bigmacbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bigmacbear) wrote2025-08-24 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2025-08-24 11:59 pm
Ireland and England Trip - Day 2 of 11
SUNDAY
After a brilliant sunrise over Scotland, we landed at Heathrow and immediately found a restroom. We then made our way to the UK Border, which had a special set of lanes for flights to destinations in the UK and Ireland. For passport control we used the E-gates; for our boarding passes we had a second set of E-gates, which didn't work at first, but after the bearish security dude checked our documents, he said try again and they worked the second time.
After passing security once more, we stopped by the information kiosk and sat in the brilliant sunshine getting our bearings. As we would not be assigned a gate for an hour and change thence, we found a restaurant (passing Tiffany and Company en route, elicting "Breakfast at Tiffany's" from me and "Moon River" from Gary) and, being more thirsty than hungry, supplemented breakfast on the plane with a light nosh and plenty of beverages. When we'd finished eating, we parked ourselves by the nearest information board to await our gate assignment to Dublin, observing the mad scramble to board a nearby flight to Cairo before the gate closed.
Once the gate assignment had been posted and we'd made our way to the gate, it wasn't long before we were aboard the plane and were greeted by a cute ginger cub flight attendant. We settled into our seats for the short flight alongside a tall, dark-haired, and far younger and leaner dude.
On landing in Dublin, it seemed an interminable walk to passport control and customs. There was some confusion about who could use the E-gates, so we went to the staffed booths and presented our passports to a bearish officer who stamped our passports and sent us on our way. Customs was equally painless; we chose the green channel and were waved through around an obstacle course of multiple overflowing luggage carts.
We made our way to the Aerobus and secured seats. The bus dropped us off right in front of our hotel. We were surprised to find the room ready for us. We settled in and had a nap before leaving for the 4 pm HOHO bus tour. The driver was a bit taken aback when Gary presented his online reservation, exclaiming "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Gary responded "Technology..." The tour was fun, especially when the driver interacted with a large party of Italian folks. Unfortunately, a family group of five or six black folks (we weren't able to figure out what language they were speaking among themselves) was disappointed when the bus arrived at the origin stop opposite our hotel and went out of service for the day.
We had a nice dinner at Murray's Pub just down the street from the hotel. After dinner we stopped by a nearby Spar convenience store to purchase beverages and Leap transportation passes. After the long flight, we turned in early.
After a brilliant sunrise over Scotland, we landed at Heathrow and immediately found a restroom. We then made our way to the UK Border, which had a special set of lanes for flights to destinations in the UK and Ireland. For passport control we used the E-gates; for our boarding passes we had a second set of E-gates, which didn't work at first, but after the bearish security dude checked our documents, he said try again and they worked the second time.
After passing security once more, we stopped by the information kiosk and sat in the brilliant sunshine getting our bearings. As we would not be assigned a gate for an hour and change thence, we found a restaurant (passing Tiffany and Company en route, elicting "Breakfast at Tiffany's" from me and "Moon River" from Gary) and, being more thirsty than hungry, supplemented breakfast on the plane with a light nosh and plenty of beverages. When we'd finished eating, we parked ourselves by the nearest information board to await our gate assignment to Dublin, observing the mad scramble to board a nearby flight to Cairo before the gate closed.
Once the gate assignment had been posted and we'd made our way to the gate, it wasn't long before we were aboard the plane and were greeted by a cute ginger cub flight attendant. We settled into our seats for the short flight alongside a tall, dark-haired, and far younger and leaner dude.
On landing in Dublin, it seemed an interminable walk to passport control and customs. There was some confusion about who could use the E-gates, so we went to the staffed booths and presented our passports to a bearish officer who stamped our passports and sent us on our way. Customs was equally painless; we chose the green channel and were waved through around an obstacle course of multiple overflowing luggage carts.
We made our way to the Aerobus and secured seats. The bus dropped us off right in front of our hotel. We were surprised to find the room ready for us. We settled in and had a nap before leaving for the 4 pm HOHO bus tour. The driver was a bit taken aback when Gary presented his online reservation, exclaiming "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" Gary responded "Technology..." The tour was fun, especially when the driver interacted with a large party of Italian folks. Unfortunately, a family group of five or six black folks (we weren't able to figure out what language they were speaking among themselves) was disappointed when the bus arrived at the origin stop opposite our hotel and went out of service for the day.
We had a nice dinner at Murray's Pub just down the street from the hotel. After dinner we stopped by a nearby Spar convenience store to purchase beverages and Leap transportation passes. After the long flight, we turned in early.