Final days and returning home

After a wonderful wedding celebration on Friday night, we met Paul and Liz for breakfast Saturday morning. We were returning to Dun Laoghaire for 1 night (Paul and Liz) and 2 nights (us). Mary was returning with the newlyweds in the camper van, leaving us to travel in the comfortable rental car with Paul and Liz. 

At breakfast, I asked whether there was anywhere we could stop along the way rather than just returning to Dun Laoghaire. Paul thought there was a town starting with K, and searching his memory banks, came up with Kildare. Liz googled and found that the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens were located in Kildare, and we were all game to check it out. Paul drove like a champ, driving on the left side of the road and encountering many traffic circles. Liz helped with the navigation. The Irish National Stud is where horses have been born and bred since 1900. The founder, who was into astrological signs, loved horses and horticulture, and created beautifully manicured Japanese gardens on the grounds. At some point the stud farm was bequeathed to the Irish government, and that makes it a bit tricky for them to procure stallions. As our personable guide put it, we can’t spend 10 million on a stallion when there are homeless people in Dublin. Nevertheless they have been quite successful. We learned that breeders from around the world send mares to be mated with the stallions there. The breeding season runs from February through July, and some stallions will take part in 100 - 150 “coverings” during the breeding season. To secure a covering, mares’ owners pay considerable sums. We saw a chart with the going rate which started at 10,000 euros. If the covering is not success, there is no charge. No foal - no fee. To get a date with their most valuable stallion, Invincible Spirit, the price is not disclosed to the public, but our guide intimated it is well over 100,000 euros. Invincible Spirit is the father of champion racehorses across the globe, and his offspring can sell for millions. We saw a few stallions from a distance, but got closer to the mares and foals. They have to keep the stallions separated or they would fight. The guide also said they will attack people, and they are handled with great care. He described how the foals and mothers are kept together for a certain period then separated. We declined the Irish Racehorse Immersive experience and checked out the gardens. There was a natural garden area with streams and caves as well as the formal Japanese gardens. We greatly enjoyed both. All in all it was a great diversion, and not something that most tourists get to see. We returned to Dun Laoghaire and checked back into the Haddington. As requested, our room had a stand-alone shower. Yay! 

After awhile we met Paul and Liz for drinks at the Haddington’s lovely outdoor terrace overlooking the sea. Mary joined us, and she and Paul walked to the end of the pier and back. Then we stopped at an off-license for some wine and beer. We went to Mary’s condo and had yummy Thai food delivered. We made it a fairly early night as we were all tired from the wedding the night before. We stopped for one last beverage with Paul and Liz at the Haddington, and continued our game of “dead or not dead” that we had started at Mary’s. We invited the waitress to play but when she said Michael Jackson, we uninvited her. 

The next morning Mary met us at the Haddington and she drove us to Dublin’s botanical gardens. It was a rough ride for me as the Waze directions had us seemingly going in circles. We finally made it and had to wait for 3 cars to leave the parking lot before we could enter. It was worth it. There were several glass structures housing all kinds of unique plants. There was an organic vegetable garden and many interesting trees. We had a cold drink and returned to Dun Laoghaire. We drove past the house that Caitriona and Amir just bought, which is less than 10 minutes from Mary’s. By now I was feeling a bit car sick so we made a plan to meet at 6 for an early dinner at Oliveto, the Haddington’s wonderful restaurant. After we packed, I tried unsuccessfully to sleep so we headed to Elvery’s sporting goods store where I bought a hoodie for the Rugby World Cup. (We’ve since ordered more Ireland gear from Elvery’s for the big event, and we will pick it up in Dun Laoghaire on September 6.)

We had a lovely final dinner with Mary and although we knew we would be seeing her in less than a month, the goodbyes were tearful. We went to the elevator and found it wasn’t working so we walked the 4 flights to our room. We turned in around 9 pm for our 8 am cab ride to the airport. Nick was out instantly but I had trouble getting to sleep. I had just drifted off around 9:45 when the fire alarm started blaring. Nick thought it was an alarm clock at my side of the bed and practically strangled me trying to reach over me to get at it. I escaped his grasp and jumped out of bed and started dressing to leave the room when suddenly the alarm stopped. Presumably it was a false alarm but I had a terrible time getting back to sleep, fearing that it would go off again. I’m not sure what time I resorted to the Ambien but I was plenty groggy for our ride to the airport. 

We had a sweet cabdriver who was delighted to hear we were coming back for the World Cup. He dropped us off at Aer Lingus (aka Aer Disappointment) and we tried to check in at a kiosk. Alas we found out American passports don’t work at the kiosks and we were forced to join a very long queue. Finally it was our turn and the male agent took our passports and confirmed we were going to Chicago. He plunked on the computer for awhile and then said Just a minute. He took our passports and walked over to a customer service desk that was for Flight Issues Only. I was worried. He came back after about 5 minutes and said How many bags. We said 1 each and I asked Is there any problem with our passports. Oh no, he says, offering no explanation whatsoever for leaving us. 

We went through Irish security and then American security - this is supposed to be a big bonus so you don’t have to clear customs in Chicago but I thought it was just a big additional pain. There’s no TSA pre-check, though at one point I did get to go through a global entry line that put me 5 minutes ahead of Nick. When we finally reached our gate, we found that the airline had switched our seats from our window (me) and aisle (Nick) near the front of the plane to two aisle seats in row 27. A family near us said they had been separated too and the gate agent said nothing could be done. We were told if you paid for those seats, you can seek a refund online. Sheesh. I like my window seat on 8-hour flights to sleep. Instead a huge English investment banker got the window and invaded my space most of the flight. (Nick knows better than to do that.). There were 2 teenage boys behind us, dropping the F-bomb with an Irish brogue every third word. The lads also did not understand seat etiquette although the Banker did tell the one behind him to quit pushing on the screen several times. There was a baby nearby with absolutely piercing screams, and the experience was pretty miserable even before we had to circle around Michigan for an extra hour before landing in stormy Chicago. We finally made it off the plane and waited at least 40 minutes for our bags to finally appear on the carousel. We found the new bus stop without too much trouble and caught the bus to Milwaukee. We arrived home about 6 pm (midnight Dublin time) and struggled to stay awake till 9. Other than the missteps of Aer Disappointment, and the ill-timed fire alarm, it was a fabulous trip. 

As I finish this, it is 16 days until our next trip. Julie, Nick and I will travel to Dublin, grab Mary, and then join an Irish tour group for a Gourmet, Wine and Rugby Tour in France. I hope with Julie’s help to keep this blog alive and answer many questions, such as, Will Ireland play up to its potential on the World Cup Stage? Will we visit any Tour de France cities? How will French wines compare to those we just enjoyed in Spain? And, importantly, will Aer Disappointment redeem itself?