| First Ireland Holiday (6) |
When we went to the pub to drop everyone off, we went in for a few drinks. I have never, the entire time I've known Marco, seen
him laughing as hard as he was when we were sitting there at the bar. He had his head down on the bar and could barely breathe
due to his laughing. This was definitely a day to remember!
We only stayed for a short while, then went to the house before going back out that night. Once again, that night while we were at
the pub, we ate dinner then sat at the bar watching sports on tv. Being totally drunk wasn't helping anymore. I really just didn't like
this feeling of 'not fitting in'. So I went outside and spent about the next hour on the phone. I called a few people and had a great
time talking to them. Marco came out looking for me and I told him I would be back in a little bit.
By the time I went back inside, it was really late, I was really drunk, and ready to go. But I would never say that. Marco must
have finally seen it, because within a few minutes he asked me if I wanted to leave. I just told him yes, I was too drunk to drink
anymore. On the drive back to the room he sounded concerned and told me I shouldn't drink as fast as I was. Now, I hadn't drunk
anymore than he had, but it affected me a lot more than it did him. So I told him why I had been drinking so much, how I had felt,
how much I was still scared to be here, and how uncomfortable and horrible it was when we would sit there and he wouldn't talk to
me. I wasn't angry, not at all, I was actually having an incredibly fun time. It was just certain times that I hated. He didn't realize
any of this. So he felt bad, apologized, and promised that he wouldn't act like that again. He went out of his way the rest of the night
to show me how much he really did care, and to make up for me feeling the way I had. He really was a sweet caring man.
We only had one full day left in Ireland, so we did a little bit of everything. We started out by visiting the Cliffs Of Moher. They
were awesome! We spent an hour or so walking to the top, took lots of pictures, and watching the people. When we got back to the
bottom, we browsed through the gift shops for a while.
After there, we went to an Aquarium that was nearby. My favorite part of it was when we were able to walk under the glass tank.
Anywhere you looked you were surrounded by stingrays, sharks, or just about any other fish you can imagine. We took our time
walking through and then went to the gift shop where I decided to buy postcards for everyone back home. We found a place outside
then sat together, each writing notes on the postcards.
Next we decided to stop at a different pub for a few drinks before going back to the house. Inside they had license plates from all
over the world, and just about every single state. They also had fire department and police badges displayed all over the place. As
we sat there drinking, a group of older men started singing Irish ballads. With that, one of them pulled out an instrument and started
playing along. This was great. Marco was not only doing a wonderful job at keeping his promise of keeping me involved in anything
that was going on, but was actually never turned away from me as we sat there. This was so much nicer. For the first time since I
had been here, I truly enjoyed being in the pub with him.
We went back to the house for an hour or so and then to the pub for his good-bye party. It was kind of a bittersweet night for him.
He was having a great time, but knew it was his last night before going back home. He once again all night had kept his promise
and made me feel very comfortable. By the time we got back to the house, we should have packed, but instead went straight to bed.
Our last morning in Ireland was a tough one. I could see it in Marco's eyes that he was going to miss it, a lot. I felt bad for him
and didn't really know what to say. Over the past 9 years he had met some awesome people and made very good friends there. He
had told me a while ago that every year on his drive home, he got sad reminiscing all that happened during his holiday. So with this
in mind, I just stayed quiet and let him work through it in his own way. We stopped at the pub on our way out of town to have coffee
and say goodbye to everyone.
