England/Ireland/Wales trip '06
This is a public entry of our trip. The pictures are at http://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g187/Feckinshite/ and the password to get in is welovefrank.
Day One - Monday, June 26:
We met at the Syracuse airport, checked our bags, went through security, and arrived at our gate. Then it was announced that the flight was canceled due to weather. So we got our bags and at 4:46pm, ground transport was being arranged. The bus left at 5:40pm and arrived at the Philly airport at 10:05pm. At that time, they told us that the airline had just sold 20 of our seats and were going to ask for volunteers to get off. Hours later, they arranged to have us all put up in the Crowne Plaza hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
At 12:40am we were in Torgro vans driving to Jersey, but some of the luggage didn't fit in the vans so they had to be left on the sidewalk with a few people to wait. The van driver talked on his cell phone the entire trip. We first drove to the Wawa, which is a gas station rest stop, to buy food because no shops are open in NJ so early in the morning. At 1:30am, everyone was in the hotel still waiting for people's luggage to arrive. A new plan arose: we thought we'd fly to Scotland and then to Dublin in the morning. That plan was shot down later. At 2:20am, we got to our room and around that time, I think some people actually slept.
Day Two - Tuesday, June 27:
We were woken up at 9:28am when the maid went down the hall knocking on doors. Down in the lobby people were having breakfast with the vouchers the airline had given us for $40 for every two people. Some people swam in the hotel pool to pass the time, then the power went out for a while. They told us we had to move our bags into one of a few chosen rooms by 11:45pm. At 12:45pm there was a new plan: to fly to Toronto and then to Dublin. At 1:03pm there was a final plan: we would take the 9:05pm flight from Philly to Dublin. The van was to arrive at 4:00pm to pick us up.
At 1:14pm the alarm sounded in the hotel and we moved our luggage outside to wait for a crisis before we discovered that it was only a drill. Firemen arrived at 1:22pm with two trucks and people took pictures with them. At 3:37pm a bus came to get us but we weren't going to all fit on with our bags so we decided to wait for something else. At 4:00pm the vans arrived to bring us to the Philly airport. The driver was the same from the night before and he was still on his cell phone.
We arrived that the airport at 4:30pm and it was at 5:30pm when we were allowed to start checking in. At 6:43pm most of us were waiting at our flight gate. Then we found out that some of us didn't have seats because the airline overbooked so we asked the employee but she said they wouldn't start working on our flight until 7:30pm. At 7:00pm our flight was delayed until 9:45pm and boarding time was to be at 8:18pm. At 8:30pm the boarding time was determined to be 9:15pm. At 9:53pm we started boarding and were seated on the plane while the captain waited for clearance to take off. The plane took off at midnight.
Day Three - Wednesday, June 28:
We landed in Dublin at 6:24am, or 11:24am Ireland time. We went through customs and baggage pick-up, met Seamus O'Shea and boarded his bus at 12:44pm. We had missed that first day so we drove straight to Cork. It was 6:08pm when we arrived at the Best Western Ambassador hotel and carried our bags up the stairs to our rooms. Then we went to dinner and the show This Is Elvis. At 11:02pm we returned to the hotel.
Day Four - Thursday, June 29:
8:24am and we were leaving the hotel. Frank kindly shared that in the book he's reading, our hotel used to be a hospital for incurable diseases. On this day we drove around part of the Ring of Kerry and got to stop at 1:00pm for an hour in Killarney. At 4:00pm we arrived at the Blarney Castle and had to choose what to do first in case we didn't have time to both shop and climb the castle steps to kiss the Stone. I chose to visit the castle first, and the steps were slippery and spiraled with ropes on the side to help you hold on. At the top, a guy holds you while you hold metal bars and lean upside down to kiss the Stone, and a lady takes two pictures that you can purchase (one for 10 euros and both for 15).
We had enough time after the Stone to shop, and at 5:50pm we were back on the bus going to the Ferry Carrig hotel in Wexford. We got to our hotel room at 9:05pm and returned from dinner at 11:12pm.
Day Five - Friday, June 30:
We put our bags in the bus at 6:30am and then had breakfast. We returned to the bus at 7:27am and drove onto the ferry at 8:45am. The sun deck was the best part of the trip, we stayed near the back because it was better. At 12:27pm we were back on the bus, prepared to drive onto Welsh soil.
