Flying to Dublin

Getting to Ireland from Nova Scotia is actually easier than flying to Vancouver. We got a direct flight with WestJet for a very good price. Left at 2230 and just under 5 hours later we arrived in Dublin.  

We are staying with our friend Ben who lives here for work but lives also in Brighton, UK.  We have known Ben for years!  We met on ship's when Dylan and him started dating.  Last time we saw him was at their wedding in February of 2020.  

We all got in a taxi and we arrived at Ben's, a short while later.  Ben has to work, but it is close by and it is in the Omni shopping mall.  So we walk with him so we can get a few things.

Main thing, a blow dryer.  Of course my personal Canadian blow dryer won't work with the outlets here.  So we picked up a blow dryer and now I will be presentable.  We also picked up some groceries for the next few days.  

One thing we learned.  We chose 2 bottles of wine to have with some nice cheese one night.  But at the cash we were informed you can't buy wine until 1030 am here, it is the law.  Hmmm ok.

When I told Ben later he said "there is some wine in the house if you need something right away".  I think we can wait.

We also picked up a leap card.  Which is Dublin's transit card.  One card can be used by multiple people.  We put 20E on it and that should be fine for the time we are here.

For now we will just relax and Ben's and have a nap since neither of us slept much on the plane.  

Tonight we have something fun planned.  

Next Adventure Begins - Italy and Trans Atlantic

Our next adventure begins.  This was a rather last minute vacation in the planning.  A few reasons for this, but the main reason is the low Canadian Dollar!  We need to find deals.  The added cost with the exchange (currently Canadian dollar is at .64 for one US dollar) means the cruise cost have to be lower. 

So I watched cruise prices and when it was right we jumped on a sweet deal on the Royal for the crossing.  Mind you we are in an inside.  And this could be tough, but it is just what we have to do if we want to travel.  

Thankfully we were also able to scoop up a great airfare one way with Westjet to Gatwick, England.  It is a direct flight and we secured two seats together near the back of the plane in hopes of sleeping thru most of the journey.

On the way to the airport we stop for a good healthy meal. It is only 2 pm but we are trying to adjust to Italy time (it is 11 pm there).  

After parking our car and heading to the airport with our bags.  Note only two 24 inch bags and one carry on roller bag!  Yes we have learned from experience we really don't need that much and I was adamant that we needed to scale down one less carry on as we are having to get around on our own in a few places and having less bags will make it a whole lot easier.

Check in was very smooth and we arrive at our gate with about a half hour to spare before boarding starts.  I fill up our water bottles and we sit and charge out our devices (but didn't have to as the plane had plugs at each seat).

The flight was rather uneventful.  Flight time was just over nine hours and we were able to sleep a bit.  I believe Bernie slept more than I, or at least that is my theory.

Now for Westjet that is another story.  They no longer serve complimentary food on these long haul flights.  Nothing is free!  I do miss that great British Airways flight we had last year but this flight was almost $400 less per person so I can't complain too loudly.  That $400 can buy a lot of food.

The seats are definately closer together and not as wide and we feel like cattle.  But again we just keep repeating that savings to ourselves.

Once we land we have to clear UK customs.  There are long queues but they move fast.  Our Nexus doesn't help here but there is word that in the future it will (note Nexus is equivalent to Global Entry).

We booked the Hilton at Gatwick with our airmiles and boy we could not have asked for a better location.  Only steps away from the baggage carousel.  

Even though we arrived at noon there is a room available for us.  As we drop our bags we both feel like crashing but we know we have to push ourselves otherwise we will sleep and wake at 2 am. 

So a quick freshen up and we are off to explore London.

Flights Booked Part Deux

Option three won out.  So many of you were right.  The 20 hours is long but it will give us time to rest up and try to adjust to the time change.

So we are booked on the Westjet flight leaving Vancouver at 1830 arriving in London at 1147 the next day.  For a $20 added fee we were able to reserve our seats too. The one pain was they had a cheap price for one $390, but when you search for two the price jumped up.  We therefore booked one of us on the cheaper fare. Then booked the other at the higher price $487. And because we reserved seats we are sitting together.

We then booked the British Airways flight for 15 £ each plus taxes and fees which ended up making it a total cost of 42 £ each.  Wow what a steal!

So cost breakdown is as follows:

• Westjet flight: $487 for one, $390 for the other total:  $877 Canadian
• British Airways flight:  42 £ each or $141 Canadian total  

Old flights were $1420 new flights are $1018 (but we do need to pay for a hotel/food).  That is $781 US for both of us to fly one way.  Now that is a deal.

We still have to book a hotel near Gatwick.  If any of you have a recommendation let me know.

I also like the idea of taking the train to London once we get in. 

We now get into Genoa at 1100 am on Sunday.  Hopefully more refreshed.