Day Twenty-Seven: A Long Day's Journey into Night Nights

Yesterday began with my last cappuccino at the hotel in Dublin.  The staff were very helpful for our entire stay.  The day before 47 of our group began a tour of Ireland.  A few also left for home.  Today, the remainder of the group was headed home.  While they were taking a different flight, I was able to join them on the hired bus to the airport.

I flew Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline to Schiphol Airport outside of Amsterdam and then boarded a KLM 747 for the trip home.  It was a long day.  The bus departed our Dublin hotel at 10:30am UTC or GMT (5:30am Toronto time).  Check-in was smooth and security in Dublin was quick.  Amsterdam's airport is very impressive, but as we were on a big plane on the way home, going through security again at the gate took time and boarding also took time.  The plane was full.  When I arrived in Toronto, the line-up at customs was long and when I got to the baggage carousel I heard my name called on the speaker -- my bag was still in Amsterdam, not somehow having made the transfer.  This earned me a special customs form and I ended up yet another line.  Finally I was out of the secured area by about 9:00pm (2:00am GMT).  I got home.  Made a few calls, showered and crashed. 

I did pick up quite a bit of Irish music CD's.  I think you'll find the blog has quite a bit of fodder in the coming weeks.