Monday was a day of flawless travel plan execution. We used the small, family-owned Gig Harbor Taxi service for the first time. Our driver, who owns the service with her daughter, was great, showed up at 8:30am as requested and dropped us at the Inn at Gig Harbor where we caught the Kitsap Airporter to Seatac airport and parked ourselves in an airport lounge 4 hours early. United checked in our bags all the way through to Dublin in spite of the airline change in San Francisco. United service was typically pedestrian, but they got us into SFO safely and on time.

Aer Lingus was terrific. I felt especially lucky to be flying in a plane with a shamrock on its tail. Air Lingus really takes their Irishness to heart – all the seats are upholstered in bright green, they serve entrees like shepherd’s pie for dinner, and I’d never seen so many redheads on a flight in my life., flight attendants included. I slept for about 6 hours of the 9 hour flight; Mike, less than that, but I caught him snoozing now and then.

The Dublin airport was easy to navigate. Our bags arrived quickly and intact, and there was no customs inspection on the way out. The taxi queue wasn’t too long. Our friendly driver regaled us with stories of the success of his recent knee replacement and the love the Irish have for Americans.

By 1pm we presented ourselves to the reception desk of the Academy Plaza Hotel on the north side of the River Liffey, the major river that runs through the center of Dublin. Our room was ready.

I know I was jetlagged, but I swear to God and all that is good, I saw a bus advertising “Angela’s Ashes, the Musical.” We clearly had arrived in Ireland.

Though my goal to quickly overcome the 8 hour time difference was to stay awake until 9pm local time, I couldn’t do it. We set our alarms for 5pm and napped for 4 hours. We scouted out dinner, walked a half block down to bustling O’Connell Street and were drawn to the restaurant of the Gresham Hotel. After a series of delays and order mix-ups, we realized our waiter had a “trainee” label on his name tag, and so forgave the hiccoughs – we were hungry and ate whatever was put in front of us

I had a great view during dinner, large windows looking out at the busy intersection of O’Connell and Cathal Bruga streets. The ebb and flow between determined pedestrians and a constant parade of double-decker buses seemed choreographed.

We were back at the hotel and asleep by 9pm Western European Time.