US Airways.... I mean, US Scareways
Trip Start
Jan 25, 2010
1
4
18
Trip End
Jun 09, 2010
Where I stayed
The airport, the airplane and the bus
Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Anyway, we left Buffalo on time at 6:11 PM and the flight to Philadelphia wasn’t bad. It was over before I knew it. However, once we landed in the Philly airport, we were stuck on the runway for a solid hour. Apparently there was a bus or a truck or something that had died in the middle of the runway and they were trying to tow it. I don’t know how these things happen, but apparently, they do. Random, but okay.
The real doozy was the flight to Ireland. We rode on US Airways, and let me tell you-- probably the last time I ever will. We ran to the terminal to catch our flight (and speaking of-- why is Philly’s airport so huge-- unnecessary). By the time we got to the gate, the flight was still on time and we had 10 minutes until boarding. However, 15 minutes after boarding was supposed to start happening, they told us our plane was delayed but should be ready soon. Apparently, there were mechanical errors that needed to be fixed in first class before we could get on. Great, right? Anyway, when we finally were able to get on, Ashley and I got put in the Emergency Exit seating, which means we had to read this packet telling us what to do in case of an emergency and that we’d have to step up and take charge and we had to agree with it in order for us to sit there. We had no overhead bins to put our stuff, so I had to put my carry-on back a few rows since we did not have a seat in front of us to put it under. That meant, when it came time to leave, I had to wait for people to get off the plane before I could go back and get my carryon to leave. Even without that happening, the flight was crazy bumpy and full of turbulence and the “flight-attendants” seemed to have no idea of what they were doing. It was quite nerve-wracking. Also, I don’t know how anyone ever sleeps on a red-eye flight. I couldn’t do it. I caught a few winks of sleep here and there but for the most part I was up the entire time. Every time I managed to doze off, one of the flight attendants would accidentally hit me with their cart and one time the guy kicked my foot to see if I wanted water even though I was sleeping. Overall, not a pleasant experience. I guess now I understand where the nickname “US Scareways” comes from!
However, my feelings changed once we arrived at the Dublin Airport. It was all very exciting to see everything, even though most of it looked like an airport back home (except for the bilingual signs in English and Gaelic). We then proceeded to our bus from the airport which is where I am writing from now.
I’m excited to get to Galway. Here, I’m visiting my friend Erin and it should be a good time. Hopefully this can be a stress free week where I don’t have to worry about my host family, money, etc. I just want to get out and explore for a little while before I have to go into the routine of school again. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited to start in Angers, but I’m also excited to see other things. We may or may not go to the Cliffs of Mohrer tomorrow, or we may go to the islands of the coast of Galway (where everything is spoken and written in Gaelic. Exciting? I think so.
Anyway, my laptop battery is slowly dwindling down so I should probably wrap this up. So far, I’m loving Ireland. I haven’t seen much of it, just from the airport and the inside of the bus, but it seems really nice. The city looks awesome but outside many of the towns look quaint and provincial-- not something that you see too often in New York. I’ll update later, probably in a day or two to write about what’s going on in Galway.
Jay
P.S. I'm gonna write 3 things I learn each day about Europe starting now.
1. Sheep are freakin' everywhere in Ireland.
2. Irish love their roundabouts-- we went through like 15 on the trip from Dublin to Galway.
3. The buses cause intense nausea since the roads are so windy. The Irish must be great on rollercoasters.
Comments
JAYYYYYY,
I'm so excited to read these! I'm in a digital video class, and I was reading this and suddenly felt like I wasn't stuck in NY while you're in IRELAND! Update this as much as you can!!!
LOVEEEE you!
jay, i have started reading your blog and i think it is an awesome way to have your memories from this trip. I am sooooo jealous. Have fun and keep writing!