Worst Person to Sit Next to on a Plane

I was THAT person today. You know, the person who coughs the whole flight, looks like death, sounds all hoarse and well... sounds like they're dying? That was me.

From London to Orlando, FL, I tried my best to keep sucking on lozenges and sip water, in hopes of quieting my cough. It worked, somewhat. Still, I don't even want to know what the people around me must have been thinking!! I ended up on a Virgin Atlantic flight since they are now partnered with Delta. I really enjoyed the flight (as much as a dying person can). There were tons of movies, music, and TV shows. I'm used to having that on Delta flights, but VA has a much wider selection.

In Orlando, I had a short layover before my flight onward to Atlanta, GA. As I stood in line talking to my friend Nicole (today's her 22nd birthday!) she asked me how sick I was. I explained that I thought it was just a cold, but that maybe it had turned into an infection of some sort. As these words came out of my mouth, I realized that I was in line to get on a plane, and all the passengers around me could hear me talking. Talk about AWKWARD. I got a few of those "if you get me sick, you will die" looks, but they really didn't bother me cause I was already dying anyways right?

I'm sorry for all the death jokes, but seriously this is the first time I've felt so terrible with a cold!! The exhaustion + being cooped up on a plane = worst headache/sore throat/mucus filled body/about to pass out person EVER.

My mom picked me up from Atlanta, and drove me home. My little brother had no idea I was coming home, and literally lost his mind when he saw me. Such love brought me back from the brink of death, to the normal state of exhausted world traveler. 42 days, 10 countries, 10 hostels, 8 hosts, 7 flights and only ONE run in with the police later... I'm home.

Next up... Asia?

Kilaloe

I spent my day in Kilaloe with Russ Gipp today... We sat in the living room for a long time just talking about life, which was such a drastic difference from the "go go go" pace this week has been set at. I woke up with a cough and some congestion so I just relaxed with a hot cup of tea while we talked.

He took me out for lunch to a local place that had some really good fish n chips before taking me on a drive through the Irish countryside. We ended up on a back road winding between acres of pasture and farm land. Supposedly, it's a two way street, but Russ' car barely fit on it! It got quite interesting whenever cars came from the opposite direction.

After exploring the area around Russ' little town, we had to go get my bag and head to the airport in Dublin. This is it... I'm finally beginning the journey home. I'm sitting here with the food bought with whatever Euro I had left, waiting for my flight. I'm excited folks.

Now it's 11pm... I've tried going to sleeping and it's not really working out. My cold has gotten worse, and we all know how uncomfortable airport chairs can be. Wish me luck!! Until the morning...

Sláinte

From beginning to end...

"Alright, me troopers..."

Today was the final day of the Paddywagon 6 day tour of Ireland. I've met such a good group of fellow travelers, and I look forward to seeing them again in the future.

For the majority of the day, we were in the bus, except for a few pit stops along the way. Once we arrived in Dublin, we went to the Guinness factory. Although it isn't a place I'd really want to go, the entrance fee was included in the price so I made the most of it. The history of Guinness itself was interesting to read about. I didn't know exactly how popular it was in Ireland until this week. I knew it was Irish made, but in Ireland, Guinness isn't a beer... Guinness is a lifestyle. Sláinte, in Irish, means "to good health." I'm not sure how healthy any alcohol is, but the Irish sure think it is! As part of the tour, everyone gets a free pint fresh made at the factory. We got our pints, said, "Sláinte!" and I tried Guinness for the first time ever. I took a sip to see what it tasted like, and although it isn't as absolutely repulsive as other beer, it's still rather gross. I passed it to a member of our tour, who seems to just love the stuff.

We said our sad goodbyes to Seanie, and to each other. Everyone ran around with their cell phones out exchanging emails and Facebook information, so hopefully we will see one another again someday. With that, I waved goodbye and headed out to the bus stop where I caught a bus back across the country to Limerick, where Russ Gipp, a friend from church back in Georgia, was awaiting my arrival. He is in Ireland for 12 weeks working.

I got to the bus stop, and couldn't find Russ anywhere... The only way of communication we had was Facebook, so I found some Wi-Fi and just waited. I knew (or hoped) that he would do the same and eventually, we were able to connect online and figure out what went wrong. He was waiting at the second to last stop, and I got off at the last stop... Oops!! I hailed a taxi, and had him drive me over to where Russ was, as that was easier than Russ having to find me. Finally, there he was! The big, bearded teddy bear that everyone loves. I was so happy to see a familiar face!! After a big, warm hug, we hopped in his car and headed to the little town he lives in, Kilaloe. There, we went out to dinner and just talked and talked. It was great!!!

Once at Russ' apartment, we watched TV, talked more, and just enjoyed each other's company. He's missing his family back in Gerogia, and I'm missing mine, so it was cool to have someone from "home" to talk to.

Goodnight me troopers.

Hello America!!

What a day...

Today we spent a short time in Killarney so people could grab a REAL breakfast, before heading back towards the coast to the Dingle Peninsula. There, we walked around, explored the city, and ate lunch. As I've mentioned previously, I have my tomato and cheese bagels to eat, so I was set.

In Dingle, there is a statue of a dolphin, Fungie. Fungie (so the locals say) had lived in the peninsula since 1983. Realistically, it's probably been a few different dolphins, but he's still a local legend. The kids all climb on the statue and "ride" Fungie, so of course everyone on the Paddywagon tour wanted to do the same. I, on the other hand, didn't want to kick the kids off of him just for a photo opportunity.

Although we were staying the night in Dingle, we actually left it for a while to drive along the coast. The scenery was just beautiful...The rugged coast line dotted with sheep around every corner took my breath away! After a while of drivng, we came up to the Sleeping Giant... an island off the coast that looks like a giant just laying down on the water. This point of Ireland is the closest to America in all of Europe. I waved to you all from across the pond!

After more driving on windy, ocean roads, we ended up back in Dingle at our hostel... The Randy Leprechaun. The hostel is owned by Paddywagon and is outside of the city center. I'm pretty sure only Paddywagon tour groups stay there, as we were the only people in the whole place. The hostel is also a pub, where we ate and had a night full of karaoke. Beer for my Horses... Barbie Girl... Lion King songs... Life is a Highway... My Love will go on (thats the Titanic song right?)... Galway Girl... everyone was just singing, yelling, clapping... I don't think you could even really hear the person on the mic! This hilarious evening went on until 1 in the morning. It was such a perfect last night together. I've made so many friends on this tour!!