The trip from the West Coast to the East Coast of Ireland took somewhere between 5-6 hours (I think). We listened to music, sang,
talked .... it was a beautiful drive. Well, most of it. Let me take a moment here to comment on Marco's driving habits. (He's gonna
kill me for this one hahaha) In Ireland they drive on the left side of the road, but in Holland they drive on the right. This means that
Marco's car had the steering wheel on the left side thus putting my ass closest to the cars coming the opposite direction. This was
fine, most of the time. Ireland also doesn't have 4-lane highways like I am accustomed to driving. They are 90% 2-lane roads. Which
again was fine, most of the time. I have said all along how calm and relaxed Marco is. And he is, except when he gets stuck behind
a slow driver. When that happens he turns into Mr. Irritated: "Bloody yank tourists" "bloody person doesn't know how to drive"
"bloody go home and drive in your own country" "if you don't bloody know how to drive then don't" hahaha If I had $1.00 for every
time I heard something like this come out of his mouth, I would be rich! And he has the nerve to tell ME to calm down when I'm
driving? HMPH! All right, back to my story. There were times when a slow car or truck would be in front of us, and being on a
2-lane road, you have 2 choices. You either stay behind it or pass it. Have I mentioned that these roads were also filled with curves
around high mountains and hills? Well they were. Ok now try to imagine this: You are in a car with the steering wheel on the left
side. You are driving on the left side of the road. You cannot see around the car in front of you. You cannot see anything coming the
other direction because the mountain is blocking the view from the curve up ahead. Yet the bloody tourist driver is pissing you off
enough that you want to pass them, and you want to pass them NOW! So what do you do? One guess what Marco would do .... yup,
he would just pull on over to the right side of the road to pass them. Now remember, my ass is sitting on the right side of the car, so
I amt he first one to see the big ass truck or car coming straight for us like 50 feet away! OMFG He scared the living shit out of me!
I am honestly surprised that my feet didn't end up going straight through the floorboard of his car by the time we were done. Every
time I saw a car heading for us I would yell out and slam my feet into the floor and put my hands up on the dashboard. Marco would
just pull back over to the left and say, "Take it easy." Me? Take it easy? OhMyGawd, I was safer up in the air waiting to become an
appetizer for Jaws! hahaha JK!
We finally made it to the East Coast and now had to wait to board the boat to England. We had about 4 hours to spare and of
course spent the time hanging out in the bar. By the time we boarded the ship, any fears that I previously had, were now nicely
numbed by the consumption of lots and lots of alcohol. Continue
him laughing as hard as he was when we were sitting there at the bar. He had his head down on the bar and could barely breathe
due to his laughing. This was definitely a day to remember!
We only stayed for a short while, then went to the house before going back out that night. Once again, that night while we were at
the pub, we ate dinner then sat at the bar watching sports on tv. Being totally drunk wasn't helping anymore. I really just didn't like
this feeling of 'not fitting in'. So I went outside and spent about the next hour on the phone. I called a few people and had a great
time talking to them. Marco came out looking for me and I told him I would be back in a little bit.
By the time I went back inside, it was really late, I was really drunk, and ready to go. But I would never say that. Marco must
have finally seen it, because within a few minutes he asked me if I wanted to leave. I just told him yes, I was too drunk to drink
anymore. On the drive back to the room he sounded concerned and told me I shouldn't drink as fast as I was. Now, I hadn't drunk
anymore than he had, but it affected me a lot more than it did him. So I told him why I had been drinking so much, how I had felt,
how much I was still scared to be here, and how uncomfortable and horrible it was when we would sit there and he wouldn't talk to
me. I wasn't angry, not at all, I was actually having an incredibly fun time. It was just certain times that I hated. He didn't realize
any of this. So he felt bad, apologized, and promised that he wouldn't act like that again. He went out of his way the rest of the night
to show me how much he really did care, and to make up for me feeling the way I had. He really was a sweet caring man.
We only had one full day left in Ireland, so we did a little bit of everything. We started out by visiting the Cliffs Of Moher. They
were awesome! We spent an hour or so walking to the top, took lots of pictures, and watching the people. When we got back to the
bottom, we browsed through the gift shops for a while.
After there, we went to an Aquarium that was nearby. My favorite part of it was when we were able to walk under the glass tank.
