Another day of travel to move on to the next leg of our journey! Today's trip was fairly straightforward........Milan to Dublin, with a bit of a drive on both ends. Our flight was at 11:45, and the airport was about an hour's drive. We also needed to drop off our rental car. Our plan was to leave at about 8:00. We checked in at the front desk last night and they said they could get someone to help us with breakfast a bit early (typically the buffet opens at 8:30). They also said we could leave our car at the front entry. The hotel has only 2 small spaces out front........so this was a real 'plus' to have quicker access to packing our car in the morning.
While I was loading the car, the florist from the two weddings was doing the same. Apparently, she used most of the same flowers for both weddings........and was now moving on to another function today!
It is hard to explain the character of the main street through Laglio......so here is a picture. The topography down to the lake is significant and the buildings are literally carved into the hillside. There is typically not a sidewalk and two cars can barely pass each other. This shot is right outside the hotel. If anyone decides to stay here, do not get a room on the street!
The trip to the airport became a little more stressful than we had hoped for. We should have known that traffic would be a challenge.......as we were right in the midst of rush hour. Google Maps was a life saver for the entire trip. In this instance we were slightly rerouted in 'midstream' to avoid a major slowdown. It still took us about 15 minutes longer than we had expected. It was also a bit of a challenge finding the drop-off location for Hertz.......virtually no signage. We finally stopped at a gas station and he gave us directions.
Once in the airport, we found ourselves at the end of a huge line to drop off our bags. Even though we had checked in online, we had to wait in the same line as everyone else. After about 10 minutes I went back to one of the ticket agents and asked if there was any other option (the line looked like about an hour long). We ended up finding out that we had a special 'advantage' ticket that allowed us to use a separate expedited line (only 5 people). This was totally impossible to figure out on your own, and again.....there were no signs. This helped out and lowered the stress level. In the end, however, the plan was an hour late in boarding so it really did not matter.
Several flights left from the same boarding area, so the place was packed with people. Fortunately we found seats!
I am not sure how the system works, but Linate has a lot of flights that are boarded on the ground level, including taking a bus out to board the plane by portable stairs. I guess they pay less for that!
One strategy that worked was that we booked exit row seats (more leg room) and reserved the aisle and window seats, leaving the middle seat open........and fortunately no one sat there! The extra room really helps!
The flight was only a little over two hours and the weather was mostly clear the whole way. We arrived in Dublin to building clouds and a few showers. We grabbed our luggage without too much trouble and headed off to pick up the car. We were both a little apprehensive about this as it has been many, many years since we drove on the left side of the road!
The first 30 minutes of the drive out of the airport was a bit stressful. There was a ton of Friday afternoon commuter traffic and everything seemed slower due to the showers. The reverse roundabouts were also a bit of a trick initially. Andrea (teaming with Siri) was fantastic in her role as navigator! Suffice it to say that the trip (which the hotel guidebook said was a one hour drive from Dublin) turned out to be closer to two hours. It was great to arrive at Marlfield House.
This hotel turned out to be quite extraordinary.........and a welcome respite after the travel.
We had read about several new cottages built around the Duck Pond.......that were modern and somewhat of a contrast to the historic manor hotel......and were lucky enough to get the last reservation (6 months ago!). It was called the White Heron Cottage!
Artichokes everywhere!
and some plants with incredibly large leaves!!!
We had a short rest and then headed back to the manor house for drinks and dinner. This ended up being a wonderful experience.......somewhat from another world.......but totally enjoyable!
THE ENTRANCE LOBBY
THE BAR
One of the nice features here......and in the other hotels we stayed in in Ireland......was the tradition of the 'drink' in the bar, where we were given menus to look over the choices for the evening. The hostess would then review our orders and place them with the kitchen. They would then come back out to the bar when the first course was ready to be served.
THE CONSERVATORY
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