I Feel Like I've Been Hit by a Truck: A Transatlantic Trip Report

[Tinkerkell123]

Did I mention I’m a lawyer, so I was literally trained in how to be, um, strident. Anyway.

I know they are busy, so I don’t blame them when nurse says “I’ll get to him when I can.” “No problem!” I say “It’s just the port, I’ll take it out myself.”

Interestingly, she came right away when I said that. It took about 90 seconds to get the port out and bandage DH up, and we were good to go!

Oh, my! A lawyer in DC! Who would've thought? LOVE what you told the nurse. I can just imagine the scene...

I am hooked and can't wait to hear more!

 

[verygfy]

I am completely hooked, what a great report!! Horrible start, but what a great read. I was laughing so hard when you were worried about the trip while DH was in the hospital, I would have been the same way.. Hey he's ok and we've got a boat to catch! I can't wait for the next installment

 

[mainstreetmagic]

You are so witty! You should be a writer!

Your poor husband. But... eye on the prize!! Gotta make that cruise!

Can't wait to read your next installment.

 

[Shell54]

I'm in! Looking forward to reading what happens next.

 

[Witherbark]

Before we land they make an announcement, asking everyone who isn’t making a connection to stay seated and allow those trying to make planes get off first. DH and I grab our carry-ons and stiffly make our way off of the plane.

We head to passport control and I see why the Aer Lingus rep assured me that an hour and a half would be plenty of layover time – we are the only flight arriving and it takes about 7 minutes to clear it. The customs officer gives us a look when we show him our continuation tickets. Yes, Mr. passport control guy, I know we’ve missed our flight. But hey, we’re in Ireland and the airline has to get us to Barcelona, right? RIGHT?

We are directed to the customer service desk next to the luggage carousel. There are two people behind the desk for the maybe 75 people who have missed connections. This seems like bad planning. When we get up there, though (after maybe a 20 minute wait), they are on the ball. They hand us meal vouchers, tell us they’ve booked us through on the next flight to Barcelona, and they also tagged our luggage, so we don’t have to pick it up. Great! And when’s the next flight? 6:40 PM. And the time now? 7:20 AM.

Okay then. We are jet lagged and exhausted. I’ve managed to spill tea across my tee shirt and sweater, any make-up I had on is long gone, and I haven’t brushed my teeth in 24 hours. DH is bleeding into his sock from his seeping stitches and hasn’t had a shower in 48 hours. We look fantastic, is what I’m saying.

We stumble into the airport and find a café open so we get coffee and start to plan. I take the first vacation photo of DH (he looks great and happy). Incidentally, there is someone at the bar (a local by the sound of it) drinking. Awesome. We also spot the suspected fellow Disney-cruisers getting coffee. Told ya. DH deletes old photos off my camera (something I didn’t have time to do before we left) while I buy the coffee. Then we decide what to do. We have about 8 hours before we need to be back at the airport, so why not see a bit of the city?

We get bus tickets at the tourist counter. I think it was 6 euro pp for roundtrip into town, which sounded good. Then I find a pharmacy and buy Irish Neosporin and these really handy self-stick gauze pads. DH cleans himself up and I do my best in the ladies’ room (my best right now is chapstick and a pony tail).

We go outside and easily find and catch the green double-decker bus to take us downtown. The tourist office gave us a map, told us where to get the bus going back to the airport, and what time we should grab it to get through security and everything. They were really helpful.

We go upstairs in the double-decker bus and grab seats right at the front over the driver. I think this is a great idea, because it involves going up a winding staircase and I’m trying to get DH to hobble up as many stairs as possible. You know, just for fun.

It’s chilly outside and of course I’ve forgotten a sweatshirt (DH is wearing his, darn it) and only have my thin sweater but I also have a really nice scarf/wrap from my friend that I had thrown in my carry-on. It’s a little dreary as we leave the airport. We make the obligatory “driving on the wrong side of the road” jokes. The bus takes us down impossibly narrow streets and eventually drops us off on a main thoroughfare.

