Greg flew over to Ireland for a visit in late October, and this was his first trans-Atlantic flight. One of the big things we discussed before I left for Ireland was what we were going to do on his visit: did he want to explore his first European country, or did he want to take advantage of all of the cheap, short flights to neighboring countries? We went back and forth in our discussions, but we finally decided that we would try to schedule a trip to London for a few days while he was here.
Even with the present oil crisis, there are amazingly cheap flights within the EU. Ryan Air and Aer Lingus, both Irish airlines, frequently post Internet sales with FREE tickets. That’s right, people. You read that correctly. FREE plane tickets to countries like Italy, England, France, Germany, Holland, etc. All the passenger has to pay are the taxes and fees. But the real secret is: these aren’t actually the best fares. You can purchase tickets to these countries for as little as five Euro each way with NO taxes or fees. That means you can fly from Ireland to London for as little as 10 Euro–about $15. And that’s what we did. I purchased two tickets on Ryan Air for Thursday, October 30-Saturday November 1 for 20E. There were additional hidden fees, though. For instance, since we were not EU citizens, we had to check in at the airport instead of online, so that cost an additional 20E. And since we were paying with a credit card, which charges the airline a 3% booking fee, we had to pay an additional 20E. So all in all, it cost us 60E for the flights, but that is still only less than $90 for two round trip tickets to London. Somehow, that still feels a lot cheaper than two round trip tickets from Boston to London, so I was satisfied. Of course, it was when we got to London that all the costs came home to roost–$270 for two mediocre nights in a London B&B, astronomical admissions fees for all of the sites and museums (the most expensive ended up being the Tate Britain Museum, which translated into over $50 for two admission tickets to the Francis Bacon and Turner Prize exhibitions–and that was only one of THREE things we did that day, not including transportation costs and food as well).
But of course, since this is me we’re talking about here, there was drama getting us to the airport. I had to teach Thursday afternoon until 4, and our plane was departing from Shannon at 7:50, so it was imperative we catch an early bus from the university to the city in order to get the 5:25 bus to the airport. Everything was going according to plan: we were packed and at the bus stop by 4:15. But, true to Irish form, no bus. No bus at 4:30. No bus at 4:45. By now, there were probably over 50 people at the university stop alone, not including the likely back up at every following stop. It was also at the peak of Limerick rush hour, so it would take much longer than the normal 20 minutes to get into the city. At 4:45 I had to make a decision; even if we’d caught a bus at that point it was highly unlikely we would make it to the station in time. So, I called a cab. Even the taxi driver was concerned on the phone about whether we’d make it to the station in time or not. It took him 10 minutes to pick us up in front of the Sports Arena, and then he announced we were going to pick up another passenger down the road! Now this was the first time I had had to share a taxi, and we were under pressure to get the station in time, but our driver assured us we would make it. So we agreed. As we sat in the silent taxi in stopped traffic, I covertly glanced at the dashboard clock over and over again, watching the minutes tick by, counting up all the money we would lose if we couldn’t catch the bus to the airport: the $20 in bus fares we’d already purchased online, possibly a $60 cab ride to the airport if we missed the bus, $90 in missed flights if we missed the cab, $270 in uncanceled hotel reservations. I tried to keep it together. I don’t think I breathed, however, until the taxi drove up in front of the station–at 5:18. We had seven minutes to spare. So even though it was a stressful start, we were on our way.
By comparison, the trip to the airport and the flight to London were uneventful; after that initial trip to the Limerick bus station, everything else seemed so easy. We arrived in Gatwick airport, breezed through immigration, bought train and tube tickets right outside out gate, walked to the train platform where a train arrived almost immediately, easily made a few stops on the tube, walked a few blocks and BAM–there was our hotel. Our room was fine, but one always expects more for the price one pays in London.
This just goes to show how true that old adage is: life is a journey, not a destination (I think Ralph Waldo Emerson said that).
Frankly, I’m getting a bit fed up with with the journeys.