Seamus went the wrong way and a guy named Tom stepped onto the bus to give us directions. At 1:34pm we boarded a small bus to take us to St. David's Cathedral. When we attempted to have lunch there, they said they were out of food. We had a guided tour of the Cathedral and then walked around Wales to find a place with food. At 4:45pm we were back on the Seamus's bus, destination Bristol, England. We crossed the Severn bridge that connects Wales to England at 8:30pm and then reached the Thistle hotel. Our room was small, hot and had a ceiling beam right in the middle of everything.
Day Six - Saturday, July 1:
Everyone was on the bus at 8:30am and we did a perfect count. We arrived at Bath and had a guided tour of the Roman Baths in two groups. At 11:12am we were heading to Stonehenge. We arrived at 12:15 and walked around with audio tours. At 1:35pm everyone was bored and wanted to leave early, so we got to Jurys Inn in London at 3:50pm and went to the Hard Rock Cafe at 4:44pm. We watched the World Cup between England and Portugal. No one scored until the end, when Portugal won.
At 6:55pm we had left the Hard Rock and were going to the Mary Poppins musical. We had front row seats, so we couldn't see upstage very much, but we had a very clear view of the orchestra pit. At 10:45pm we got out of the theatre and experienced the end of Gay Pride day as we stood on the street and then arrived back at the hotel at 11:50pm.
Day Seven - Sunday, July 2:
Some people chose to go to church at 9:00am. We started leaving at 11:00am and our London tour guide stepped on the bus at 11:46am to tell Seamus where to go. We were also led out of the bus and around to see sights on foot. At 5:30pm we started driving to our Holiday Inn hotel in Stratford-Upon-Avon and Seamus played an Irish comedy video for us. We got to the hotel at 8:00pm, ate dinner and then Ms. DeVett invited all seniors and older to the bar.
Day Eight - Monday, July 3:
We walked to Shakespeare's birthplace, shopped around for a short time and then visited the museum and his home. Then we drove to Anne Hathaway's house, and it was decided at 12:30pm that we would not be returning to Stratford to shop as was planned. We arrived at Warwick Castle at 1:00pm. Some people ate first and then entered the Castle. We climbed up all the towers and there were also gardens, shows and rooms inside to visit.
At 5:55pm we were driving to our next hotel. Seamus's bus TV played Waking Ned Devine. We arrived at the Treaddur Bay hotel in Wales at around 8:30pm. Dinner was at 9:00pm and in my opinion it was the best food of the trip.
Day Nine - Tuesday, July 4:
At 7:34am we were headed to the ferry back to Ireland. It only took two hours after boarding and the entire journey was quite turbulent. We arrived in Dublin and met our tour guide at 11:10am. It was entirely a bus tour but then we got 4 hours in a shopping market to ourselves. Later that night, we arrived at the Clontarf Castle hotel at 5:30pm. Dinner was at 6:30pm and then Seamus offered to drive us to the town of Howth so we could see the nice view.
We returned from that and went to the hotel bar to commemorate our last day.
Day Ten - Wednesday, July 5:
We drove away from the hotel around 7:45am. At 9:50am we were ready at the gate C45 for our flight, and it was to depart at 11:05am. At 10:35am we were on the plane which took off at 11:11am and arrived at 6:21pm, which was 1:21pm Philly time. We went to the baggage carousel 2, but there was a problem with our bags and they didn't come through. They let two flights of bags through, then they directed us to carousel 4 and our bags started coming through at 2:47pm.
At 3:56 we had checked our bags again for the next flight and found out that Frank's flight was hours before ours. We got an hour to ourselves until we had to take a shuttle to the F section of the airport. At 6:00pm the flight was canceled due to air traffic. We were waiting for them to tell us if we could get another flight or a bus. Soon after, they said they wouldn't give us a bus. Some people around us started playing their instruments and dancing in the terminal.
At 7:27pm all but a few of us were checked in to the later flight. There was another later flight that would take the six that didn't get seats. At 8:13pm all but Ms. DeVett and Mr. Zasa were on our flight; the others had made it. We were in a line to take off and it was 9:30pm before we were in the air. The drinks service was suspended due to all the turbulence and for some reason, one of the flight attendants reminded us to stay in our seats about once every ten minutes. We landed at 10:05pm and didn't know if our bags had made the flight with us. Later we waited in the baggage claim and found out that they did.
