Benassini-Lyons Travels

One thing mostly lost in traveling during the Internet age is the chance encounter. That moment when the weather, the scene, and our mood all come together with something unexpected to create a moment of magic. In the early days of the internet I once had a plan to meet a friend of a friend at such-and-such a time at a certain backpacker's hostel on the shores of Lake Malawi. On the appointed day I showed up at the place and inquired after a bed.  "Oh no," the host said, "we're totally full!"  "That can't be, I'm supposed to meet someone here tomorrow morning." She thought for a moment, then said, helpfully, "Well, we have a spot on the beach, down by the water, you could pitch a tent down there." "Ok. But I don't have a tent." "That's no problem," she said. "I can rent you one, and the spot. How does two dollars sound?" The friend-of-a-friend never did show up, but I spent two glorious days i...

Journey day!   We traveled back to Chester train station (where avid readers learned that UK train’s lost- and-found is magic, I recovered our lost violin right before boarding the train, phew!).    Train west to Holyhead, the port for the Irish ferry to Dublin.   The giant car ferry arrived and we hopped on the bus that takes pedestrians to the ferry and felt oh so smug as the bus bypassed all the cars lined up; we talked onto the multiple-level vessel that was more mini-cruise than ferry boat and had our absolute pick of the seats!   We followed signs to “kid zone” which sounded really good and arrived in a carpeted area with plush side seats, air hockey, screens for movies, and sort-of a Gymboree play area where kids took off socks and go absolutely mad! Oh, heaven!   Then… as it filled in, and the sounds got higher and louder and the light scent of kid-feet got a bit stronger… we altered our assessment.. we were not in heaven but in the lite-cruise-vess...