To get the thread back on track, cross-posting this from a couple of other sites:
A Moot on Three Legs
A Survival Trip to Ireland, or, I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Thursday
I had to wake up at the ungodly hour of a quarter past four.
The preordered taxi arrived precisely at five, and I was at the airport around half past five. The check-in desk for my flight wasn’t even open yet, but that wasn’t any problem; I wanted to have plenty of time for everything, now that I walked slower than usual, and may have had to rest at some point. And, even this early, the airport was quite busy, there were a couple of charter flights about to leave, in addition to all the usual scheduled flights. I had a good breakfast in one of the cafés that were already open, got past the passport inspection, and had plenty of time to concentrate on a detective story I had chosen as my pastime.
The flight to London went smoothly, as did the transfer to the Shannon plane. The corridors of Heathrow airport just felt to go on for miles and miles, and this time, I gladly took advantage of the moving walkways!
Perhaps the plane was a bit early, or I just got out quicker than usual, having been able to cram all my stuff to a cabin luggage sized bag. Anyway, I tried to look around for Alatar who was supposed to come and get me from the airport, but as he didn’t appear in a moderate time, I took a taxi to the hotel. Just when it curved to the hotel, Alys called and wondered where I was; apparently, Alatar had missed me by five minutes or so!
But, Alys and Angel (who looked absolutely swoonable in a kilt) came to meet me at the reception and took me to their house to wait for the others, who had gone to pick up Rodia and shop in the nearest supermarket (which was quite far) – and with them was Jude, the only inhabitant of our house who was there already, and had the only key to the house. There, I heard that, Wilko had missed his flight, and wouldn’t arrive until the next day.
When the other early birds returned, I wasn’t the only one who could have done with a good lunch so, we headed for one. Durty Nelly’s wasn’t very far, but anyway, it was nice to get there in Alatar’s car. From then on, it was mooting as usual: pub grub, and beer, and cider, and beer
(that day, I was still a bit careful with anything alcoholic though)… After the lunch, we moved across the street to the outdoor tables of The Creamery for a couple more drinks, to listen to the endless cawing of crows nesting in the nearby trees, and to welcome the next arrivals. Then, after it got too cold to sit outdoors, it was the hotel bar first and Alys and Angel’s house – the Party Central of this moot - for the rest of the evening. Our house – Jude, Truehobbit, Taurië, Matty, Edain, and me (poor Jonny had also missed his plane, and couldn’t get there at all
) left fairly early though, which suited me very well, after having had such a long day.
Friday
We slept late, of course. At noon (or, actually, a bit after noon, because some people always let wait for themselves
), we boarded the bus to the Ailwee Caves and Cliffs of Moher. First stop was the airport though, to pick up Wilko.
The caves were located in the Burren, a rocky and barren land that only seemed good for a pasture; there were quite a lot of cows grazing on the grass that grew between the rocks. But, according to Alatar, there are hundreds of flowers unique to the Burren, and I firmly decided that, I’ll have to get back there sometime in the summer!
The cave tour itself was a bit of a challenge for me. The walkway was good and fairly even, but as it was wet, it was a bit slippery at places. But, I didn’t want to turn back! I got through all right, with good shoes and my crutch, holding fast on the rails, and the help of Inzi (thank you!) on a couple of difficult places. It was a pity that, having just one hand free prevented me from taking any photos in the caves, there would have been quite a lot to picture. But, what was really impressive was when at one point, the tour guide put out all the lights; it isn’t in many places that one can experience such an absolute darkness! And, of course, Tolkien geeks couldn’t do it without ring jokes…
The light switch was at the end of a bridge, and I was right behind the guide at that point, while most of the people were standing on the bridge; for a moment, I played with the thought of raising my crutch and yelling “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!â€
Didn’t do it, though.
Then, it was to lunch at Monks in Ballyvaughan, and to the Cliffs of Moher, listening to the stories of Gerry the driver, who seemed to have an enormous knowledge of the local history. The cliffs were quite an impressive sight! And, over the ocean, next stop America… (OK, Canada, to be exact.) The more swiftfooted went to examine the cliffs on the opposite side from the viewing platform, but I took my time to get back down at a leisurely pace, and had a good chat with Lidless who was also taking it easy.
Back at the quarters, I had some time to keep my feet up before going to the Medieval Banquet at the Bunratty Castle. Gathering was at Nelly’s, as usual, and there, the Friday arrivals joined us.
The welcome toast at the banquet was served in the Great Hall in the second floor, up a winding stair of some thirty steps. I wouldn’t have had to go there, because the actual banquet was in the first floor; but heck, I had just made it through the Ailwee Caves, and I had stairs at home… So, up I went, without any problems, and down as well. The food and wine were good, the entertainment enjoyable, and the company – well, what would you expect?
Again, we gathered at the Party Central, for booze and chat and song - Alatar had brought his guitar, but unfortunately, there were very few songs that people could remember by heart. Fun, anyway.
Saturday
After getting rid of my hangover, I headed with the others to the Bunratty Folk Park, where I moved mostly in the company of Jude and Hobby. I let them go explore the castle, though, and meanwhile, took a look at the smaller houses, and bought souvenirs to the girls.
In the evening, we had another feast, at the Party Central this time: pizza by the hosts, potato pancake by Ber, and various other foodstuffs by others. And, plenty to drink, of course. At some point, I was drawn into a game of Cranium; our group placed the second last, probably because nobody in it would actually have wanted to play. And, if Matty and Taurië wouldn’t have decided that it was time for bed for them, which I also found a good point to leave, the game would probably have never ended!
Sunday
I was the first one up in our house – had to, because I was among the first to leave. There was still some arrangements to do with the transport to the airport, because it turned out that everybody wouldn’t fit into Alatar’s and Jewel’s cars, like it had been supposed at first. So, Parma and I decided to share a taxi, it would give him some more time to recover from the previous night. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to say a proper farewell to quite a lot of people; that was the downside of us being scattered in four different houses when one had a bad leg.
At the airport, I’ll have to give a thumb down to the Aer Lingus check-in.
: There was no info about the numbers of the desks; and, it took me a while to realize that, the one long queue to two desks was the check-in line for all the Aer Lingus flights!
There was at least one flight to America about to leave, and therefore, there of course were whole families with dozens of big suitcases waiting for their turn. So, it took me quite a while to get checked in; fortunately, at some point, they opened another desk for the Boston flight, which eased the situation. And, my flight was late; originally the delay was thought to be 15 minutes, but ended up being a whole hour. Lidless, Estel, Ber, and Mr Ber were taking the same flight though, so I didn’t have to wait alone.
The delay caused that back in London, I had to hurry to catch my connection. I only got an opportunity to say a hasty farewell to Lidless whom I met waiting for Estel in the Ireland flights lounge, and then, it was again miles of corridors to the check-in and departure gate of the Helsinki plane. I got there well in time, had to skip any shopping though, and was home around half past nine. Mr Rowan and daughter #2 were just in the sauna, and I also used the opportunity and headed there to relax.
Somehow, I felt very self-satisfied.
***
I just wish that I could have stayed for a couple more days; judging from the reports and photos, those who were there for Sunday and Monday had a really good time.
And, if it depends on me, this definitely wasn't my last trip to Ireland!
Pics will be up tomorrow; I've actually got them ready, but am waiting for an approval for a couple ones.