Snippets in time...A rainy morning in Dublin...A love story...

I may have written about this before, I'm not sure - but the memory came flooding back to me for no particular reason, on the way to the shop for a pint of milk, this morning.
It Certainly wasn't prompted by the weather..

In a galaxy far, far away...

..As I walked along the main road in Dublin towards my destination, the tiredness really hit me.
I'd been on the road for over 24 hours, with almost no sleep. And a slight hangover.

Hitchhiking across North Wales, if your English, is never a good bet...
The rest of Wales?
No problem at all .Being somewhat of a veteran in this department - and talking to other people over the years, it seems that's it's not a biased opinion on my behalf.

North wales is full of wankers and is a very different story from the rest of it.
The hatred of the English runs deep there, which - in terms of hitchhiking- means that with every pick up you get , it also comes with a pretty quick drop off...
Oh well.
Because of this really slow hitch, it meant that I'd missed the intended ferry boat to Ireland.

In of itself, not that much of a problem - there was more ferries - but the date I had arranged, meant that she would be stood up.
Considering I hadn't seen her for over four months, even my laid back self thought this was 'a little bit on the rude side' - but I was hoping she would understand.
With a few sob stories about the fuckin' North welsh mentality , and my very optimistic delivery, I was hoping she would forgive me..

I had met my drop dead stunning Irish colleen back in Greece, months before. And we had 'it it off', big time , from the moment that we'd met.
It may not sound very romantic (mostly because it isn't), but we were horizontal less than 3 hours after meeting each other...
.....The thing is, though - it was very romantic for us.

I'd promised to contact her if I was in the UK in coming months, and she was very enthusiastic about that idea.
As it happened I did fly back to the UK, after my summer tour of Greece was over.
For a a full three weeks.
I was then flying off to Asia and Thailand, for the very first time.

So... what's a boy to do with three weeks to kill, before heading off to south east Asia?

A boy who loved to travel, loved girls, and had raging hormones?

Ireland! and to my gorgeous colleen, that's what...!

...but back to walking down a drizzling , gray road, in Dublin.

Drumcondra road, it was called, and was just another road for me, at the time.
One of many roads that I'd traveled this last year, but it was also different...

You see, Ireland has always been different for me.
Different than any other place in the entire world, to be honest..
If there is such a thing as a spiritual home, then Ireland would be it for me, without a doubt..
...and the Irish accent on a sexy Irish girl?
That makes me just melt into puddle of incoherence and stupidity.
(both very annoying and very exciting, simultaneously).

Any time I'm there, and no matter where I am in the country, I always feel a sense of 'home'.
Unlike anywhere else I have ever been - and that's Including England, my country of birth.
Unfortunately for me, I value good weather and warm temperatures over that 'homey' feeling, which means that I can't live there for more than a year or so at a time..
The weather is totally crap.

Or 'shoiyte,' as the Irish would say.

It was this 'shoiyte' weather that made me looked something like a drowned rat.
The tiredness from the journey and the copious beers on the ferry trip, now made me look like a zombie.
Nice.
Apart from standing her up , looking like a zombie, and being as wet as a drowned rat , I was feeling quite optimistic about making an impression on her..

It was a very good job that 'the date' with her was at her home, and not a bar or something - otherwise she would've been mightily pissed off, I recon...

As I walked toward her door, I felt very alive again, the tiredness was totally gone.
So, with butterflies doing somersaults in my stomach, and lot's of water dripping off my head, I rang the bell...

The time of 'the date' was for 6 o'clock, btw -...It was now 8:30.

When I say 6 o'clock - I meant 6 pm. It was now 8:30 am ... the next day.

Oops..

She opened the door to me, all smiles, and exactly as I remembered her. (no mobiles phones back then, people - all I had was memories, and a photograph of us together, back in Corfu.)

We gave each other a big hug, and lots of kisses, and I knew this was the real thing, right there and then.

As I explained to her why I was so late, (even more pissed off now, at welsh xenophobia.... I'd missed a night with this woman!) ....she wasn't bothered in the slightest.
A very good sign.

"Where's your bed,? I said, " I really need...."

" I can't now, " She interrupted quickly "I have to go to work.."

"...To go to sleep..." I finished off..

"..Oh , " She replied, and laughed.
We were as comfortable with each other , as though we'd never been apart for a single day, never mind months..
This was gonna be a good few days.

She showed me her bedroom, and shower, and give me her keys.

" I'll be back as soon as I can," She said, " Just help yourself to anything. Sleep well, honey.."

She gave me a kiss, smiled, and 'skipped' out of the house. She was as happy as I was, methinks...

"... and keep that bed warm for me!," She shouted, turning and smiling...

It turned out to be a perfect few days...

We spent the week together - making up for lost time mostly- and then I had to leave her, and go and sort out my travels to Thailand.
It was okay though..

She quit her job, and her house - and three months later, she met up with me in Thailand!

That, my friends, was the start of us of traveling together for many years. We traversed the globe together, having many an adventure along the way.

It's funny what you think about, when you go for a pint of milk...