Lazy day for me in Ireland today. I slept in a bit and then went down to breakfast. Sat with a couple from the tour I had not had a chance to visit with. They live in Wheaton, IL which is a neighbor to Naperville, IL where I lived in the mid 80’s.
Got to see the couple and their sister that I hung with a bit on the trip. Was nice to get a chance to tell them thank you for allowing me to sit with them at meals. Since there were three of them, they usually had an empty chair near by for me.
Came back up to my room after breakfast and did some reading. Went out for lunch a bit ago. Found a Chipotle type restaurant and had a burrito bowl for lunch. Almost tasted as good as Chipotle. I got an extra bottle of water to bring back to the room with me.
My goal today is to drink 6 – 8 bottles of water. I feel very dehydrated as I haven’t been drinking near as much as I normally do. Hard to drink a lot when toilets are not handy. I need to get rehydrated before the plane trip home dries me out again.
It is rainy today. It wasn’t raining when I walked a half block to the Mexican Restaurant but started raining again when I got back to the hotel. Good day for it to rain as I have no plans to be out and about.
I noticed very little traffic or people out and about. The shops are closed although some will open for a bit this afternoon. I have all the things I wanted already so no need to shop. I would like to go find some more bath salts for tonight and tomorrow night but no big deal if I don’t get out and get them.
I had trouble falling asleep last night. I slept for about an hour and then was up for a couple of hours. I finally took some Tylenol and took another hot bath and then was able to fall asleep and slept really good for several hours.
I have been reflecting on this trip and trying to put my finger on why it was so very hard for me at times. Still haven’t figured it all out but am getting some insights.
This is the first time since Jim left that I have felt lonely. I was the only one on the tour group that didn’t come with someone else and several of then came with a group of people. Funny that I felt it so much this time. When I walked the Camino I never felt singled out for being single.
Most of the people were close to my age. Some a few years older and some a few years younger. Many have traveled a lot around the world. Many were obviously wealthy and used to being waited on. I was the only person from a rural area on the trip. All the others live in big cities.
It makes me wonder if being from a rural area is becoming uncommon these days. I realize most people live in suburban areas now but still. I guess I haven’t been out much lately and most of the people I interact with these days live like I do in a small, rural area.
I struggled to find someone on the group that had done any type of experiential trips, such as walking the Camino or doing an Ayahuasca Retreat. Most had simply been tourist either with a group or alone but just seeing sites.
This is the first international trip I have gone to where English is the primary language of the country. I kept forgetting I was overseas. Dublin feels a lot like KC to me. London felt more like New York City since it was much bigger than KC.
Having English as the primary language makes ordering food, etc. much easier. I could follow the road signs and not have to guess at the meaning of words. But it took me a bit to figure out what was missing from this international experience and that was hearing a different language being spoken.
This has been an incredible experience and I am grateful I came. I remembered I do better when I can have an experience in traveling and not just seeing things. I was challenged on this trip in a different way that felt uncomfortable for me at times. It is always good to get out of my comfort level and have to get uncomfortable for a bit. It will take me some time once I am home to fully unpack all that happened and understand it.
I plan on staying in my room most of the rest of the day. I need a day alone to completely fill myself. I will probably venture out tomorrow when the shops are open and walk up and down the streets around the hotel and see what is here. It is to rain again tomorrow but it is Ireland and that happens a lot here.
Grateful for a quiet day alone, grateful to have had this incredible experience, and grateful I get to go home on Tuesday.