Wow, what a weekend… where do I begin?
Friday after school we rushed home to gather our
bags/suitcases for the trip. We quickly left our apartments and headed to the
train station. Once we got to the train station we found our platform and waited patiently
for the train to arrive. We noticed that there were more people than usual
waiting for one train. So, we began to listen to the other passengers’
conversations. We found out that a train had been canceled and those passengers
had to merge in with our train. In addition to the large number of passengers
waiting for the train, we found out that our train had been delayed due to
someone throwing themselves under the train in London. WOW! What a crazy start
to the evening! Our train was supposed to leave Sheffield at 5:11; it finally
arrived at the station at 5:25.
As the
train began to pull up to the platform everyone quickly rushed to the loading
areas. The train was already packed and only a hand full of passengers got off.
We quickly all pushed our ways toward the train. (Some people pushing more aggressively
than others.) Jackie and I held hands so we wouldn’t get separated during the
mass chaos of boarding the train.
Through all
of the pushing, during which I felt like I was on the Titanic trying to get on
to a lifeboat, I finally stepped up onto the train. As soon as I got both feet
on the train the man behind me proceeded to shove his suitcase in farther than
there was room. So his suitcase was literally pushing into the backs of my
knees. People kept pushing and pushing to get on the train and there was
literally no room. Another girl and myself were pushed/trampled to the ground.
I felt so bad for the man whose bags were crushed literally by my knees. It was
absolutely ridiculous they way these people were acting to get on the train. I
finally rose to my feet and stood face to face with about 100 other people. I
have never felt claustrophobic before, but this set if off in full motion. I
could hardly breathe and it was so hot! The
train doors finally closed and 4 of us looked around for the 7 other girls.
They were nowhere to be found! We had no clue if they made it onto the train or
not. The train left the station…we stood face to face with strangers for almost
an hour and a half! Not my favorite thing to do! We were so happy when we
finally got off of the train. Also the staff on the train was unable to walk
around, therefore our BritRail passes were not stamped. So we kind of got a
free ride.
Once we got
off the train we walked quickly to terminal three at the airport. (The train
station and airport are connected in Manchester) We ran into the other 7 girls
on our walk to the terminal. We already had our boarding passes printed so we
went straight to security (7 of us. The other four had to check bags so they
went to check in.) We get through security and make our way to the lounge area
because our gate had yet to be posted.
We are casually talking and snacking on food when a guy over heard us
talking about our airline (RyanAir). He asked us if we had been to check in and
had our boarding passes and passports stamped. We looked at him confusingly and
replied with “no!” He told us that he had missed his flight earlier because he
did not have his boarding pass stamped. We looked at our watches and realized
that we only had 15 minutes to get back to check in and go back through
security. We all took off RUNNING, once again, through the airport. (it never fails, anytime we are at an airport we find ourselves running!) We finally
got to the Ryan Air check in counter and wait in line for our turn. As we began
to lose our patience we stepped up to the counter. The check in lady told us
that if we ran we could make it back through security and on to our flight. So
we all get our passports and boarding passes stamped. Then off again we go,
running through the airport. You should have seen some of the looks we
received. As we reached security we grew angry at the fact that the line was
terribly long. We just knew that we were going to miss our flight. We finally
made it back through security and ran to our gate. As we get closer and can
finally read our gate number… Katie (the quietest of the group) yells out “HOLD
THE PLANE.” It was hilarious. We finally got on the plane and found a seat.
This plane is definitely not in the same race as Delta. It was like a bus that
could fly! Haha. Anyways we took off. The flight was very smooth. The flight
was also short; it was about 40 minutes long. When we landed the captain played
the tune that is played at the beginning or end of a horse race. Pretty funny,
if you ask me.
Once we got off the plane we called the hotel we were staying at
and requested a shuttle. The shuttle finally arrived and we all loaded in. We
had to split into two different shuttles. Our hotel was very nice but it was
also an older hotel. May I also add that it was in the middle of nowhere. We
thought we were going to end up on “Wrong Turn.” Especially when the two
shuttles parted and went two separate ways. It was very scary. But we got to
our hotels safely and checked in. In our room we had three girls to one bed!
Ha, I guess it wasn’t too bad considering it made the price cheaper.
The one bed we had to share.
We tried to make our own tea... Mine is on the right, Jackie's is on the left.
I'm not sure what happened to hers.
The next morning we woke up and got dressed and met some of
the other girls out front. We all went to breakfast, which was delicious! After
breakfast we attempted to make our way downtown to catch the St. Patrick’s Day
Parade. We ended up catching a bus, which took forever!! We finally arrived in
downtown Dublin and we were out to see the sights. The parade was not anything
in which we had anticipated. There were lots of marching band and lots of
mystical “characters” in which we did not understand the concept of. CRAZY!
There were also tons of people everywhere! The crowd was so large that parents
even brought ladders for their children to stand on so that they could see. Very
interesting. Although i’m not sure if I
would have my children out around all of the “drunk people.” Yes there were
people who were drunk by noon!
On the way to the parade.
Erin & I
Jackie & I
Nelson's Pillar Statue
(we actually learned about this statue in World Literature!)
The crowd, waiting on the parade to start.
Nelson's Pillar again
If you look on the man's back... there is a baby sleeping!
May I remind you it was freezing out and it rained!
The Crowd again
Some weird man.... and me looking AWFUL
The ladders for the the kids to stand on.
In the back... people are sitting in windows above ATM's at the bank.
I'm not sure how they got up there, considering they are fairly high off the ground.
Another picture of the crowd... People as far as you can see.
A marching band
Bag pipers in kilts
aww. they had the American Flag!!
some military men
St. Patrick's Day Bus
Not sure why a vampire was in the parade.
Police on horseback
Here comes the WIERD Stuff.
haha... a rhino in a wheel chair???
To say the least.. this was nothing like a Disney Parade or Macy's Day Parade. It was very "out there."
Well… Once again I am tired and still have other work to do. I will have to make a part two for this trip as well. Hopefully I will be able to have it up by tomorrow night!
**English word for the day: DAFT
which means silly.
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