Anna Cronin, dear friend and co-worker, met me in Lahinch shortly after Noel and I had parted ways. Just a few months earlier, I had told Anna of my plans to go to Ireland for my friend's wedding, and my intentions of doing some traveling while I was at it. I asked her if she wanted to go to Europe for a couple of weeks. She said, "Yeah, sure," and proceeded to go about getting herself a ticket.
Anna arrived on a dreary, rainy evening. We settled into a charming bed and breakfast that was quite like a very upscale hostel. A young couple, along with there very adorable puppy named Annie, had just opened the place a couple of months prior. Anna and I were right at home. We spent our time in Lahinch relaxing, enjoying lots of tea and great live music, and every so often, checking the water for surf....At one point, we decided to jump in the ocean anyway, waves or no waves!
The day we were meant to leave Lahinch, the surf picked up! I rented a board and paddled out. It felt so good to be out, even on a crappy old soft top, surrounded by dozens of surf campers. I had a blast, and a good, long paddle down the beach before I got out and walked back to meet Anna.
I turned in the surf board, we gathered our belongings, and headed for the bus. We had booked a 6:00 flight out of Shannon the following morning for our next destination--Venice, Italy! Our journey to the airport would be one for the books....
The bus route to Shannon requires a transfer in Ennis, a very small, quaint town that was almost eerily quiet on this particular evening. We had time to kill, so we decided to find a cafe and see what Ennis had to offer in the way of a cappuccino (side note:stick to tea if ever you're in Ireland). The gentleman who was taking care of us expressed an interest in our travel plans (it was so obvious that we were from the States). We told him that the available public transportation would find us at the airport in time for a 4 hour nap before our flight. He promptly suggested that we take a cab to the airport instead, and that we stay in a bed and breakfast not too far from there. While he seemed harmless, there was something awkward and almost creepy about him. I looked at Anna, and she was glowing the way that I had been when I'd gotten out of the ocean earlier that day. She wanted an adventure. We agreed to allow our waiter to set up a cab and a room at this mysterious bed and breakfast.
Upon conferring with another man in the shop, our new friend then offered us a ride to the B&B. Once more, I looked at Anna, and she didn't seem as though she felt threatened by either of them, so we went along. As it turned out, the van that was to be our mode of transport was a delivery van, and did not have room for both of us. The driver offered to take one of us and come back for the other. We definitely were not comfortable with that, so instead...Anna sat in the front seat with our driver, and I sat on the other side of the gate that separated passengers from cargo, nestled amongst boxes of empty liquor bottles.... True story. It's amazing how two intelligent women find themselves in these situations. We kept track of where we were going, and arrived at the B&B, not sure what to expect. It could have been something out of Psycho, or it could have been what it was--absolutely delightful and the makings of a good story. Mrs. Healey and her sweet husband owned the B&B, and welcomed us with tea and cookies, and a gorgeous room with two very comfortable beds and lots of fluffy pillows. We couldn't help by laugh at ourselves as we settled into our home for the evening.
Our cab arrived precisely on time the next morning, and everything went off without a hitch to get us to the airport in time for our flight. Venice, here we come!
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