Sept 26-27, 2016

With only 18 pax I was expecting a small coach, but Birnie Bus Co. came through with not just a larger coach but their "executive coach" with reclining leather seats, wifi and satellite tv! Well, it's nearly 10AM and pretty much everyone is here at Utica College except the three individuals we'll be picking up en route. Further down the road we pick up Becky at Herkimer and then finally Jay and Anne down around Fonda.

P-break at Lee, MA and a chance to grab a quick bite, now with the group all assembled it's time for a group shot in front of our big green bus! That's our driver, Jake, peeking in at the upper left. Good job Leslie with the selfie stick!                                                                                                                      

Dropping our luggage and getting our boarding passes was pretty straight forward at Boston Logan, and no one was detained at security this time. Good job, guys!  This gave us plenty of time to get to the gate...except...I found somebody shoving a Sam Adams in my hand! Thanks, Jim!

Yeah, don't worry, we made it aboard our Airbus 330, "Saint Patrick".
 Plopping myself down into 21D, I was almost asleep before pushback.  But not Debbie, she's snapping away with her iPhone.  Thanks for not getting me with my mouth open!
Chicken or Shepherd's Pie? Decision, decision. Oh, well, so this is what airline fare has come to? Minuscule and is there really chicken in there? Jim, where is chef Frank when we need him?! But you couldn't complain about the flight. Smooth as glass right down to the landing.

Landing at Dublin, Aer Lingus, decided to play the old, "let's mess with the passengers' heads" game and first posted the gate for our onward flight and then removed it causing everyone to ask themselves, "Should we shop or not?" Oh, hell, they presented us with this beautiful array of shops, Why not? Finally they posted original gate again. so what was the big mystery?
The second flight from Dublin to London was much shorter, under an hour, but a lot rougher when it came to the landing. Oh, well, any landing you can walk away from ...

Being that we cleared customs at Dublin (still part of the EU) we just had to get our bags and find the coach. After a bit of searching I found the "car park marshall" on the lower level. He called the coach for us and a big white Vanhool showed up. Our driver, Christi, was neatly dressed, very efficient but quiet. Had an accent, and I don't mean British, of some sort. En route we got to see what London rush hour is like as it was only about 9 in the morning.

Victoria & Albert Museum

Finally arriving at the hotel, Park Grand London Kensington, the rooms of course were not ready as it was way before normal check in time. But they made the room assignments, took images of our passports and stored our luggage. I had offered to show the group the way to the Victoria and Albert Museum, about .7 mile away from the hotel but as it turned out most folks were more interested in finding breakfast first (remember the OJ and muffin on the plane?). So, with maps in hand, they all took off to forage for food and eventually find the museums, while Ev and I waited for Amy to arrive.

Replica of the David

Later that evening everyone met in the lobby, everyone had their rooms and luggage situated, and we headed out to dinner at the Phoenix Pub. Walking to the nearest Underground, Earl's Court, it was just short three stops and we were at Slone Square. I plugged the Phoenix into my iPhone and off we went in a circuitous route to the pub. This eclectic little place was as pleasing to the eye as to the palate. The dinners were great from what I heard and enhanced by many trips to the bar.

Ignoring the iPhone this time we found much more direct route back to the Underground and made our way back to the hotel for some much needed downtime! Good night!