April 5, 2005
Would you care for a beverage?
Yes, what kind of whiskey do you have?
Irish or Scotch?
Irish.
We have Black Bush.
Oh that would be nice, thank you.
Would you like two?
Why yes, yes I would.
This dialogue commenced after I was handed my third glass of champagne and had settled into my large, cushy front row seat. How this happened I was not totally sure but to be honest at this point, I no longer cared to find out. I was just basking in my good fortune.
My trip began with a leisurely couple of slices at Molfetta’s in Hoboken. Not my favorite pizza, but convenient. I would later learn to appreciate it more. After I moved my car to the space I’m renting across town, I made my way to JFK Airport via bus, subway and Air Train. The Air Train is neat. Sorta makes you feel like you’re in a different part of the world than NY. Modern, clean and quiet. On the trip out though I noticed that the public display screen was kinda useless. Instead of telling you where you were or some other needed information, it said only that you needed to pay your fare at Howard Beach or Jackson Heights. The thing is, you can’t get on this train unless you’ve already paid your fare, so why bother telling us this now?
Anyway, once I checked in I found a quiet corner to wait for my flight announcement. I had only met a handful of my travel mates once for (many) drinks at Latitude in NYC and was not overly confident in my ability to recognize them. I figured I’d see everyone as we boarded or at the very least once we landed in Ireland. Over the airport speakers I heard my name and the name of three others. We were all on the same e-ticket confirmation.
“May I see your boarding pass sir?” I handed it off with just a bit of concern. Why was she asking me for my boarding pass? Did I do something wrong? A few moments earlier there was some confusion about my passport which almost resulted in my forgetting it at check-in. Could whatever this was be a lingering effect of that? I looked up to see Steve Morgan, one of the others from my confirmation. He seemed just as perplexed as I was by our new found location in front of this Aer Lingus counter.
“OK sir, your seat has been changed.”; Hmmm, 1-D. Front row, by the exit? Did they see me and say, ‘hey that is one tall drink of water, let’s give him a bit more legroom?’ I very much doubted that was the case. Still it was fun to ponder for a moment as we walked over to the airport bar where we spotted a few more travel mates.
There we saw John Knutsen and Steve McDermott, the other names on the confirmation. They too had had their seats reassigned. Still clueless as to the reasons why or impact of this move, I order up a couple of pints and we chat about our upcoming adventure.
When it came time to board, the line moved slowly in front of me with the flight attendant directing everyone, “to your right and straight back.”; I showed my new boarding pass and she responded with, “this way, to your left sir,”; pulling back the curtain to reveal the first class cabin. Before I could sit, one attendant took my coat and bag, another handed me a glass of champagne. I think I’m gonna like this trip.
After our choice of pre-flight drinks the food came. Canapé with our choice of aperitif. Baby field green salad with roasted portabello mushrooms, squash, zucchini, tomato cucumber and olives. A varied selection of warm bread. For my entrée I chose the grilled fillet of beef with scallion mashed potatoes, roasted root veggies and a carmalized onion sauce. To wash it down, a Chilean red wine Casa Silva Carmenere Gran Reserva ‘Los Lingue’ 2002. Not sure what all that meant, but it was tasty. Dessert was an ice cream truffle, a warm oatmeal raisin cookie and a cup of tea. In the morning I had a choice of pastries with tea and juice.
A few days later I would find out how this all happened. In a nutshell, while at check-in, John and McDermott (we decided for clarity, all three ‘Steves’ would go by our last names) each made comment about how we were not sitting together. McDermott’s attendant, who turned out to be a supervisor, seemed to get seriously upset at the other attendant for letting this happen and was the one who initiated the change. A bit of an over-reaction to be sure, but we never complained.
As we flew trying to rest, I just could not sleep. I was like a kid at Christmas. Personal video, free booze, gourmet food, snacks. Oh there was no rest for me or the rest of this new troupe I now dubbed ‘The 3 1/2 Steves’ (John’s middle name is Steven).
This was also a big deal for me since I had never been to Ireland before. I was anxious and excited. Though a short trip, I’ve been told by many different folks that it will be a great time. Many are convinced that, being a guy who lives in Hoboken and a native to the NY music scene, that Galway would totally win me over. Time would tell a differnt tale.
Irish Road Trip & Pub Tour Intro
Photo Galleries
Related Links