You can leave comments if you want. This was all according to the trip log I took, so times and such should be accurate. I took care to leave out most names for privacy reasons.
Day One - Monday, June 26:
We met at the Syracuse airport, checked our bags, went through security, and arrived at our gate. Then it was announced that the flight was canceled due to weather. So we got our bags and at 4:46pm, ground transport was being arranged. The bus left at 5:40pm and arrived at the Philly airport at 10:05pm. At that time, they told us that the airline had just sold 20 of our seats and were going to ask for volunteers to get off. Hours later, they arranged to have us all put up in the Crowne Plaza hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
At 12:40am we were in Torgro vans driving to Jersey, but some of the luggage didn't fit in the vans so they had to be left on the sidewalk with a few people to wait. The van driver talked on his cell phone the entire trip. We first drove to the Wawa, which is a gas station rest stop, to buy food because no shops are open in NJ so early in the morning. At 1:30am, everyone was in the hotel still waiting for people's luggage to arrive. A new plan arose: we thought we'd fly to Scotland and then to Dublin in the morning. That plan was shot down later. At 2:20am, we got to our room and around that time, I think some people actually slept.
Day Two - Tuesday, June 27:
We were woken up at 9:28am when the maid went down the hall knocking on doors. Down in the lobby people were having breakfast with the vouchers the airline had given us for $40 for every two people. Some people swam in the hotel pool to pass the time, then the power went out for a while. They told us we had to move our bags into one of a few chosen rooms by 11:45pm. At 12:45pm there was a new plan: to fly to Toronto and then to Dublin. At 1:03pm there was a final plan: we would take the 9:05pm flight from Philly to Dublin. The van was to arrive at 4:00pm to pick us up.
At 1:14pm the alarm sounded in the hotel and we moved our luggage outside to wait for a crisis before we discovered that it was only a drill. Firemen arrived at 1:22pm with two trucks and people took pictures with them. At 3:37pm a bus came to get us but we weren't going to all fit on with our bags so we decided to wait for something else. At 4:00pm the vans arrived to bring us to the Philly airport. The driver was the same from the night before and he was still on his cell phone.
We arrived that the airport at 4:30pm and it was at 5:30pm when we were allowed to start checking in. At 6:43pm most of us were waiting at our flight gate. Then we found out that some of us didn't have seats because the airline overbooked so we asked the employee but she said they wouldn't start working on our flight until 7:30pm. At 7:00pm our flight was delayed until 9:45pm and boarding time was to be at 8:18pm. At 8:30pm the boarding time was determined to be 9:15pm. At 9:53pm we started boarding and were seated on the plane while the captain waited for clearance to take off. The plane took off at midnight.
Day Three - Wednesday, June 28:
We landed in Dublin at 6:24am, or 11:24am Ireland time. We went through customs and baggage pick-up, met Seamus O'Shea and boarded his bus at 12:44pm. We had missed that first day so we drove straight to Cork. It was 6:08pm when we arrived at the Best Western Ambassador hotel and carried our bags up the stairs to our rooms. Then we went to dinner and the show This Is Elvis. At 11:02pm we returned to the hotel.
Day Four - Thursday, June 29:
8:24am and we were leaving the hotel. Frank kindly shared that in the book he's reading, our hotel used to be a hospital for incurable diseases. On this day we drove around part of the Ring of Kerry and got to stop at 1:00pm for an hour in Killarney. At 4:00pm we arrived at the Blarney Castle and had to choose what to do first in case we didn't have time to both shop and climb the castle steps to kiss the Stone. I chose to visit the castle first, and the steps were slippery and spiraled with ropes on the side to help you hold on. At the top, a guy holds you while you hold metal bars and lean upside down to kiss the Stone, and a lady takes two pictures that you can purchase (one for 10 euros and both for 15).
We had enough time after the Stone to shop, and at 5:50pm we were back on the bus going to the Ferry Carrig hotel in Wexford. We got to our hotel room at 9:05pm and returned from dinner at 11:12pm.
Day Five - Friday, June 30:
We put our bags in the bus at 6:30am and then had breakfast. We returned to the bus at 7:27am and drove onto the ferry at 8:45am. The sun deck was the best part of the trip, we stayed near the back because it was better. At 12:27pm we were back on the bus, prepared to drive onto Welsh soil.