On the ride (about 30 minutes) we had looked at the tourist book to see what was of interest. I wanted to walk around Trinity College and see Christ Church Cathedral. DH wanted the Guinness brewery. So our itinerary was set.

I’m something of an aficionado of English history, and I’m not bad at Scottish history. I’ve got nothing on Ireland, though, so this is all pretty new. We take a 15 minute walk to Trinity and enjoy a few minutes of walking around, looking at the old buildings, and taking pictures. Then we hike over to Christ Church. We both really enjoy this cathedral. The pulpit is amazing – beautiful carvings. We do the crypt and enjoy the “treasures” and hit the bathroom where DH puts some more ointment on his leg. They filmed parts of “The Tudors” here, so they have a little display with costumes set up that’s nice.

After the church we head over to the Viking museum that was part of our ticket. This is cheesy good fun – lots of set pieces and sound effects. We enjoy the black death room and mention that the whole thing looks a lot like our own Renaissance Faire.

Eventually we find the café and grab another coffee. We’re both sort of beat, but it is only about 10:30 AM and it’s not as though we can really go anywhere to rest. So we take a 20 minute break and then decide to head to Guinness. On the way out we spot a sign for the observation tower (along with a warning that it is X number of steps). DH insists on going up and, again, I point out to him that he is hobbling. He doesn’t care, so up we go. I get some good pictures from the top and then we ever-so-slowly make our way back down. Going down is really hard for him, he can barely bend his right leg.

It is quite a haul to Guinness, but I guess neither of us felt like taking a cab and I think DH’s leg actually felt better when he was walking on it. On the way I find a pharmacy and buy some ibuprofen for DH. It’s an interesting walk from the center of town to Guinness, and I feel like we get to see a bit more of Dublin.

Once there we’re able to check our carry-ons for free (a relief, that was getting heavy) and head in. I have no interest in the stuff, but I actually find the part of the tour that covers the production of Guinness really interesting. I like the information on barrel-making, too. We both really enjoy the parts on the advertisements and history. I did not know that the Guinness Book of World Records was created by them mainly to settle pub quiz debates!

We get to the top level for the obligatory free pint. I have about three sips and hand my glass to DH, who is happy to have two. The observation room is beautiful, and we find a seat near six Americans (three couples) traveling together. We take a group photo of them and they take one of us, which is really nice. Eventually we realize we need to head back to catch the bus, and this time I insist on taking the elevator down. We stop by the gift shop for some necessary shopping before we head on out for another long walk.

The sidewalks are much more crowded now and we feel a bit like salmon swimming upstream. We can’t figure out if we’re supposed to walk on the right or the left side. We both feel a bit rejuvenated by our tour and rest, though. Huh, Guinness is for strength! Honestly, I think it’s that neither of us had really eaten for quite a while (supper on the plane, actually) and there’s what – 800 calories in a pint of Guinness?

After a little bit of confusion we found the sign for our bus. Actually, I’d like to point out that I figured out it was on the opposite side of the thoroughfare and where it was. I point this out because I am terrible with directions and this may have been the only time during the trip that I was right!

We hop on the bus and DH takes a little nap on the ride back to the airport. Since we already have boarding passes we don’t have to check in, just get through security. We have a bit of time so we decide to use the meal vouchers they gave us earlier. We eat at a sandwich shop where I can find a non-meat alternative and fill up on sandwiches, chips (er…crisps), and soup. I think we both feel better once we’ve eaten a real meal. We sit for a while and watch the Pope’s visit to the UK on the television.

Eventually we decide to go ahead and get through security, which is pretty much a breeze. We find a seat in our general boarding area and settle down with our books and a coke. About 25 minutes until take-off we realize they still haven’t called boarding and go over to the gate to check. In just a few minutes they do call boarding, and I find myself in the middle seat, of course. The woman next to me is both quiet and tiny though, so it’s no real bother. We’re about 20 minutes late, but it’s no big deal. Now, just an hour and a half and we’ll be in Barcelona! Right?

