Well 5 planes, 4 trains, 1 ferry, and several buses, taxis and private vehicles later, our trip has come to an end. It's hard to believe it has already been a week since we flew home, but, as it always does, time flies. We fit so much into just two weeks, I am not surprised that I had my very first bout of jet lag. It doesn't help that I didn't get to my house until midnight on a Wednesday and had to work in the AM on Thursday, but even with how tired I was for the next few days after returning, I wouldn't trade this trip for anything.
The flights home were much better than the flights out. It seems the universe wanted to give me a break for the return flights because I don't think there was a single screaming child right next to me. Don't get me wrong, there were screaming children on the plane, just none that were sitting very close to me. I was able to tune them out by watching three movies on the flight from Dublin. Before we get to that flight, we did wake up in London and have to make it to Dublin. We got to the airport with plenty of time, and Heathrow airport isn't horrible. The only weird part is that they don't post your gate until it's almost time to board, and then the times for when the gate is available changes, which is what happened with our flight. The time changed to after our flight was supposed to take off for when our gate would be posted. That was the first sign that our flight may have been delayed. Keeping in mind that we had to fly to Dublin, collect our bags, change terminals, go back through the check in, and back through security, and then go through customs; this delay made me a little uneasy to say the least. A gate finally appeared for us to go and wait at, until an update could be given to us on the status of our flight. We made it to the gate, and it just so happened to be the same gate that a celebrity was at. Now don't get too excited, because I say celebrity loosely. I don't even know the kids name; but it was the boy from We're the Millers with Jennifer Aniston, the one where in the movie he played a nerdy kid that just turned 18. I would have been more motivated to go over and talk to him if it had been Jennifer Aniston.
Anyway, we got word that the flight would be delayed 30 minutes and that it would be flying into a gate on the other side of the airport than where we were told to wait. So we got our things together, and walked over. I kept in the back of my mind the whole time what we still had to do once we got to Dublin, and knew that we only had a few hours to do it. Our flight arrived and we made it to Dublin just a few minutes late of our scheduled arrival time, the pilot apparently sped (I guess they don't have speed limits in the air, and if they do our pilot may have just ignored them, I mean, it's not like there are police planes pulling pilots over for speeding). Trying to hurry to collect our bags so we could go through security again, we found out upon arriving in our Aer Lingus terminal that there really weren't a lot of people wanting to fly that day. There were no lines at all, and we checked in our bags, went through security, and still had plenty of time to stop off for one last pint before leaving the country.
After the pint, we went through customs, which was a joke (they asked me like two questions and then sent me on my way), and then waited in a room at our gate for another hour until our flight was ready to board. There really wasn't much to do in the room, it was rather boring; and it didn't help that I really didn't want to go home. I know my mother was home sick and ready to go, but I could have stayed another month, or year. So we got on our flight home, and as I said I watched 3 movies (12 Years A Slave, The Book Thief, & August, Osage County) which weren't the most uplifting movies, and by the time they were done, we were preparing for landing.
In Chicago, we had to go through the same process as on the way to Dublin. We had to leave the terminal, take a shuttle to the correct terminal and then go back through security (there should be a more efficient way of doing this). Our tickets didn't work when we got to the front of the security line, so we had to go back to the ticket agents (who were struggling with their printers) get our tickets re-printed, and then head back to the security line. Again, I thought for sure we were going to be late for our flight. Luckily, the others from our flight were having the same problem with their tickets, so all of us as a group were able to cut the rest of the security line our second time through. After security, we had a tiny bit of time for some food, and what better place to welcome us back to America than... McDonalds. We ate and then found out our flight from Chicago to Minneapolis was also delayed because they were waiting on other passengers on a different inbound flight. So after another 20 ish minute delay, we boarded our flight. It was at this point that I was getting extremely tired, and I still had a 2 hour drive ahead of me to get home. So needless to say, I don't remember the last flight all that well, I may have dozed off before take off and woke up at landing time.
We both collected our bags at the airport, walked to the shuttle area and said our goodbyes. It was the end of our vacation, and, like the end of most vacations, we were both exhausted and just wanting to be home. It was a quick goodbye, and my shuttle was there to take me to my car. The drive home was dangerous to say the least, and as I said I was very tired so I can't really remember most of it (I don't think I was asleep as much as I was just not able to focus). Like I said, it was dangerous. I made it home and immediately passed out on my bed, just to wake up every few hours until at last I had to get ready for work.
In the end, it was an amazing vacation (I know I keep saying that, but it's true) and I really didn't want it to end. My first taste of Europe was a success and it left me wanted to see and experience more. Now all I have to do is decide where I want to go next, and then start planning that grand adventure. Until then...
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