Inter-Air-Rail 2003

TRAVEL DIARY

OF IRELAND

written by Monti Luciano

Translation by Marelli Emiliano

Dedicated to my dogs and her cats

PREFACE

In every good book worth its salt (which isn't our case) there should be an introduction; we're including one in the hope of spurring you on to keep reading our accounts of 20 days lived "on the road" among airports, trains, campsites, hostels and the homes of other people we knew and didn't know! Is Italy the banana republic, as the Economist says, or the prickly-pear republic, as Gianni Agnelli used to say? So this year, about twenty days before leaving, we decided to visit Ireland, Edinbraaaaaaa and part of Scotland, then to end up sleeping under the bridges of London. If you had any doubt before about whether or not to read the diary, after the introduction I bet you've convinced yourself it's better to give up.

THANKS

Thanks to PD (Emiliano) who put up with me for twenty-odd days, to TEK (Luciano) who put up with PD for twenty-odd days, to LAURA who recharged our mobile, brought us comfort food and drove us to the airport, to ELENA who hosted us in Dublin, to the various CHARACTERS who picked us up when we were hitchhiking, to the BUS DRIVERS who more than once didn't make us pay (maybe they saw the state we were in), to the VICENTINI who, willing or not, helped us in moments of difficulty, to AURELIO AND SARA who welcomed us into their Mitsubishi Colt as if we were family (we had fun, guys), to NICOLETTA and SIMONE who guided us in London, to MICHELA who lent me her share of sleeping bag when I was cold (come on, don't be angry), to PAOLA who put us up at her place for an evening, to JOHN the fake Englishman, maybe a New Zealander, who cheered and entertained us with his incomprehensible talk, to MANU

ELA at the CTS agency in Sesto S. Giovanni for the Interrail ticket and the legendary Student cards, and to ALL those I've surely forgotten.

TRIP'S BOOK

08/08/2003 BEFORE LEAVING p. 4 09/08/2003 ARRIVAL AT STANSTED 10/08/2003 DUBLIN, THE COVETED DESTINATION 11/08/2003 ON THE WAY TO CORK 12/08/2003 GOLF CAMPSITE IN BLARNEY 13/08/2003 TOWARDS THE MUSSELS OF GALWAY 14/08/2003 DIVING INTO THE CLIFFS OF MOHER 15/08/2003 BICYCLE TOUR OF ARAN ISLAND 16/08/2003 DUBLIN FAIR CITY 17/08/2003 DUBLIN TO SLIGO TO STRANDHILL 18/08/2003 RIDING THE WAVE AT STRANDHILL 19/08/2003 RETURN TO DUBLIN 20/08/2003 THE JOURNEY OF NO RETURN: BELFAST 21/08/2003 SNAIL'S PACE IN EDINBURGH 22/08/2003 EDINBRAAAA THE CITY OF ARTISTS 23/08/2003 BEAUTIFUL DAY IN EDINBURGH 24/08/2003 LONSDALE 25/08/2003 26/08/2003 27/08/2003

BEFORE LEAVING

"Before setting off on a long journey, take with you the wish never to come back" Irene Grandi Vasco Rossi

The long-awaited holidays have arrived, it's just over two hours to departure and I'm still trying to sort out my backpack.... the main problem is the weight to respect to avoid paying surcharges at the airport! 15 kg in the hold and 7 kg of hand luggage which will become a single bag once we cross the threshold of the Stansted baggage reclaim; will we manage to carry all that weight?!? The journey will be long and tiring but PD and I can do it (BUT WHERE!?!).

I always have to get into these stupid things; normal life is too boring and besides, they say that to really learn English you have to practise it on the spot! Last night a bit of melancholy came over us; we were sorry to leave the friends who were setting off: some for Romania, some for Iceland, some for Egypt and some staying home (...lucky them...)! It would have been nice to spend the holidays all together, but this year everyone has decided to go their own way and we, with our burden, are ready to leave! It'll mean we'll come back with plenty of stories to tell, to the friends we left behind and to all those who want to hear them. 8.30 p.m.: arrival at the airport; willing or not, the blonde drives us to Orio al Serio airport.

Check-in as normal, the kg estimated by the electronic scale made in Grandma Marelli's house are perfect! The luggage weighs 15 kg 'each', we don't have to pay any surcharge. We wait anxiously for the arrival of the three virgins, who will leave us feeeling very sorry......... they nearly don't make it in time for the goodbyes! Not that there was traffic on the motorway, not that they're incapable of driving (...they're veryy good...), but could the Orio Center be more interesting than two strapping young men setting off with no destination, no reason?...Ni..Uhm...well anyway they finally arrive, a souvenir photo (lost) among the women and off to boarding at GATE No. 2 heading for Stansted.

Here, even before leaving, we cause a diplomatic mess with the security staff at the METAL DETECTOR: in our haste we went through the check and forgot to say goodbye to "the virgins" and the airport staff can't understand the needs and demands of the young Italian male! In the end we achieve our goal, receiving insults on short wave and blocking the flow of people who wanted to board........ Here we are, a short ride on a first-class bus that takes us to the BOEING 737 (capacity about 250 people). A Fantozzi-style dash to honestly grab a sorry eighth row, and PD wins the WINDOW SEAT. We're accompanied by the ONION SISTERS, the beautiful, sweet, all-round and likeable hostesses of Ryan Air...

...continues on