I’ve been having so much fun in Ireland for the past while, so leaving it wasn’t easy (especially now that we are in BBQ season). But in true Dwan style, we had a big BBQ on our last night and popped open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the new chapter. The day overall really did cement the fact that Ireland is probably the best country ever when its sunny…blink if you agree.
Luke (my brother for those who don’t know) and I hopped in his van at 7am on a beautiful Saturday morning. We picked up our friend Francis and made our way to Dublin, excited for a bit of luxury in Terminal 2.
We flew (badum-bum-pshhh) through security, greeted by the loveliest of staff, each commenting on how this has already been the most pleasant of travel experiences. We did the little meander through the duty free, and I made sure that the lads sprayed themselves with some of Dior’s finest (there was a nasty smell in the van and I couldn’t pin-point which one of them it was, and felt a responsibility to the 200 people on our flight to make sure they smelled good). Perfumes were sprayed, and the hunt for food began. As most airport frequenters would know, the Fallow has the best view of the planes, so we figured we would go there. This is when the day gets a bit rocky.
We scanned the QR codes to bring up the menu (HOT TAKE: QR codes need to be removed from restaurants – bring back people!). The menu was terrible…it was changing from breakfast to lunch but very few options were available). We then headed to the food court upstairs and each got the worst burger of our lives. We went back to the Fallow and got our airport pints, not realising we were running late for our flight. However, our German-ness kicked in and we made a run for it, arriving at the gate with a few minutes to spare.
Then it got rocky. We boarded the plane relatively on time, but took an hour to get to the runway. We were already stressing because we had a layover in Manchester and only had an hour to make it. However, a lovely flight attendant searched the details of the flight for us and confirmed that that flight was delayed for at least two hours. Peace was restored. We head towards the runway. I fall asleep. I wake up to an announcement…”Ladies and gentleman, unfortunately a member of our staff has fallen ill and cannot continue on this flight. We will need to return to the gate”. 200 people let out a frustrated sigh. The next two hours had us stressed. I fell back to sleep. I am realising this is becoming a very long story about an airplane so I’ll speed it up (too bad our flight didn’t – badoom bum pshhhh). We arrive in Manchester with half an hour to change terminals and go through security again, all through 30C. I should also flag that I have a fainting tendency in high heat, and the airbridge we had to run through felt like a sauna, so while the lads ran, I had to walk and breathe, beginning to accept my fate and spend a night in Manchester. I made it through security, despite my bag having been marked for a random check. Sure enough, we made it!
I rewarded myself with a meal deal as soon as service came around, and got myself a Kopparberg. We had also all agreed to order a drink for each other, and my kind brother ordered a gin and tonic for me, so my flight tray looked a bit alcoholic. But it was great. We made it, I caught my breath, I had two drinks, a nice hot meal, plenty of podcasts and I was out like a light. We landed, found the nearest restaurant, bought €2 pints and life felt good again.
End of Day 1. Sorry it took so long, but if I had to go through that then so do you. Sorry for the dramatics.
