Back to the Emerald Isle….Again!

 I don’t know if I have ever mentioned this, but unless my grandparents’ boats from Naples and Sicily cruised by Ireland on their way to America, I personally have no ancestral connection with the island. Nor do United or Aer Lingus Airlines offer me deep discounts on flights…ever.  I write this because it would appear that I must have some tie to the country because I seem to visit—a lot.  It is true that my husband is of Irish descent, but he does not strongly embrace his heritage and in fact, I usually have to remind him where his mother’s “people” are from. (FYI, Galway, Bob.) Also, my sister’s husband’s family has owned a house on the West Coast for decades and I have visited it many time with my sister—but still, that connection is not my own.  The fact is, I just love everything about this country…except when it rains a lot. 

Because I have been lucky enough to visit Ireland so many times, I am convinced that I am going to be an Irish travel guide in my next life.  I am frequently giving travel advice to friends and family—solicited or unsolicited— on where to go, what tours to take and where to eat in this growing “foodie” country.  Two weeks ago, at a medical check-up, Bob and I learned that our youngish doctor was going to Ireland for his honeymoon—and that’s all I needed to hear.  My interrogation was both swift and detailed, but almost immediately it was clear that he was not driving “the honeymoon bus.” He thought they were going to visit the West Coast but it was clear from his puzzled look, that he was just happy he knew they were going to Ireland!  I held back in offering to give a jingle to his fiancé on any last-minute travel questions she might have but I can’t lie—I was a bit aggravated when he didn’t grab a pen and pad or begin to type furiously into his phone, my many excellent recommendations for places to visit in “the West!”

My future travel guide career was put to task for this trip as I developed the itinerary for Bob and I and our frequent traveling companions, Mark and Judy. We, like our doctor, will be on the West Coast and eventually work our way to Dublin. 

While I had no trouble reserving  hotels and restaurants, securing tickets for some of the more popular tourist sites has become quite a thing in Ireland. Nowhere was this more apparent than trying to buy tickets to visit Kilmainham Gaol Museum, a famous Dublin jail, which, for more than 100 years, held every type of criminal who was convicted of everything from minor offenses to those who fought for Irish independence against Britain. For any nerdy history buff like myself, this place is a “must see.” I had visited the jail 13 years ago with my sister and getting tickets for it was fairly uneventful. We caught a taxi in central Dublin, arrived at the jail and bought the tickets.  Well, those days are gone. 

Now, tickets for the jail can only be purchased 28 days before the scheduled visit and if that wasn’t bad enough, every time I looked on the website, every ticket for every day was already sold out.  I was on a mission and was going to get those damn tickets come hell or high water! I figured out—correctly—that in order to  buy the tickets for the only day that all four of us would be in Dublin, I would have to get on the website at midnight Dublin time on the 28th day, which was 7 pm, the night before, where we live on the East Coast. The problem was that we were having dinner guests that night…

I told Bob of my ingenious plan and he quickly stated that I was being a bit crazy after pointing out that I was trying to get tickets to an old Dublin jail not a U2 concert. He comforted me by saying that our time in Dublin would be wonderful with or without a visit to the jail. 

I wasn’t buying it. 

On the 28th day, at 6:58 pm, after quickly serving our dinner guests garlic shrimp, roasted lemon potatoes, salad and homemade bread, I moved my half-filled plate to the side and pulled out my iPad to get to work. At 7 pm, I logged in, frantically bought four tickets and then saw that in the time that it took to pay for the tickets, all the tickets for the whole day were sold out! Yes, we were going to jail! Frankly, my ticket victory made it difficult for me to discuss anything else for the rest of the night! 

And in just two days, we will board an Aer Lingus flight and head to Shannon Airport.  As always, Judy and I have had multiple conversations about which shoes we are packing, how many sweaters we will need, what coats we will be wearing and should we throw in a pair of gloves because Ireland can be cool even in May? Getting older means a lot more planning, but fortunately, Judy and I are always up to the task. Once again, the beauties of Ireland await us, and I know we will have wonderful adventures, especially since I got those tickets!