Apr 18, 2010: "If we don't get on this ferry, I'm going to punch someone in the face and go to jail. Then I'd have a place to stay AND a ride there."

So, we went to Ireland today. It was an epic fail. I did love Ireland, so much, and I'd love to go back. But not anytime soon. Maybe I'll have better luck if I wait a few YEARS.

We got up at 6:30, made sandwiches, and hopped on the bus to Holyhead. We almost missed the check-in for our ferry, but were able to get on. I thought it was great--we really got lucky! Ha.We might have been better off missing the ferry. But then I never would have seen Ireland, which would have been quite sad.

The ferry was nice, and I loved it. It was a lot of fun--I took lots of pictures! The ferry took us from Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire (pronounced dun leary). From there, we were supposed to take the DART train to Dublin. Nothing was labelled and there were no maps. We were told to go one direction, so we did--but it wasn't what our ticket said. So we changed directions, and went to our ticket destination--which, by the way, was the OPPOSITE direction of Dublin. It was pretty though, and we were in no rush. We got back on the train, and actually went to Dublin. We spent our first two hours in Ireland on the train, but weren't really bothered by it.

We wandered for a little while around Dublin, and then asked for directions to the old Jameson distillery. It was fairly easy to find. We decided not to tour, but just visited the gift shop. Melisa needed souvenirs! After the Jameson distillery, we walked back to the shopping area. Dublin has TONS of shops--it's incredible. On the way back to the shops, at about 3:30, I got a text message. Keep in mind that we had only been in Dublin for about an HOUR at this point. The text was from Stenaline--our ferry company. This is what it said: "CANCELLED Stena Lynx 1925hrs Sailing Sat 17/04, due to technical problems. Please rebook on phone 003531247777." PANIC. They cancelled our ferry back to Wales. I tried calling, again and again, but considering that they had cancelled on several hundred people, the line was busy EVERY time. Once I got through and got put on hold, but had to hang up because I didn't have very many minutes on my phone.

We had NO idea what to do, because we couldn't get ahold of Stenaline. We knew there was an earlier ferry, but we didn't know what time it left. There's no way we could afford to get a hotel in Dublin, if we could even find one. On the ferry ride over, there were a TON of people who were staying in Ireland for an indeterminate amount of time--they were waiting for flights out. I have no doubt that many of them were staying in hotels, and at airports, just waiting for flights. So, we hopped on the DART train back to Dún Laoghaire, and went to the Stenaline office. There were three workers who were standing around doing literally nothing, and ONE person working at the ticket counter. We stood in line for 20 minutes, before one of the people finally helped us. He told us to go the Dublin Port (near where we HAD been) and to get a ferry from there. He advised us to get off at the Tara Street stop, and hop on a bus to the port.

So, we took the DART train back to Tara Street. We found the bus stop, and it said that there was a bus leaving at 7:15. We went to Subway, and got some food, then went back to wait. However, while waiting, Melisa realized that a 7:15 bus would be useless--all times here, for trains, planes, buses, etc., are in military time...you know, a 24 hour clock. So...7 is in the morning, which would just not work for us.

At this point, we were a little frustrated. There was no guarantee that we would even get on a ferry back to Holyhead. But, we kept going anyway--we didn't really have a choice. While walking, Melisa thought of excuses as to why we needed a ferry back immediately. These were her stories: 1) "I'm diabetic but didn't bring medication because we were supposed to get back today." 2) "Ok, this is the plan. Are you listening? When we get there, you are going to punch me in the face so I can cry. And then I'll tell them that my dad just died and I need to make it back for his funeral." and 3) "If we don't get on this ferry, I'm going to punch someone in the face and go to jail. Then I'd have a place to stay AND a ride there."

After speed-walking about 8 miles (pedometer = super handy), we found the Stenaline office at Dublin Port. However, their ferries were all booked until sometime on Monday. They told us that we were being re-routed again, this time through another company--Irish Ferries. We were given directions to the Irish Ferry ticket office, where I stood in line for an hour and a half, only to be told that I didn't need to wait--I could just board the ferry.

Success, right? Well, kind of. The ferry was super nice, and HUGE, but it took three and a half HOURS to get to Holyhead. It wouldn't have been so bad, except we were exhausted, and it arrived in Holyhead at 12:20 am. From the ferry, we rode on the top of a double-decker bus to the terminal. It might have been the highlight of my day. At least I can check that off of my list now.

Now for the BAD news. We had round-trip bus tickets back to Bangor, but the last bus to Bangor left at 11:30 pm. No more trains or buses from Holyhead until 8:45 am. And the bus/ferry/train stations all closed--so it's not like we could sleep there. We didn't know where to find a hotel. Plus, there were over 1,000 people on that ferry. Holyhead is not that big--where did they all plan on staying?!? Our only option, literally ONLY option, was to take a taxi. I guess we could have walked, but it was about 25 miles and very dark.

Our taxi driver was very nice, and he sped like crazy. We were back in 30 minutes. We did, however, have to pay 80 POUNDS for the 25 mile ride. It was terrible, and we are NOT happy. Stenaline will be getting a very angry email. Even if they refunded my entire trip, I'd still be out money for that stupid taxi. Melisa and I are SO angry. I went back to my room, and had no internet. Really? Really?!? SO I went back to Melisa's room, where I wrote all this. I also called my dad on Skype and shared my wonderful stories. Then, at 2 am, I had some leftover stir fry. Ha. We hardly ate, other than some Subway--we were too busy running around.

Someday it'll be funny. But right now, I'm exhausted and terribly annoyed. Not the best of days. But the weather was GORGEOUS, and I really did love Ireland. I just wish I hadn't spent the entire time running around.