Day 1 - SFO to Cork, Ireland

Our Uber driver picked us up at 10:15 and upon closing the car doors, she proceeded to tell us personal details about her latest dietary cleanse. There was a lot of over sharing on her part. We now know way too much about her bowels.

Once inside the international terminal, we bypassed the long check-in line due to Matt’s First class ticket and flight status. Unfortunately, our puppy dog eyes did not work on the ticket agent and we were not able to upgrade my ticket to First Class. He did, however, upgrade my security status, so we had access to the short line. I was allowed to accompany Matt into the First Class United lounge. The high vaulted ceilings, comfy chairs along with sandwiches, baked goods, soda and full bar made the time until our boarding pass quickly. Even the bathrooms were swanky.

 The only thing I’ll say about the flight from SFO to LHR is that at least it is finally over. I was not able to sleep at all. Matt paid a visit to my section of the plane and filled my water bottle up with “First Class” ice. Connections in London went well for a change. Cork greeted us with blue skies and a vivid green landscape. Matt just left for work but at least he had time for a 2 hour nap before leaving. My agenda for the remaining few hours of the day currently consists of finding bus routes and departure times. I’ll follow that with a bowl of soup and a pint of Guinness from the downstairs pub.

Dinner was nice. Started out a little lonely, but  I made friends with the family that shared my bar table. They were from Cork and their daughter was a medical student here at the University. Ireland pays for her education. She is only responsible for $2000/year in fees. Fees can be waived for students in need. They said that if Americans continue charging so much for a University education, than we will have a population of uneducated people because no one will be able to afford it anymore. I enjoyed their company as well as their opinions about America .They LOVED SF and Half Moon Bay. They HATED Michigan & Las Vegas. Yosemite was also a stand-out favorite.