No 21 Turin-Italy
April 11thFriday Travel Day
The Run Johnny Run Gala Ball was on last Saturday
And what with all the bits and bobs regarding that, well! I don’t know where the time went? Anyway woke up as usual the day I was due to leave for Turin and the kids were all talking about Lilly one of our two cat’s (Lilly and Tiger) who was missing since yesterday. Lilly never goes anywhere she always stays around the house so my gut was telling me not good news.
I was due to head to Dublin that day because my flight to Italy was leaving Dublin early Saturday Morning. I was playing with the kids out the back when I asked a local farmer did he see Lilly?? Next thing he handed me Lilly Dead in a bag, he had picked Lilly up from the road a few hours ago, My heart sank……………………………
Later on I began to bury Lilly down the back garden with tears running down my face.
Benny our three year old wanted to help me and kept on asking why Lilly was not
Making any sound?? He just didn’t understand, Thank God, he was just happy to be digging a hole and so we laid Lilly to rest. I collected our Daughter Yasmin from a birthday Party later on that evening and told her coming over in the car about Lilly.
Yasmin started to cry and continued to cry all night. I think it was the first time she
Understood Death and it was just heartbreaking to see, it really was, I couldn’t stop crying myself.
Later that night with the kids still crying and not wanting me to leave, my wife Aisling just told me to get in the car and go, while I still can, I didn’t want to go myself but well, this is the challenge.
I headed off from the cottage at about 11pm crying myself because as I said goodbye to the kids they were all crying, it’s not the memory that I want in my head if god forbid anything ever goes wrong, I just didn’t want to leave myself.
20 miles later in the arse end of nowhere taking back roads to Dublin my car started to do funny things. The lights started to go really dim and after about ten minutes of this the car died, literally, brakes went, steering went, it just died…..
I was on a very bendy road so at that stage the car was just free wheeling and it eventually stopped in the middle of the road in front of someone’s driveway.
I rang Aisling and she said she would come and get me. I sat in the car for about 20 minutes in the dark laughing and then realising that I just wasn’t meant to leave home tonight, but at the same time I needed to be in Dublin Airport by 6am!!
April 12thSaturday Travel Day
I arrived home at midnight and the kids heard me come in and the crying started again. Aisling was telling me to take her car and get going, I decided to get the kids to bed and read them a story then I went to bed for an hour, up at 2am and took Aisling’s car and my good self off to Dublin Airport.
I arrived in time for the flight and landed first in Paris, then another flight on to Turin.
On arrival at Turin Airport I got a taxi outside and headed for my hotel. The taxi driver was about 80 years of age and hadn’t a word of English. On the motorway my heart was bloody racing as my driver was driving about 30 miles an hour more than his age, my heart was in my mouth……….
As we arrived in the city centre I thought, great he can’t speed now. My heart found its normal pace again. As we were driving through the city I reflected on how lovely it was to see the trams in Turin city centre, next thing you know my driver leaves the road and starts driving on the tram line at speed again with a tram coming towards us………….Jesus if adrenalin was a colour it would be brown!!!!!
He leaves the tram line road just as we were about to get intimate with the tram coming towards us only to drive back onto the tram line again at speed following another tram, my fingers at this stage were stuck into the back of his seat. We then had to drive at the same speed as the tram so it was slow and I then realised that Taxi’s in Turin were allowed to drive on the tram line as I could see all the taxi’s around me doing the same thing.
As we arrived at the hotel I was so glad to get out of the car and put my feet back on land, as it were, and I still had a marathon to do yet!!!
Checked into the hotel and left straight away to go and register for the race. When I got back to the hotel I decided to eat in the hotel and not move as I felt the last 24 hours had been a test on my nerves.
Here we go again, as I sat down for dinner I looked at the menu. Octopus with snail profiteroles, 300gr of uncooked steak and so on………… there was a lot worse on the menu I just know I wouldn’t be able to spell any of it yet alone remember.
In the end I spotted plain old Ravioli. It arrived out about 40 minutes later and there it was in front of me, 3 pieces of Ravioli, I thought to myself what did I do today that was so wrong??
I ate it with practically a loaf of bread to fill me up and off I went to bed.
April 13th Sunday Marathon Day
Got up at 6.30am and got my gear ready. I had breakfast in the room, which was nice, and then off I went to the start.
The race started in the city centre at 9am. There was a big announcement with everyone cheering and singing, well except me that was as it was all in Italian and I hadn’t a clue what was going on. The gun then went off and away we went.
At no stage of the marathon did I feel comfortable. 2 miles in I thought god I have no sense of rhythm yet what’s going on?? 3, 4,5,6,7 miles and so on until mile 24 still felt crap,
No energy just was not enjoying the run at all. The end was all that was going through my head, the kids, the cat, my wife Aisling, not only did I leave her with the four kids but I took her car as well and we live two miles from the nearest shop.
Next thing I know I am 1 mile from the end and off I dart as fast as I can, ah yeah full of beans now eh! I crossed the finish line in 3 hr 17mins, Thank god……
Don’t know what how or why Turin was so hard? I guess that’s marathon running for you. I did the usual after the run Bath, walk, food and shop. Managed to find the only shop open in Turin so picked up some presses for the family. It’s at times like this I find is the hardest part of the challenge where by the race is over but I can’t get a flight home till the day after. Anyway it’s a far cry compared to people with whom I am trying to help who live in extreme poverty. Realities check Mr Donnelly!!!!
April 14thMonday Travel Day
Had a good nights sleep and got up at 8am. Headed to the airport, mad to get home.
Next thing major traffic jams. The driver then told me that there was only one road into the airport and that there was a crash at the airport road junction. Two hours later we arrived at the airport. The flight was delayed thank god and a few hours later off we flew. On arrival in Paris I had only 45 minutes to catch the flight to Dublin so the old heart was starting to race again. Off the plane and onto a bus to take us to the terminal. This trip normally takes 3 minutes, 45 minutes later we arrive and I miss my flight. For some reason there was a queue of buses coming form the planes and it just took for ever.
Eventually I had to get another flight home to Dublin and then yet another long drive from Dublin to Home.
I arrived home at about 8pm and well no matter what had happened before this nothing beats the feeling of arriving home and the kids all smiling. No doubt Aisling was delighted to get her car back.
I still have a lot to learn from her, no matter what problem is ever put in front of her she just gets on with it and doesn’t ever complain. True star!!!
Next up Prague……..Here’s hoping for an easier trip.
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