 

[cblack]

Great trip report so far! Subscribing!

 

[Witherbark]

You Have Got to Be Kidding Me
As we’re settling into our seats, finding books, buckling up, the captain comes on. To tell us that Barcelona airport is currently closed due to weather (that would be the torrential downpour our friends trying to see the dancing fountains were experiencing). In other good news, French airspace was closed due to an air traffic controller’s strike. So he was going to go around the long way and hope that the weather had cleared before we got to Barcelona.

At this point DH and I just look at each other, because…come on. I half expect that we’ll land in Barcelona to find that our hotel has burned down.

So we add an hour to our flight but we do, somewhat miraculously to us at this point, land in Barcelona. It does exist! It is now around midnight and our flight is the only one in as far as I can tell. It still takes a while for our luggage to arrive, but at least it arrives. Our hotel has a shuttle, but I have no idea if it runs at midnight or if you have to call for it after hours. And since I don’t speak Catalan or Spanish and even if I could I’m not sure at this point I’m up for figuring out the phone system, we opt for a cab.

The driver says 20 euros to get out of the airport and, honestly, he could have said anything and I would have agreed. I even let him put the bags in the back. I have my handy travel folder with me, so I tell him the hotel name and then point to the name and address, he nods and we’re off. The cabs are incredibly new and clean. As in, cleaner than my car. And no, my car is not terribly clean, but still. Nice.

We go down dark and windy roads and what looks like deserted industrial parks. I’m slightly worried he’s taking us somewhere to murder us and steal our money, but I’m too tired to work up that much anxiety. Lo and behold, he pulls up onto what looks like a sidewalk and there’s our hotel. It also turns out the whole ride was 20 euros, not the fee just for leaving the airport. Which is great, and is possible the best money I’ve ever spent.

No line at check-in, not surprisingly. And the receptionist speaks English, so we’ve got our key in minutes and are headed upstairs. And down a hallway that would make BWV proud. Long, is what I’m saying. The smell in the hallway and in our room tells me that this is not a no-smoking hotel, but that they’ve tried to cover it. Honestly, it’s 12:30 AM on Saturday and we haven’t had a real meal, sleep, or a shower since Wednesday morning. There could have been a man in the room smoking and I would have been okay with it.

DH figures out that you have to have the room key in the slot to make the lights work. It’s a sign of how tired I am that this didn’t occur to me – this is exactly the same set-up we had in Greece. The bathroom door is frosted glass, which is really not that private. So only stay at the Frontair Congress with family, I guess. The room is clean (hardwood floors, or some composite, which I like because it feels much cleaner than carpet). There are two twin beds pushed together, a flatscreen tv, and a built-in desk area. Our view is off the terrace pool. There are no English channels at all, by the way. Not even BBC world, which I find odd.

I take a shower and I think DH does as well, and then I brush my teeth for approximately 15 minutes. Bliss. DH re-bandages his leg and we both fall into bed. I don’t bother with an alarm. Check-out isn’t until noon and neither of us is a late sleeper. Plus we need all the rest we can get.

So that was our trip to the boat. It can only go up from here.

 

[llachance]

an exciting beginning can't wait to hear more

 

[mainstreetmagic]

For the love of Pete, you really do have bad luck travel karma! I just keep sympathizing with your DH and his sore, oozing leg.

Hopefully you got a wonderful nights' rest, and are rarin' to go in the morning!

 

[Lokkabear]

I hope your cruise turns out to be better than you trip to Barcelona. Good reading! Thank you for sharing it with us.

 

[tinker1bell]

Erika,,,I cannot even imagine the stress you had with all of that happening!!!!

I loved visiting the Guinness place. I don't drink beer but loved everything about it.

