Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Volcano That No One Can Pronounce

Thursday, April 15th

Our flight was scheduled to leave Heathrow airport in London at 2:30pm. We left the office at 9:00 and caught a train to London to catch another train to Heathrow airport. We arrived in London Paddington and were stopped on our way to the airport train when a worker at the station stated that there was no use going to the airport since is it was closing at noon today. We had heard a few things on the radio before we left the office about a few flights being canceled in northern Scotland but we thought there was no chance in our flight being canceled because our plane could just fly south out of the airport to avoid the ash cloud. So we got on the train that we just rode in on, and went back to the office.

Friday, April 16th

Once we got up we called up Delta to see when we were scheduled and we put on a flight leaving London on Monday. I did hear unfortunate news earlier that my Grandma Sebion had passed away and the funeral was on Monday so we fought Delta to see if there was any way I could get on a flight leaving Sunday from the British Isles because we could get to anywhere by train or car. Delta then put us on flight out of Dublin on Sunday at 10:20am.

Saturday, April 17th

First train we got on was at 6:25am to Reading outside of London to catch a train north to Birmingham, and then from there we went to Crewe, and finally ended up in Holyhead. The last train we got on was so packed that we had to stand in the part of the train where two cars come together and stand next to our luggage. Everyone was getting on the ferry to get to Ireland either to get home or to see if planes would fly from Dublin before the UK airspace opened up. So the area after the train station was packed of people getting off the ferries or trying to get on the boat. We did make it on and started to sail to Dublin. The ferry was pretty nice, we grabbed a spot in the lounge next to the bar and the TV and it wasn't that bad. We got to our hotel at about 6:00pm and after the 12 hours of traveling with a big suitcase I found some food and then we went to sleep at the hotel.

Sunday, April 18th

We did find out before we went to bed that our flight would not be taking off at 10:20 this morning. I slept in until 10 just because I could. Then went to the Guinness Storehouse and that was amazing. It was a self guided tour and took about an hour. You end up at the end of the tour in a glass bar on the top of the storehouse that overlooks Dublin with 360 degrees of glass windows. We then walked around the Temple Bar and other streets in Dublin. The Temple Bar is a few blocks of the downtown area that is all sidewalks for streets and has tons of shops and places to eat. We toured around there for a bit and had a few pints and a good night.

Monday, April 19th

I booked a ferry ride that leaves Dublin at 9:00pm to make it back to Melksham to work for a few more days because we got a flight rescheduled to leave London Heathrow on Friday April 23rd. We went to the Old Jameson Distillery and toured that place which was also very sweet. We spent the rest of the day walking around, shopping and just enjoying the sights. We got a cab back to the Port of Dublin and got on our ferry ride back to the UK.

Tuesday, April 20th

Ferry landed at about 12:30am but the first train out of the station wasn't until 4:45am. I spent a few hours chatting with others trying to get home and got a few minutes of sleep. Then it was six solid hours of sitting on trains and transferring back to a different train. We finally got back to Melksham at about 11:30am and got a bite to eat then back to the flat for a nap. And that brings you up to speed with how my weekend went and why I have not been posting much due to being so busy. Overall, I feel pretty good I just would like to be home and eat a Chipotle burrito. Hopefully I my flight will take off on Friday and I will be home soon enough.

Peace!

2 comments:

  1. Eventful week! But the Guinness Brewery would be awesome to see.

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  2. I hope you spent a little time in the Brazen Head in Dublin, too - oldest "still operating" pub in the country!

    Oh, yeah, and I'm glad you're enjoying your work, too. Always good to have balance!

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