Irish Adventure: Belfast, Dublin & the Northwest Counties Day 16

Day 16 - Monday, September 24, 2018 - Return to the U.S. - Flight at 12:25 PM

After a good night’s sleep with dreams of Irish dancers, we had plenty of time to finish packing, have a little breakfast, and say goodbye to Thomas and thank him for very good trip.

Our taxi driver took Ann from California and the two of us to the Dublin International Airport at 9:00. The airport is only 6 miles from Dublin but the back to work and school traffic was heavy. There were many bicycles on the road as the sun was shining and the weather clear.

There were hardly any people at the Air Canada desk so checking in and sending our big bags on was very easy. David helped us to find the Fast Track Line so we did not have to stand in a long line for security.

Once through the security check, it was only 9:45 so we went to the Dublin Lounge and relaxed until our flight was called at 11:50. We walked to the gate and boarded our Air Canada Airbus 330 for the 7-hour flight to Toronto.

The seats were relatively comfortable and the trip across the North Atlantic was pretty smooth. Vic noticed right away that the flight-tracking program on our seat monitors were set on a previous flight, Rome to Montreal.

The flight attendants assured us that we were actually going to Toronto, but that the data system could not be reset. This was not a reassuring reply and we hoped that the pilot’s GPS system was working properly.

We skipped both meal services, tried to sleep a bit, and read for the duration of our flight. Both of us picked up the cough and cold brought on the bus in Ireland and we were trying to fight off the bugs.

At 3:05 we arrived in Toronto and went through US Customs and Immigration instead of being cleared in Denver. It was very easy with our Global Entry status. We spent most of our four-hour layover in the Air Canada Lounge.

We caught up on our emails and family news and then went down to our gate. The last leg of our journey to Denver only took 3 hours and 40 minutes. We arrived in Denver at 8:26 and waited for our bags, no customs; great!

Our car was right where we left it, always a good thing when travelling. We made a brief stop in Castle Pines for a few groceries and we were on our way.

Normally, we would have made it home in 40 minutes or less, but the construction crew had the interstate down to one lane all the way to Tomah Road. It was slow going but we were home by 11:15.

Thank you again for traveling with us to Ireland and Northern Ireland. We had an exceptional adventure but as always, “There is no place like home”!

Accommodations: Home - - - Meal: B, L, D