As much as I love travel, it’s not always easy, or for that matter, enjoyable! Last May, as a graduation present from college, my parents took me on a European Cruise from Venice to four different Greek locations. It was probably the most amazing trip I have ever been on. And while I could talk about Venice and Greece for hours, I will leave that for later posts. This one is going to focus on the trip over, and more specifically, the Dublin airport.

To get to Dublin, we had to take a layover through Chicago. Unfortunately, this was one of a few airports that had been on the news for having waits of many, many hours just to get through customs only a few days before! Our connecting flight landed in Chicago with around 3 hours to spare – what would seemingly be ample time to get our tickets, get through security, and get on our way to Dublin. As we walked into the international terminal my heart dropped. There was a line of over one hundred people that crossed from my left, waaay to my right. This line was just to get tickets. The time went incredibly slow as we kept checking the clock: our only real comfort was the fact that almost everyone around us was also on our plane. “They can’t leave without all of us, right?…”

Finally, we reached the roped-off switch-backs, then the ticket attendant. As she asked for our information and passports (with an amazing Irish accent), we exhaled a bit. “Only security and customs and we’re through!” Of course, the line that had started out as pretty small had grown to one unmoving throng. Time ticked closer, but finally we got through everything and boarded our 8 hour flight. One uneventful plane-ride (and 4 movies) later, we touched down in Dublin.

Ireland is absolutely amazing! But as this is more about the journey to Venice, I’ll move on. We had less than 24 hours in Dublin, so the plan was to see the city for the day and save some money on a hotel and sleep in the airport. We had an early flight and figured it would be easier…definitely an AWFUL decision!…Though it certainly was an adventure!

We returned to the airport after a phenomenal day around Dublin. We went and found a few chairs that were near the arrivals area: a little loud, but I was tired enough from not having slept much on the plane (as in maybe a few minutes here and there). Unfortunately, the airport was trying to prevent people from doing exactly what we were doing, as there were no benches to sleep on. But I struggled through for a little bit.

“Though it certainly was an adventure!”

I don’t know if you have ever been in an airport that is almost empty. It is a very eerie feeling: a place that is packed most of the day, completely devoid of life. As it passed 10 pm, I moved to a corner to see if I could sleep: no luck. After a while, I gave up. I asked my dad for a few bucks for food and decided to roam the terminal, and even moseyed on over to the adjacent terminal where there was a small food court with one store open. McDonald’s it was, no choice given.

After eating, I walked back to our terminal, and found some cushioned chairs in a private section where some smarter travelers were already camped. I sat down and read. As it neared 1 am, I fell asleep. But this airport was determined to ensure I didn’t win. I was roused by a large security guard who checked my ticket and passport to see that I had a reason to be sleeping there.

With the rest of my hope for rest gone, I passed the rest of the night reading, and listening to the beeping of the machine holding the window washers, and people with dusters moved from spot to spot. As 5 am rolled around, a few shops began to open, and I was able to forget my tiredness with the fresh jolt of some much-needed coffee. Rejuvenated for a few hours, we finally boarded the plane to Venice and touched down as the lack of sleep really began to sink in.

Venice is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, but as we took our nearly hour long commute on boat through the winding main canal, all I could think of was sleep! Everyone else on the boat was craning their necks to see the gorgeous sites on either side. My head began to erupt with pain. I basically crawled to our hotel only wanting a bed (keep in mind this is mid-afternoon). We got upstairs and I took off my shoes. I heard my dad say he was going to take a shower, but did not even stay conscience long enough to hear the water start.

If you want to know Nirvana, that nap basically sums it up! I woke up to the cool Italian air coming through the half-opened window above by bed. After a quick shower, I was ready to soak up the beautiful city of Venice!