Well, we have reached the Waterside House in Donabate, a little village about 20 miles north of Dublin, a modest 39.75 hours since we walked out the gate at home. This comprised a ferry ride and three hours waiting in Auckland, an 11 hour flight to Hong Kong, another three hour stop over, 12 hours to Heathrow followed by yet another three hour layover and then a short trip to Dublin. We added to the time by getting lost a few times, as the GPS wasn't that helpful at times.

The Hong Kong to Heathrow trip was on a Cathay Boeing 777, the same type that Air NZ used, but a bit longer and a bit older. The result was that there was better seating accommodation, but 12 hours in a long metal can is is a challenge. The meals and service were great and I think they exceeded Air NZ standard.

The bunny hop from Heathrow to Dublin wasn't long enough for the trolley dollies to feed everyone, and they didn't do very many as you had to pay for everything.

We picked up a rental car which turned out to be a diesel powered manual Volvo. It took quite a while for me to figure out how to release the handbrake and I just couldn't find out how to turn on the headlights for quite some time. (I remember that Volvos always had their lights on but that doesn't seem to be the case today.) Only when we finally reached the hotel did I discover that it had a six speed gear box.

Luckily we got to the hotel in semi daylight. We have toured quite a bit of the Donabate area. It's very green, and a  bit muddy, with skinny roads and speed bumps about every 200 yards in the 50kph area. Luckily they aren't as high as the ones on Wacky Island, so you can hit them at 50k, besides a rental car can travel over most things.

It was only 11C and rain in Heathrow and three hours later, at 7:30PM, it was a cool 12C in Dublin. It looks like our thermals will get a workout.

Now for a decent shower and a good night's sleep, provided the noisy buggers down the hall shut up. There has been a wedding here in the hotel today and the residue are still in a party mood.