Off We Go To County Mayo---Eventually

Aer Lingus airlines and Thrifty/Dollar car rental are no longer on our "favorites" list.

Our 16-hour "home-to-bus/bus-to-airport/airport-to-airport/airport-to-hotel" journey turned into a 22-hour journey, thanks to some fog and Aer Lingus airlines and Thrifty/Dollar car rental. 

When Shannon Airport was "fogged in" we went on to land in Dublin. We got to sit on the plane on the tarmac for almost an hour before Aer Lingus decided to bus us back to Shannon---from the east side of Ireland to the west side. Guess the economy is tight all over and Aer Lingus discovered that buses were cheaper to use than airplanes. 

So, we were herded off the plane, across the tarmac, through baggage and customs, and then got to stand in an assembly area for another 45 minutes to wait for the buses to arrive. 

We thought we would be smart and just rent our car here at Dublin and drive a little longer to our hotel, but neither a phone call to Thrifty/Dollar at Shannon where we already had a car reserved, nor asking at the Dublin car rental counter resulted in a clear answer as to whether or not we could get a very necessary car with automatic transmission here in Dublin. So, before Thrifty/Dollar could figure it out, the buses were leaving, and off we went on a long bus ride across Ireland. ("Sit back and enjoy the scenery," you say? We would have loved to if we weren't so worn out from the flight and herding process.)

So, Aer Lingus blamed God for the fog and we accepted the two hours that that would add to the trip. But Aer Lingus added on the extra four hours for the bus trip, instead of flying back to Shannon as we had done on last year's holiday. And we blame Thrifty/Dollar for having trouble just giving us the facts that could have saved us the extra time.

Two more hours plus four more hours isn't a big deal by itself, but when you add it to a 16-hour trip for the senior member of our travel party, it was too long for a "rookie" traveler.

Sorry to start things out in "a rant." Surely, there are brighter days ahead......

......and there it is, our lovely Hotel Westport, patiently waiting for us to arrive:

And the town of Westport is just as lovely as always too. They look like they might be "on track" for another rating as the "Tidiest of Tidy Towns," just as they were last year.

Our friend, Bridie, had told us that she wasn't going to do as much this year on the "Tidy Town" beautification project, but she probably had a hand in getting things to look so nice as you can see in the flower baskets that are hung all about town:

So, the angry, "Ugly Americans" have been tamed by the beauty of Ireland already.