My hubby rides his Harley and I always say that if he and I were riding and something happened, we were having the time of our lives.

It is so nice that we now have seven trip reports!!!!

 

[Witherbark]

Day One: Starting Over
I got up at about 9:45 AM local time the next day. I felt much better, and after another shower I felt like a human being again. We’d missed the free breakfast, but I knew there would be food on the boat and, anyway, I strangely still wasn’t hungry. I don’t think I was truly able to relax until we were on the boat.

I got DH up after my shower. He was still really tired and a little cranky, but while he was in the shower I tidied the room and threw out his bloody socks. When he got out I was eating a granola bar and offered him one, which I think he turned down. He went downstairs to grab a coffee and see about wifi, while I finished getting ready.

Shortly after he left I realized he hadn’t taken a room key, which you needed to access the elevator as well, so I took off after him. I found him in the café area, where he had realized he needed a key. We were sort of off this morning. I don’t know if it was the time difference, jet lag, or just that the adrenaline of the accident and travel disasters had worn off, but we were getting on each other’s nerves. I was coddling him, still on my accident-fueled protection and defense mode that I had used to shield him from trouble and get us out of there and it was bothering him now that he felt more himself. We had also spent nearly 72 hours in each other’s constant company, something we just don’t do.

We needed a break. He drank his coffee and I went to check out the computer email situation. I didn’t end up emailing from there, but DH found wifi with his iphone and we emailed our parents. DH had sent an email picture from Guinness the day before to my mother, so I thought perhaps I should give her some explanation for what we were doing in Dublin.

We headed back upstairs and gathered our stuff, then checked out and I requested a cab. We had prepaid the hotel (only $80, not euros) so check out was fast. We went outside to wait for the cab, which came in about 5 minutes. When we walked outside, we realized we were in sort of a shopping center, with what appeared to be a Spanish Home Depot next store. It was a strange place for a hotel.

I had a little trouble getting the cab driver to understand I wanted the boat port, not the airport, but another driver helped me out. He really didn’t even seem sure of where the port was, I think we went one exit too far and he had to backtrack. There was a really nice cemetery on the hillside – it made me wonder about using the water view for a cemetery, but it was pretty. Anyway, DH pointed out the ship to the driver and…he missed it. Fine, whatever, he pulled into the next car park and we walked an extra 200 feet. He did not get a tip, btw.

We rounded the corner and….Disney. My happy place. We dropped the bags at the first guy we saw and jumped in the line. It was probably about 20 minutes from getting in the line to getting our keys to the world. I had filled out the information online, but I had put DH’s credit card as our card to use, so had to change that. I used the form in the pre-cruise document book for that one. When we got up to the counter, there was another form I had filled out online that we needed a copy of. I told the girl it would be really helpful if they made that explicit when you filled out the form online. DH said “it doesn’t matter, just do it”. I think he thought I was being needlessly cranky, but I really wasn’t. I meant it, it would be helpful if they would make that all explicit because I’m sure I wasn’t the only one confused and we spent an extra couple of minutes at the counter filling out a form. Had I known to print it, we would have been done faster and the folks behind us would have been that much closer to boarding.

Anyway, something I’ll know for next time. We had a #6 boarding pass, by the by. It was about 12 PM. We stopped at the wine shop for a couple of bottles. Believe me, I think we both needed a drink. Then we walked toward the boat and, in what would become a pattern, we bypassed the picture taking guy. Heh.

And then there we were, on the gangway! DH said “you realize this is the first time all trip we’ve been on time?” I laughed, and it felt good to laugh and to relax. We were on the boat, now it was up to Disney to get us places.
I even threw DH a bone and when they asked our names, I gave his. This is also funny because Disney and especially DVC have no idea who we are. The alternately send stuff to the XX family and then to the XY family. Sometimes the same stuff.

