We had to be up early this morning to vacate our stateroom by 8:30.  Although I expected to find crowds of people waiting in the lobbies and elevators, we had no trouble either getting an empty elevator or finding a seat in the Explorer’s Lounge to wait for our call to disembark.

There were no immigration nor customs formalities when we disembarked at the Mayflower Terminal in Southampton.  No one checked passports, and we walked out through the “nothing to declare” customs exit.  

The disembarkation groups were running a bit early so I hoped that would mean a quick trip to Heathrow, but not everything went perfectly.  One couple was a half hour late getting to the bus, and we waited for them.  Another couple evidently picked up the wrong luggage in the arrivals hall and had to get off the bus, sort that out, and return.  Then a third couple going to Heathrow, but to a different terminal, joined our bus, and the driver dropped them off first.  I don’t know why they weren’t with others going to their terminal.  

Anyway, once we left the port about an hour after the scheduled time, we made it to Heathrow in the expected hour and a half.   We dropped one large bag full of our heavy winter clothes and other things we won’t need in Dublin at the Excess Baggage store in the arrivals area of Terminal 2, the Queen's Terminal.  We’ll pick it up when we return on Wednesday.  It seemed a lot easier to do that than to check it and worry if it will make the flight there and back.  Storage will cost £50 for six days.  

We had hamburgers at the Queen’s Arms before security then started through the airport lines.  We checked the other big bag with Aer Lingus to pick up in Dublin.  My AirTag tells me we left both bags behind, but they are in the airport.  

Aer Lingus used a combination of facial recognition and a boarding pass to allow passengers to access the jetway and get on the plane.  I never know what to expect now.   

The flight to Dublin was delayed about thirty minutes, but once we were airborne, we made it there quickly.  We paid a little extra for the tickets to guarantee a row to ourselves.  The middle seat of the row was blocked.  The fare also included dedicated space for our carry-ons, one checked bag, and priority boarding.  Once we were in the air, the flight attendant also explained that we were in AerSpace class that included complimentary snacks and drinks that most passengers would pay for.  (N.B. I read later that AerSpace also includes Fast Track through airport security and lounge access which we will take advantage of on our return to London.)  

In Dublin, I checked the AirTags again, and saw that the checked bag was one-tenth of a mile from me while I was at the luggage carousel.  It finally came through, and we left to get in the taxi line.  After a thirty minute wait and behind about that many groups, we had a taxi with a friendly and talkative driver.  He asked if we were from America or Canada, then which state.  He had never heard of New Mexico, but he sure knew about the wall that Trump built between the U.S. and Mexico. To get him away from the political talk, I asked him for advice on attending the rugby game tomorrow — what color to wear and who to root for.  Leinster is the home team and they wear blue, but it is not as important to be in teams colors as it is for football/soccer games.  He told me about the same thing that I’d read that fans from both teams sit together and interact civilly.  He said it’s the gentleman’s game.  

We made it to our room in the Morrison Hotel around 8 p.m. — just in time for Philip to get logged in for an Albuquerque Genealogical Society board meeting that he wanted to attend.  I ordered us some sandwiches from room service.