Anywhere you looked you were surrounded by stingrays, sharks, or just about any other fish you can imagine. We took our time
walking through and then went to the gift shop where I decided to buy postcards for everyone back home. We found a place outside
then sat together, each writing notes on the postcards.
Next we decided to stop at a different pub for a few drinks before going back to the house. Inside they had license plates from all
over the world, and just about every single state. They also had fire department and police badges displayed all over the place. As
we sat there drinking, a group of older men started singing Irish ballads. With that, one of them pulled out an instrument and started
playing along. This was great. Marco was not only doing a wonderful job at keeping his promise of keeping me involved in anything
that was going on, but was actually never turned away from me as we sat there. This was so much nicer. For the first time since I
had been here, I truly enjoyed being in the pub with him.
We went back to the house for an hour or so and then to the pub for his good-bye party. It was kind of a bittersweet night for him.
He was having a great time, but knew it was his last night before going back home. He once again all night had kept his promise
and made me feel very comfortable. By the time we got back to the house, we should have packed, but instead went straight to bed.
Our last morning in Ireland was a tough one. I could see it in Marco's eyes that he was going to miss it, a lot. I felt bad for him
and didn't really know what to say. Over the past 9 years he had met some awesome people and made very good friends there. He
had told me a while ago that every year on his drive home, he got sad reminiscing all that happened during his holiday. So with this
in mind, I just stayed quiet and let him work through it in his own way. We stopped at the pub on our way out of town to have coffee
and say goodbye to everyone.
The trip from the West Coast to the East Coast of Ireland took somewhere between 5-6 hours (I think). We listened to music, sang,
talked .... it was a beautiful drive. Well, most of it. Let me take a moment here to comment on Marco's driving habits. (He's gonna
kill me for this one hahaha) In Ireland they drive on the left side of the road, but in Holland they drive on the right. This means that
Marco's car had the steering wheel on the left side thus putting my ass closest to the cars coming the opposite direction. This was
fine, most of the time. Ireland also doesn't have 4-lane highways like I am accustomed to driving. They are 90% 2-lane roads. Which
again was fine, most of the time. I have said all along how calm and relaxed Marco is. And he is, except when he gets stuck behind
a slow driver. When that happens he turns into Mr. Irritated: "Bloody yank tourists" "bloody person doesn't know how to drive"
"bloody go home and drive in your own country" "if you don't bloody know how to drive then don't" hahaha If I had $1.00 for every
time I heard something like this come out of his mouth, I would be rich! And he has the nerve to tell ME to calm down when I'm
driving? HMPH! All right, back to my story. There were times when a slow car or truck would be in front of us, and being on a
2-lane road, you have 2 choices. You either stay behind it or pass it. Have I mentioned that these roads were also filled with curves
around high mountains and hills? Well they were. Ok now try to imagine this: You are in a car with the steering wheel on the left
side. You are driving on the left side of the road. You cannot see around the car in front of you. You cannot see anything coming the
other direction because the mountain is blocking the view from the curve up ahead. Yet the bloody tourist driver is pissing you off
enough that you want to pass them, and you want to pass them NOW! So what do you do? One guess what Marco would do .... yup,
he would just pull on over to the right side of the road to pass them. Now remember, my ass is sitting on the right side of the car, so
I amt he first one to see the big ass truck or car coming straight for us like 50 feet away! OMFG He scared the living shit out of me!
I am honestly surprised that my feet didn't end up going straight through the floorboard of his car by the time we were done. Every
time I saw a car heading for us I would yell out and slam my feet into the floor and put my hands up on the dashboard. Marco would
just pull back over to the left and say, "Take it easy." Me? Take it easy? OhMyGawd, I was safer up in the air waiting to become an
appetizer for Jaws! hahaha JK!
We finally made it to the East Coast and now had to wait to board the boat to England. We had about 4 hours to spare and of
course spent the time hanging out in the bar. By the time we boarded the ship, any fears that I previously had, were now nicely
numbed by the consumption of lots and lots of alcohol. Continue
