I know, I know, I am a terrible blogger...


My last entry was was back in August...once we arrived in Spain for World Youth Day, internet access was pretty much non-existent and I was exhausted from long days in the hot sun...


Today, I am another kind of exhausted!


Yesterday morning, I woke up at 5:15am to catch a ride to the Fargo Airport with my brother-in-law for my next adventure: a trip with my best cousin, Jenny, to visit my little sister in Naples.


When we found out Lana & Quinn would be stationed in Naples, Jenny and I immediately started talking about coming to visit. Around the time they actually moved (last fall), we'd already chosen dates to come see them. In January, after several months of intermittently checking ticket prices, we found a GREAT deal ...but there was a catch...a 24-hour lay-over...


But, we discovered the lay-over was in DUBLIN and thought it was a win-win situation! Tickets at several hundred dollars cheaper than the average price and a day on the Emerald Isle...didn't sound bad at all!


Fast forward to yesterday. Like I said, I woke up after just a few hours of sleep (waiting for clothes to dry so I could finish packing my sweet Pampered Chef rolling backpack (borrowed from my older sister Lisa and complete with PC printed fabric and a PC logo!) and got in the car with Taylor. +1hr drive to Fargo.


I was able to catch Mass at Nativity before meeting up with Jenny at the airport. Check-in was a breeze and we waited for our tiny little plane to load. -3 hours waiting for plane.


Our flight to Chicago went relatively well; +3 hours flying to Chicago. We arrived in the early afternoon and enjoyed a faux-Italian meal at the Macaroni Grill, found our gate and continued our first layover. -5 hours waiting for plane. Right on time, we boarded our plane...then it started to rain. Then it started to pour. And lightening. And hail. Just as it was starting to clear off (several hours later), there was a medical emergency and a lady had to be taken off the plane to an ambulance. Then the hold had to be opened, cargo containers removed, and her checked-bag taken off...


We boarded the plane in Chicago just before 6pm. Our flight departed around midnight-thirty...6 hours after boarding. -6 hours sitting in plane at gate...small + for the granola bars that the flight attendants gave us and for the group of middle-aged Irish dairy farmers who were across the aisle from us and entertained the cabin by singing a couple songs.


Also, this guy was on our flight: CanHead


For those of you keeping score, we are currently at 4 hours productive travel, 14 hours waiting.


To be perfectly honest, I am not sure how the flight to Dublin went...it was dark outside, I had a scarf over my eyes, earbuds in listening to classical jazz, was super tired and, naturally, quite uncomfortable from being scrunched in the airplane. Pretty much in that state between asleep and awake where things just don't make sense and pretty much anything is irritating. Seven hours later, Dublin greeted us with clouds and rain. +7 hour flight to Dublin.


We were planning to site-see during the day, then go back to the airport since we'd have to be back early in the morning for our flight to Italy...but, after the layover and discomfort of being stuck on the plane for 14 hours, we decided a hotel would be best.


Like the experienced travelers we are, we followed the signs to the hotel shuttles and began to wait...and wait...and wait. Finally, a shuttle to a different hotel arrived and we asked where the Hilton (located mostly closely to downtown) shuttle was; he pointed us a ways away to another shuttle parking lot. -1 hour waiting for shuttle.


At that shuttle lot, we waited some more and the Hilton shuttle just didn't show. However, 3 shuttles had come and gone for a place called Bewley's...we decided pretty much no matter where they were located and no matter what the cost, it would be worth a shot. The shuttle driver, a 50-something guy named Paddy, said they'd have room for us and off we went. -.5 hour waiting for shuttle before just deciding to go to Bewley's.


So, here we are....there is a wedding going on downstairs that I kind of want to crash (Leap Year-style). We are putting our feet up, then planning to take the city bus downtown to find somewhere nice to eat and wander around a little. We'll have another lay-over here on our way home so we've got another chance to look around.


Thank God, all in all, our spirits are still high and we are excited to be in Ireland!


Pray for us!