(NOTE: I didn't have an adapter for my netbook when I was in Sligo. Now in Shannon, I found an adapter and will catch up)
November 27/28:
My day began at 6:00 a.m. Central Time. I got up, took a shower, got dressed and finalized my packing. My brother picked me up at 8:00 a.m. sharp and we were on the way to the airport. My flight wasn’t due to blast off until 12:05p, but being that this was Black Friday, I had no idea what kind of crowd to expect at the airport. Fortunately, IAH was pretty much empty, so we got to the airport in about 30 minutes and I was left with 3, I had no idea what kind of crowd to expect at the airport. Fortunately, IAH was pretty much empty, so we got to the airport in about 30 minutes and I was left with more than 3 hours to kill.
Checking in was no problem and I jetted through security quickly, too. The flight to Newark was like every other flight to Newark I’d taken in the last few years – 3 hours and 30 minutes; up and down like clockwork – no surprises. We arrived about 20 minutes early and I had plenty of time to saunter over to gate C133 for my 7:30p flight to Shannon.
This is where time and space start getting a little squirrely. The flight to Shannon took off on time and we even arrived a bit ahead of schedule. The first mistake I made, however, is that I assumed that I would get 3 or 4 hours of sleep on the trans-Atlantic leg of my trip. It ended up being closer to 30 or 40 minutes.
I could see that the tarmac was dark and wet. The couple next to me asked where I was going and I replied ‘Sligo’. The man’s face appeared to be a bit stunned. “Sligo?” he said. “Oh, so you have someone picking you up?” “No, I’m going to drive”. More stunned silence. He continued: “It’s just that some of the roads are flooded”, and his wife cheerily offered “yes, it’s been the worst flooding in 800 years”. Now, it was my turn to be stunned. I didn’t know what stunned me more – the vision of leprechauns floating face-down in the water that covered my route, or the fact that I was in a country where they tracked anything for 800 years.
I deplaned in Shannon, whisked thru customs and immigration and emerged right in front of the Hertz counter – so far, so good (except for the 800 year floods). At the rental counter, I quickly determined that the rental car I had chosen was going to cost much more than the $300 I was planning on. “If you want the ‘walk away’ insurance, that will be 35 (euro) per day, or the ‘lesser’ insurance will be 25 (euro) per day, but declining the insurance will mean that we will have to put a 3000 (euro) hold on your card.” I went with the “lesser” insurance, but at 25 Euro per day, that would be about 275 Euro, or $400 additional. Shit. I had money in certain piles for certain things and this screwed everything up. I did manage to get things re-arranged (with a major assist from my Brother back in the States) and I was finally out of the airport. If you’re keeping score, it is now about 7:30 a.m. local time in Shannon (2:30 a.m. back in Houston). The car was an Opel Astra. Right-hand drive, 5 speed manual transmission. It had 92,000 km on the odometer and was missing the left rear door trim piece and hubcap (this must be the designated car for tourists). Stickers on both the left and right corners of the windshield reminded the driver (in English and German) to “drive left”. I also saw road signs with this message, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
...to be continued...
November 27/28:
My day began at 6:00 a.m. Central Time. I got up, took a shower, got dressed and finalized my packing. My brother picked me up at 8:00 a.m. sharp and we were on the way to the airport. My flight wasn’t due to blast off until 12:05p, but being that this was Black Friday, I had no idea what kind of crowd to expect at the airport. Fortunately, IAH was pretty much empty, so we got to the airport in about 30 minutes and I was left with 3, I had no idea what kind of crowd to expect at the airport. Fortunately, IAH was pretty much empty, so we got to the airport in about 30 minutes and I was left with more than 3 hours to kill.
Checking in was no problem and I jetted through security quickly, too. The flight to Newark was like every other flight to Newark I’d taken in the last few years – 3 hours and 30 minutes; up and down like clockwork – no surprises. We arrived about 20 minutes early and I had plenty of time to saunter over to gate C133 for my 7:30p flight to Shannon.
This is where time and space start getting a little squirrely. The flight to Shannon took off on time and we even arrived a bit ahead of schedule. The first mistake I made, however, is that I assumed that I would get 3 or 4 hours of sleep on the trans-Atlantic leg of my trip. It ended up being closer to 30 or 40 minutes.
I could see that the tarmac was dark and wet. The couple next to me asked where I was going and I replied ‘Sligo’. The man’s face appeared to be a bit stunned. “Sligo?” he said. “Oh, so you have someone picking you up?” “No, I’m going to drive”. More stunned silence. He continued: “It’s just that some of the roads are flooded”, and his wife cheerily offered “yes, it’s been the worst flooding in 800 years”. Now, it was my turn to be stunned. I didn’t know what stunned me more – the vision of leprechauns floating face-down in the water that covered my route, or the fact that I was in a country where they tracked anything for 800 years.
I deplaned in Shannon, whisked thru customs and immigration and emerged right in front of the Hertz counter – so far, so good (except for the 800 year floods). At the rental counter, I quickly determined that the rental car I had chosen was going to cost much more than the $300 I was planning on. “If you want the ‘walk away’ insurance, that will be 35 (euro) per day, or the ‘lesser’ insurance will be 25 (euro) per day, but declining the insurance will mean that we will have to put a 3000 (euro) hold on your card.” I went with the “lesser” insurance, but at 25 Euro per day, that would be about 275 Euro, or $400 additional. Shit. I had money in certain piles for certain things and this screwed everything up. I did manage to get things re-arranged (with a major assist from my Brother back in the States) and I was finally out of the airport. If you’re keeping score, it is now about 7:30 a.m. local time in Shannon (2:30 a.m. back in Houston). The car was an Opel Astra. Right-hand drive, 5 speed manual transmission. It had 92,000 km on the odometer and was missing the left rear door trim piece and hubcap (this must be the designated car for tourists). Stickers on both the left and right corners of the windshield reminded the driver (in English and German) to “drive left”. I also saw road signs with this message, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
...to be continued...
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