Date: 12-13 June 2025
Travel Day: 1
Route: Minneapolis to Dublin fo Biarritz
Car, light rail, tram, plane, plane, bus?
Highlights of the Day
Can’t believe the day has arrived—so much dreaming, planning, and gathering of stuff. I’ve never taken this much time off!
Final Prep
Worked like crazy all week to get things as buttoned up as possible at work. Then at home, I did everything I could to leave things in good shape and the house clean for those staying behind. I was still working on last-minute details and triple-checking bags up to 15 minutes after we needed to leave.
At the Gate
We’re currently sitting at the gate, ready to board. A little fun moment—turns out I misread the terminal. Our airline was not in Terminal 2… it was in the main terminal. Easy light rail ride though—no worries. Just one of many small challenges to calmly think through.
Travel Jitters
Travel anxiety is a real thing, folks. I keep double and triple-checking everything, just waiting to discover that huge thing I forgot. It’s kind of the opposite of the other challenge—packing the absolute minimum. I started to relax once we saw both Airtagged bags made it onto the flight.
Overnight Flight
The overnight flight from MSP to Dublin was long, but fine. Leo slept on and off. I only managed about 30 minutes of actual sleep, though I did rest. I usually sleep well on planes, but it wasn’t in the cards this time.
Layover in Dublin
We’re far enough away now that it’s 8:30 a.m. here and about 2 a.m. back home.
We’re sitting in the Dublin airport now—can’t check our bags or go through security for another 1.5 hours. We’ve got a 2-hour flight from here to Biarritz, then we’ll get to our hotel around 5-ish.
Small World Moments
It truly is a small world—we’re having dinner tonight with a friend, Jim Lammers from Minneapolis, who I currently have an art show with at the Landmark Building (on travel sketching). He’s in Biarritz on a different trip, but we happen to overlap for one day. We had a nice French dinner
Another small world moment is that our friends are also in Ireland today. Sadly we won’t leave the airport.
Met a fellow Camino hiker in line for the plane. He isn’t taking a day like we are so is walking a day ahead of us I’m sure we will see him again. Same plane later had a fantastic conversation (over Leo’s sleeping self) about Irish history, road bike rides in Spain, oils, and shared interests and places
Felt like 4 days and felt like 5 hours all at once. Thunderstorms this evening to walk in. Should clear up tomorrow
What’s Next
Our job for Saturday is simple: get to know Biarritz, take it easy, and get over the jet lag. Sunday we head to Saint-Jean, and Monday is the first walking day!
Photos / Sketches:
No sketches today
