So, it's been a while, BUT! It was not my fault! The laptop has been needed at Matt's lab, so I haven't been able to write any posts. Well, technically, I could've done it at night, but at that point, I'm worn out and much more interested in TV, food, and cheap Swiss wine...
Now, on a sunny, warm Sunday afternoon, after a morning of running (me), biking (Matt), and experiencing the Lausanne Carnivale (both of us), I will try to recall some of things we've been through in the past few months.
Lausanne Carnivale pics:
<--- Lausanne isn't always so clean now, is it?? :) (I hate confetti)
Back to the story: There was February, where we had to sell/give away everything we owned, except for what fit into four suitcases. That was sure fun. But we made the deadline, and it was off to Zach and Miranda's for a while. Their house is roomy and cozy, albeit cold :), and it was enjoyable to share their beer and TV for a week or so. Then, we went to Tim and Jess' for the last few days. They are always a pleasure! Plus, we got to hang out with their rabbit and birds, and I was allowed to workout on their very own elliptical! Talk about a good time!
Soon, however, it was time to go to the airport and fly across the narrow sea to a new world. We didn't have cell service at this point, so when the Skype call to my family ultimately failed on airport wifi, it was disappointing. The lady next sitting next to me let me borrow her phone, so I got one call in, but for those hours when you realize you're actually leaving for (semi-)good, it's tough.
The flight to Dublin was uneventful, but once we landed, all that changed. This is how I remember it now: We landed, received all six bags/boxes, took them to a different terminal for overnight storage (since there is only one luggage storage facility)... Oh, I forgot to say they canceled our connecting flight to Geneva a few days earlier, and the alternative flight was too early, so we had to stay in Dublin for one night. So, we drop off our bags and pay 70 Euro, only to realize we can't retrieve our bags until 6 a.m. the next day. Which is fine, except our flight is at 6:50. Not enough time. Now we go talk to Aer Lingus customer service to see if they can store our bags overnight, but they won't. But they can get us a hotel room. Great. Except we already booked a hotel room because previously they told us repeatedly they would NOT book us a hotel room. So, we take their room because it's better and more convenient, but we can't cancel our other room. Oh well. Next step: retrieve luggage from storage, don't receive any money back, despite only storing bags for 45 min., and proceed to shuttle stop. It's nearly freezing my everything off outside, but we don't have to wait long and we're at the hotel soon. It's a nice room, and they agree to store our bikes downstairs over night. Our total money lost on storage and hotel room in one day: approx. 150 Euro. Lame.
Dublin was also kinda lame. It was completely freezing. But we got some tea, beer, and Guinness stew to warm up. The river was pretty (we never made it to the ocean), and so was the Jameson whiskey factory. Just kidding. I slept through half of the tour actually (the virtual half). We were still pretty jet-lagged, and we awoke at 4 a.m. that day. The whiskey was tasty, though. After, we spent a couple hours with some locals, listening to local Irish news and drinking warm Jameson drinks. Actually, HOT Jameson drinks. So hot, in fact, that I had to ask for an ice cube after 10 min of non-drinking. He's like, "You American?". Uh, yes. What's it to you? I guess everyone except Americans enjoys drinking boiling drinks. Whatever.
After we took the bus back to the hotel, at like 9 p.m., we realized we couldn't not use our free dinner vouchers, so we tried to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant. I really do mean tried. I mean, we eventually got our food, but it was a slow, tedious, full-of-rude-conversation process. I was already exhausted and a little frustrated, so having to eat gross food (you like how I say I had to eat it??) at almost 10:00 was not enjoyable for me. Anyway. Then it was bedtime, and we awoke early AGAIN to fly on another airplane.
Once we landed in Geneva, we luckily found all our bags and boxes and headed to the train station. It's connected to the airport, which sounds convenient, but with about 150 lbs of luggage EACH, nothing is convenient. We tugged, pulled, and weaved through the crowds, bought our tickets, and made it to the train. We even found the right track after going down an escalator. Woo hoo! Oh WAIT. Of course. "Madame, are you going to Lausanne? This train is not working. You need to go to the other track." OMG. It's about 15 ft away, but to get there you must go up one escalator and down another. I seriously want to slap this guy. But we lug everything up and then down, and they even hold the train for us. So we make it and arrive in Lausanne about 45 min. later.
It was quite an adventure; one I will definitely never forget. My arms were sore for like three days after that. But we survived, and now it was off to Spain! Which I will leave for another post.
Au revoir!
Dublin pics:
