I decided to run before we left. (Thank you, Lord, that I can run!) Then I showered and finished packing, to depart for the airport at 7:50 AM. My husband's uncle kindly drove us to the airport, which made for a much smoother experience. Since our first flight was domestic, we didn't have to arrive early.
We checked three bags. (Thanks, Delta credit card for two bags being free. Plus, the agent offered to check my our carryons. My husband agreed. I wanted to keep mine.) We breezed through security and were off to our gate. The gate agent kept asking people to check bags, and by our boarding group seven, they were forcing checks. Bummer. This was a very full flight!
I had eaten some before I ran, and drank a protein shake on the way to the airport, but I snacked more on this flight to make the time pass. Thankfully, I was able to step over the lady night to me once to get to the restroom. That also helped pass the time.
I finished The Correspondent on this leg of the trip, a great book for reading before Ireland, since the author went to Trinity College in Ireland for her masters degree. I also played Quordle since the plane had WiFi.
Hartsfield-Jackson airport was a little bit interesting. We walked the long way through what felt like catacombs to get from the domestic to the international gates. I thought I lost the lightning cord I needed to charge my phone, searching for it everywhere, only to find that I put it in my crossbody bag to prepare for the flight. Go figure.
My husband got some food here. I snacked more. I found greeters in the bathroom. Interesting!
Winds and an airway switcheroo delayed our 8 PM departure to 9 PM. I was tired and wanted to sleep, but also wanted food. That took a while to come. I thought it was coming, but that was the drinks. And then a hot towel, which was nice, but I was hungry! When the food finally did come, it was good: a cold chickpea salad (a little dry, but flavorful), and warm vegetarian ravioli. I was honestly impressed with what they served. (They also added a roll with butter and a cookie on the side.) I made a trip to the bathroom and then tried to sleep.
Sleeping was...uncomfortable. We originally had a seat with extra legroom, but moved due to stewardess request. I reclined and wrapped the headrest around my head, but it was hard. I told myself just to lay there, though, and I think I dozed off for bits off and on (a total of about four hours from when I forced myself to close my eyes to when I woke up).
I woke up to the sunrise! It took me a little bit to orient, and to help, I asked for some coffee. It was strong! Thankfully my husband had some Splenda to offer me to offset the bitterness. (Normally, I don't sweeten my coffee, but desperate times call for desperate measures!) The plane served a breakfast of Greek yogurt and a Mediterranean egg and cheese calzone. I didn't really feel hungry, but ate the yogurt and stowed the calzone. Then we landed in our first destination: Ireland.
We had to go through immigration before getting our luggage. All we really did was show our passports and say we were there for "pleasure," and then right on through we went. I was desperate for water, and not finding any places to fill our bottles, settled on buying some from the vending machine-my first Euros purchase. Somehow, I bought Fanta the first time, but managed to get water the second time. Our luggage came pretty quickly, and then it was off to find the city bus. That took a little bit. The zipper on my brand new suitcase broke. (Thankfully, the suitcase held everything in, and I switched to using the other zipper.) We got on the bus and headed for our hotel.
Around us, I saw signs of the US everywhere: Krispy Kreme, a TCU football sign, a Texas sandwich at Burger king, etc. It sort of looked like the US (at least the east coast), but people drive in the opposite lanes. I noticed a lot of people biking and walking, but also a lot of people smoking: a strange contradiction!
With our hotel room not ready until afternoon, we ventured out to see some of the sights. Officially, we were on day two of our vacation.
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