Dublin, Ireland

Hello good friends!! So I have arrived in Dublin! It's amazing - all the stress I had was for nothing. Who would have thought? I was completely freaking out this morning. I was hyperventilating, positive something was going to go wrong. I'd miss my bus or the flight, or my baggage would be too heavy and I couldn't take it, even though I'd already gotten rid of as much as possible. . . I had horrible thoughts about what would happen to me. . .And then the staff at the hostel in Paris were so good to me, it made me feel worse, I started balling. . .and they were nicer still. The one guy who worked there called me a cab and told me not to worry. And if something went wrong he'd find a room for me there and help me get a flight again. Feeling very shaky but knowing it was time to move on, I did.

I got the taxi to the bus port - a special one that takes you right to the airport for the quick airlines, like Ryanair, which is what I flew on. I managed to catch an early bus, so I got the airport early -- I like being early -- and I found out right away where I needed to check in, got through security and boarded. I actually met this nice guy who's from Canada, but is working in Ireland on some medical software. He flies Ryanair all the time and completely walked me through it. He talked me through the whole going through security there and how to board -- it's different than normal planes, because there's no assigned seating. You just get on and find a seat.

My only mishap was right before take-off on the plane: there was this German guy who boarded late and had a carry-on that was too big so he was opening up the overheads and pulling people's stuff out carelessly. Including my bag, that has my camera -- I took it out of its case so I'd have enough room in my carry-on. I told him to be careful, and he said "Oh, sorry, Fraulein [what ever they call Maria in the Sound of Music]", then he proceeds to shove my bag in a different bin. Awesome.

The only other time I panicked today was when I was passing through the gate into Dublin. I had to give the guy my passport and he questioned me: What are you doing in Ireland? Where're you staying? Where about in Dublin? How long are you staying? Where are you going after? Are you flying or taking a boat to Liverpool? Then he just stared at me. I thought he wasn't going to let me pass. Finally, he stamped my passport and let me through.

I took a bus shuttle into the city centre and it dropped me off about one street away from my hostel, I checked in, got some supper, and now I'm writing you lovely people! I'm not sure what my plan is for tomorrow, but whatever I do, I'll put up pictures!!!