We were introduced, and got only a glimpse of the atrium before we were swept to an elevator and up to Topsiders on Deck 9. I didn’t care at this point, because I suddenly realized I was starving. I think DH was as well. We were handed our first wet-wipe and invited through the buffet line. I stocked up on pasta and salad and a little salmon for some protein. I’m not sure what DH ate – meat, I’m guessing. The man thinks bacon is its own food group, while I’m a pescetarian.

I had intended to get on the boat early to try to get an upgrade and a Palo brunch. Truly, all of that had gone out the window. I was just so happy that we had made it, against all odds, onto the boat and our vacation was starting.

After lunch we did head to Studio Sea to try for brunch. We were put on the waitlist, but at least I spotted the first “daily challenge” picture (we loved the daily challenge picture). Then we checked out our room. I was really worried, but it turns out that Deck 2 room 2500 is awesome! All the way forward, we had no one at all on one side and the door to the orchestra pit across the hall. I think there was only a couple in the room on the other side, and we never heard a peep from them. Because of the design of the ship, we had an extra 2 feet on the window side of our couch. We both loved the design of the room and the split baths were fantastic. I couldn’t get over how much room we had. Shortly, our cabin stewardess Beverly introduced herself and made sure that we had what we needed.

Now in possession of our Navigator, we headed up to the Spa for the open house. Wow, is all I can say. I had no idea how large it was and how gorgeous, plus the smell just made me relax. The private cabana/villas were amazing, but I was fairly sure the nearly $500 price tag was not going to happen. The exotic rasul room also looked fantastic, and that is on the list for the next time! We spoke to our tour guide about getting DH a massage and explained that he had just been in an accident. She was fantastic, and set him up with a massage that day with one of the “boys” who was skilled in sports and injury massage. The massage was for during sail-away, but we didn’t care. DH still couldn’t bend, and that seemed like it would put a damper on the vacation.

Up next…the Dis meet and sail away.

 

[Witherbark]

Day One Part Two: Meeting Scary Internet Friends
After the spa tour it was about time for our Dismeet in the Promenade. We were a few minutes early and had the privilege of meeting Andrea and Greg (vakamalua) and chatting with them for a few minutes. DH got his beer mug – the 20 ounce refill for the 12 ounce price. This turned out to be a great deal, especially during happy hour. People started to file in, and we met Jacky and Futurist and picked up our lanyards and bracelets (both awesome).

I was nervous about the Dismeet. Everyone seemed so friendly online, but you never know how folks will be in real life. I was pleasantly surprised that so many of the people were truly kind, gracious, and friendly. With some folks, both at the meet and those we met later, I felt like we actually had a chance to become friends. With others, it was pretty clear that they had their friend set already decided on, and that was fine too. It was a big group, it all worked out.

DH was nervous because these were my crazy internet friends. I think he saw the cruise thread a couple of times and just backed slowly away from the computer.

After a group picture, it was time to get ready for our lifeboat drill. This was super easy, our meeting place was in the Disney Theatre. Did anyone else enjoy the poster on the back of the stateroom door showing Mickey putting on his life vest and going to his muster station? Because rats always leave a sinking ship. Heh.

Anyway, we made it to the Disney Theatre with DH (okay, Greg, because I keep typing his name anyway and because in a day I’m going to start posting pictures, so…Greg and I’m Erica). Greg was hobbling along, poor guy. The CM at the theatre told us to go all the way down to the front, but when she saw Greg limping she said, “no, no, right here is fine.” It was very sweet of her, and most people were very helpful when they realized there was something wrong with Greg.