Seamus went the wrong way and a guy named Tom stepped onto the bus to give us directions. At 1:34pm we boarded a small bus to take us to St. David's Cathedral. When we attempted to have lunch there, they said they were out of food. We had a guided tour of the Cathedral and then walked around Wales to find a place with food. At 4:45pm we were back on the Seamus's bus, destination Bristol, England. We crossed the Severn bridge that connects Wales to England at 8:30pm and then reached the Thistle hotel. Our room was small, hot and had a ceiling beam right in the middle of everything.
Day Six - Saturday, July 1:
Everyone was on the bus at 8:30am and we did a perfect count. We arrived at Bath and had a guided tour of the Roman Baths in two groups. At 11:12am we were heading to Stonehenge. We arrived at 12:15 and walked around with audio tours. At 1:35pm everyone was bored and wanted to leave early, so we got to Jurys Inn in London at 3:50pm and went to the Hard Rock Cafe at 4:44pm. We watched the World Cup between England and Portugal. No one scored until the end, when Portugal won.
At 6:55pm we had left the Hard Rock and were going to the Mary Poppins musical. We had front row seats, so we couldn't see upstage very much, but we had a very clear view of the orchestra pit. At 10:45pm we got out of the theatre and experienced the end of Gay Pride day as we stood on the street and then arrived back at the hotel at 11:50pm.
Day Seven - Sunday, July 2:
Some people chose to go to church at 9:00am. We started leaving at 11:00am and our London tour guide stepped on the bus at 11:46am to tell Seamus where to go. We were also led out of the bus and around to see sights on foot. At 5:30pm we started driving to our Holiday Inn hotel in Stratford-Upon-Avon and Seamus played an Irish comedy video for us. We got to the hotel at 8:00pm, ate dinner and then Ms. DeVett invited all seniors and older to the bar.
Day Eight - Monday, July 3:
We walked to Shakespeare's birthplace, shopped around for a short time and then visited the museum and his home. Then we drove to Anne Hathaway's house, and it was decided at 12:30pm that we would not be returning to Stratford to shop as was planned. We arrived at Warwick Castle at 1:00pm. Some people ate first and then entered the Castle. We climbed up all the towers and there were also gardens, shows and rooms inside to visit.
At 5:55pm we were driving to our next hotel. Seamus's bus TV played Waking Ned Devine. We arrived at the Treaddur Bay hotel in Wales at around 8:30pm. Dinner was at 9:00pm and in my opinion it was the best food of the trip.
Day Nine - Tuesday, July 4:
At 7:34am we were headed to the ferry back to Ireland. It only took two hours after boarding and the entire journey was quite turbulent. We arrived in Dublin and met our tour guide at 11:10am. It was entirely a bus tour but then we got 4 hours in a shopping market to ourselves. Later that night, we arrived at the Clontarf Castle hotel at 5:30pm. Dinner was at 6:30pm and then Seamus offered to drive us to the town of Howth so we could see the nice view.
We returned from that and went to the hotel bar to commemorate our last day.
Day Ten - Wednesday, July 5:
We drove away from the hotel around 7:45am. At 9:50am we were ready at the gate C45 for our flight, and it was to depart at 11:05am. At 10:35am we were on the plane which took off at 11:11am and arrived at 6:21pm, which was 1:21pm Philly time. We went to the baggage carousel 2, but there was a problem with our bags and they didn't come through. They let two flights of bags through, then they directed us to carousel 4 and our bags started coming through at 2:47pm.
At 3:56 we had checked our bags again for the next flight and found out that Frank's flight was hours before ours. We got an hour to ourselves until we had to take a shuttle to the F section of the airport. At 6:00pm the flight was canceled due to air traffic. We were waiting for them to tell us if we could get another flight or a bus. Soon after, they said they wouldn't give us a bus. Some people around us started playing their instruments and dancing in the terminal.
At 7:27pm all but a few of us were checked in to the later flight. There was another later flight that would take the six that didn't get seats. At 8:13pm all but Ms. DeVett and Mr. Zasa were on our flight; the others had made it. We were in a line to take off and it was 9:30pm before we were in the air. The drinks service was suspended due to all the turbulence and for some reason, one of the flight attendants reminded us to stay in our seats about once every ten minutes. We landed at 10:05pm and didn't know if our bags had made the flight with us. Later we waited in the baggage claim and found out that they did.
You can leave comments if you want. This was all according to the trip log I took, so times and such should be accurate. I took care to leave out most names for privacy reasons.