DUB

Arrived Dublin, Ireland this morning after an exciting array of air travel challenges.

When we showed up at Logan Airport in Boston yesterday around 4:00 p.m. we were told that “everything is backed up” and, because we arrived early, were put on a 5:00 p.m. flight that was delayed to 6:30 p.m. (rather than our original 6:30 p.m. flight that was expected to be delayed by a similar amount of time).

After various other delays, we finally took off around 7:00 p.m. and arrived in Philadelphia at 8:15 p.m., still in time for our 9:00 p.m. flight to Ireland. It turns out that Philadelphia Airport is approximately the size of a small city, and hiking from Terminal C to Terminal A is about 2 miles. Fortunately we flagged down a helpful golf-cart driver who took pity on us and gave us a ride.

We arrived at the gate at 8:45 p.m. to an announcement that there was a “maintenance problem” that was going to delay the flight until midnight. But to tide us over, U.S. Airways was springing for $10/person in food at the local food court. So we loaded up on food and drink and dug in for a wait. Then, miraculously, at 9:15 p.m., just as everyone was tucking into their food, the maintenance problem (a switch breaker, it turned out) was solved, and we started to board. A lot of large coffees got left in the lounge.

The flight over was uneventful — the usual arduous overseas flight in coach, no more no less. We’re now set up at the delightful Egans House, close to downtown Dublin. We got here with Gerard, a very helpful world-travelling cabbie. We are exhausted, but ready to conduct the fastest tour possible of Dublin before leaving for Portugal in the morning.</p?