The drill was quick and painless and we chatted with a nice gentleman traveling with his friend, who worked on the ship. They kept saying “in the very unlikely event of an emergency” and then it became “in the very, very unlikely event.” This began to make me nervous. Is the number of verys used to convey the likelihood of an event inversely or conversely proportional to the likelihood of said event? Is it like descriptors of countries? You know, as in “democratic republic” is oppressive, but “people’s democratic republic” is even more oppressive? Hmm…

Back down to the cabin. Greg grabbed his swimsuit and headed off for his much-needed massage. I knew that sail away was beginning, but our luggage had arrived and I really needed a few private minutes to just set the room to rights. We didn’t have our door magnets, sadly. That was one of Greg’s errands on Wednesday and he was, as you know, hit by a truck. So no magnets, but we did have an awesome double-sided fish extender (nautical for week 1, pirate for week 2).

I unpacked my bag and then Greg’s bag. Why not? As I unpacked his bag I found that bottle of ibuprofen he thought he had lost. Awesome. So glad I spent the extra $20. I headed up to sail away for a little while, grabbed my streamer and waved at Mickey and gang. If I wasn’t yet in a holiday/vacation mood, I was getting there.

The tell-tale horn sounded and I did not get teary. It did make me realize I wanted a snack more than a dance party, though. So I guess it was more of a dinner bell for me. Incidentally, later I mentioned the special horn to Greg when it went off when we were in some port. He was like “is that a song? Am I supposed to know that?” Love him.

I grabbed some fries at Pluto’s and sat at a table looking out to sea. It was a bit chilly and overcast, but it was still really nice just to sit and know I was where I was supposed to be. I headed back downstairs to finish unpacking. It was 6PM and I had just turned to “The Blind Side” when Greg returned. We could have gotten dressed and gone to the show, but instead we sat and watched the movie (neither of us had seen it) and rested.

When Greg got back to the room he said “look at this!” and sat on the bed and took his shoes off. That’s right, he could bend again. The masseur had worked a miracle with hot stones and Greg really did feel tons better. Although his leg continued (and still does) to bother him, his back pain was largely taken care of.

After the movie it was time for dinner. We had late seating (obviously) and had gotten a great rotation that put us in Lumiere’s for formal night. I made the mistake of mentioning this to Greg, who asked why it was a great rotation. I said “well, Lumiere’s is the most formal restaurant.” And so for two weeks every time we passed Lumiere’s I heard “It’s the most formal of the restaurants, you know.” Sigh.

Time for our first dinner in Parrot Cay. Would we love the food or hate it? Would our tablemates be good? Would we enjoy our serving team? These and other burning questions answered soon.

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Yay! So glad you made it to the ship and are safely aboard! Really enjoying your TR...

 

[2littlegirls]

DH nervous because these were my crazy internet friends. I think he saw the cruise thread a couple of times and just backed slowly away from the computer.
: QUOTE]

Funny, love your TR!

 

[disneycruising]

Oh my, what a start to your trip.

I can't wait to hear more.

 

[tinker1bell]

I remember way back when we got our first computer, we used Prodigy and I got interested in the cat chat rooms. We even met three different families. My hubby is a Ham Radio operator and he made friends with one gentleman who lived in a little town called Arbovale, WV. A lot of other hams knew Bruce so when he and his wife invited us down for our first visit back in 1996 we knew we would have a grand time and we were not disappointed. They truly live "Up the Holler" with their three Golden Retrievers, one cat, chickens, one rooster and Guinea Hens.

During the past two years, I have enjoyed "chatting" with everyone and knew when we met, we would carry on just as though we were still chatting online. Plus we would be able to pick up right where we left when we meet in the future.

I always knew any discussion site to do with Disney that I was on would not disappoint me when meeting folks in person.

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I am totally absorbed but oh the drama hope your cruise is a bit more relaxing than the start!

 

[figment52]

I am loving your writing style. I am so relieved that you didn't "miss the boat" and that Greg is already showing some improvement. Can't wait for more.

 

[mainstreetmagic]

That Greg is a sassy one, with his comments about your dining rotation. Ha! I am glad he is feeling better for the most part, though, and the massage helped him be more comfortable.

Really? The horn didn't make you teary? That is one thing I fully expect when I finally get to hear it in real life, in February. Ready for more!