Europe Spring 2011

Ready to go ....

   I'm off again tomorrow on a spring trip, first to join Mary in Ireland (again) and then the two of us will go on to Barcelona and Paris. For me the trip is just under 3 weeks but Mary left about a week earlier for some extra visiting with her family in Ireland; County Donegal (northwest) and County Wicklow (mid east coast). She's getting good at driving the small roads in a little car on the left side. I may let her do all the driving in Ireland so I can sleep through the scenery like she does here (wink).

   I got a US Air hop across the ocean using frequent flier miles so I'll go from Philly to Dublin connecting through Charlotte. The Charlotte flight leaves at 6:30 pm on Wednesday and lands in Dublin around 6:30 am Thursday.  My original connecting flight didn't give me much time between planes and I had a bad experiance a couple of years ago with dashing through airports because of flight delays. So after looking at the weather forecast, I called and got re-scheduled for an earlier first flight. My thanks to US Air for doing it without an extra charge; thanks also to my buddy Joe for giving me a ride to the airport.

   Turns out the Queen will be in Dublin for the first time in 100 years and I hope her entourage and security don't hold me up (too much). I'll give her everyone's regards if we meet up for tea somewhere.

   Traveling in Europe seems quick and cheap with Europe's discount airlines, and I hope it works as advertised. We'll be trying out Ryan Air to connect between cities and then back again to Dublin for our return trip home on June 4th. By then Mary would have exhausted about all her vacation from work, but hopefully they'll still let her take some extra time during the rest of the year. For a retired guy like me, it's not so much of a problem.

   I was in Barcelona once before, almost another lifetime ago when I was a Lieutanant in the navy (1973). We've never been to Paris, so it's about time for both of us. We're not planning on going out of the cities in Spain or France and I'm hoping that 3 weeks in 3 countries doesn't wear us out; hopefully it'll be ok. I remember really liking Barcelona, a great city to walk, so we'll get our legs well exercised on this trip.

   I'll try to keep up with the travel blog as before, with pictures and not too much narrative, comments (of all kinds, Steve) are welcomed. I'm never sure how good an internet connection I'll have, so if I miss a night I'll try to make up for it at my next opportunity. Wishing everyone a pleasant rest of the month, and hope to see you all back here soon after.

   John