker they learned that, the better life would be for them not the trip.
I had grand ideas for the remainder of the night. I could christen the luxurious tub in the room. Or we could go down to the pool. Or we could walk around the grounds. But it's almost 930p and my eyes are burning. Other than a one hour and a thirty minute nap, I have been up since 7a on Monday morning. I can barely function. It's way time to sleep. Plus, we have a good day planned for tomorrow. We're off to the Gap of Dunloe. I don't know much about this, but it's an all day excursion and will involve a pony cart. I can only imagine this will be a ton of walking. I need to make sure I can actually function. A good sleep will be just the thing...
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