In Transit

         

I have realized flying wouldn't be so bad without the airport! I've departed from my home in Washington and have completed two out of three flights in my journey to Dublin. 

                                        My last look at Washington-Going to miss the mountains.


           So far the trip has been smooth, with as annoying as dealing with an airline can be I really can't complain! The one thing that has caused a little hick-up is baggage checking and lay overs. Due to a 12hour lay over in Chicago I had to claim and recheck my bags, which caused me to have to pay yet another baggage fee. Only because they claimed the first time I checked bags I wasn't charged for the over weight limit on my second checked bag. So just a warning....don't pack to much crap! Easy to do when you only plan to visit a country not move to one.



           Not sure how long it has been since I posted on here, all I know is that the past few weeks have been a massive blur of  fun and excitement mixed with emotional highs and lows!! I moved out of my apartment, managed to get the things I'm keeping, but have no intention of shipping at this point put into storage. Moved in with a friend after been locked out of her house for the weekend, which gave me a chance to spend time with my grandparents until my friend got back into town. Finished work at both jobs and had multiple going away parties and nights out on the town in celebration.



            Since my trip has been smooth thus far I can't say I have many pointers for international travelers. If you have everything in order as far as papers and passports and show up early the chances of having issues are much less. Which is the case with traveling in the states as well. Sleeping on the plane is probably what will make this long trip not seem so long, falling asleep at take off and being woken up by the rough landing is the best way to go. Makes a three hour flight feel like 10min. Only issue with sleeping is getting comfortable, having a neck pillow helps a ton. However that does nothing for your legs! Or your butt! For me sitting for a long period doesn't happen often and when it does I would normally have more room to move and get comfortable. Not so in a plane!

             I have one more flight that lands in Dublin! Once there I will have a whole new set of adventures to deal with. I've been through an airport enough times to make my way, but going out into the new world of Ireland or anywhere  you may have landed is a different ball of wax. I have to find a place in the airport to get some euros, which I hear isn't hard. Hope the can use a debit or credit card, because I don't have much cash to convert. Once I'm past that obstacle......Everything written before this point was written in the Chicago airport on Thursday morning. 

              Due to just how fan-freaking-tastic the airport in Chicago is I didn't have enough time on the wifi to finish my post! In Chicago there is no such thing as free wifi, you get 20min of "complementary" wifi on any device. Got 20min on my cell phone only after downloading a free amazon app, once 20min was over they want you to purchase some gift card thingy for amazon to continue. On my laptop I got the 20min, once that was up they want you to pay about $5 for internet. Sure, 5 dollars isn't that much in the grand scheme of things, but when you pay $200 in baggage fees, over $1000 for a plane ticket and a minimum of $10 per meal and $5 for a cup of coffee the LAST thing I should have to pay for is internet. Oh and even though every other airport I've been to has many stations for charging your phone or laptop that have a counter top and chairs to make using their FREE wifi even easier, Chicago had two stations that were tiny and had no other accommodations to make life easy. From my experience I would recommend NOT flying through Chicago or at least don't have a layover there of any kind.

              So after being cut off from the wifi I continued my 12hr layover by taking multiple naps, watching a couple movies on my lap top, texting with friends and family and keeping myself fed. People watching was good fun, so many people walk about with their neck pillows around their necks. The one thing that confuses me the most is women that travel in heals....what is wrong with you?! Hope they aren't going far.

               Finally at 530pm it was time to board my final plane. Boarding didn't take long, but once on the plane the flight crew informed us that they were still going through on the check list for maintenance/safety on the plane and we wouldn't be in the air for a while yet. This wouldn't have been so bad if you have a travel buddy or at least someone seated next to you that is friendly. No such luck for me, made one comment the passenger next to me and all i got was a smile and a giggle. Think I must've scared him?! This flight went the same as the rest, I feel asleep shortly after take off and woke up a little before landing. Landing was different of course! I could already see the difference between the new country and America. The way the buildings and roads looked was different. The landing strip was surrounded by fields of grass and the fences around the airport were wooden with wire only at the top. Even saw a little rabbit running for safety as we came to the ground!

                Unfortunately we landed a little late so we had to wait for a gait to open up, got to hangout in the another 20min before getting to the gaits. Talk about having time to stress yourself out and get into a lovely state of anxiety thinking of the journey ahead. After getting off the plane the next step was security check point or customs. The line to go through customs was soooo long, but thankfully didn't take to long to get through. Once up to the window and explaining how long and why I was going to be in Ireland I had to not only show my passport but also my work visa. I was then given a note and was told I had to register with immigrations and was sent on my way. I got myself a luggage cart and got my bags quickly! On the way to the exit there was a currency exchange, where I exchanged what little U.S. cash I had. I exchanged a little over $100 and got only $80 euro. I then made my way out of the airport to find my bus!

                  At this point I've been in Ireland and in my new town for a day and a half. I'm going to stop here but will make another post tomorrow night to finish telling about the journey and about my first full weekend spent in Ireland.

Cheers!