Oh dear baby jesus. There are officially 6 people on the plane to craziness.
That means that our previously booked reservations had to be changed. This included the bitch of the bookings...the rental car. Okay, here is the gist of the great upgrade debacle....
The upgrade from an Irish stationwagon to an Irish minivan a.k.a. people carrier is approximately $500. Holy hell that is more expensive than the per person previously booked rental car we had. We toyed with the idea of renting 2 smaller cars but figured we'd spend more on fuel, soooo, we called Dan Dooley Rental Car for the official quote for an upgrade upon the stationwagon.
What we found out is this. A people carrier is not equivalent to what us Americans think of when we picture a minivan. Yes, technically it will carry 6 passengers, but this is the layout...2 front seats (driver & front seat passenger) a middle bench seat for 3 and the last passenger would have to ride in a flip seat located in the boot of the van. Think of a quad cab pickup truck with the flip down seat in the back. You know the one that nobody wants to sit in because it is terribly uncomfortable. The rental lady tells us that if we use the jump seat in the far back we will also lose precious luggage space. She actually recommended going with the 2 economy cars as they will fit 4 people and 2 suitcases per vehicle. With this arrangement we will have space for 6 pieces of luggage between the 2 cars and more than enough room for our 6 travelers.
On the down side, I will have to drive the entire time as will Joe. On the positive side, both Joe & I enjoy driving so hopefully it won't be a big deal. Another positive is that with economy class cars, we can hire a diesel car vs traditional petrol cars. This means that we will have more fuel efficient cars & potentially actually save some moolah on gas vs spending more for a car that gets minimal miles to the gallon! The last positive side is that with 2 economy cars, the increase in our rental expense is only $100 vs. $500. Okay, thats a bonus.
Look out Ireland there is going to be a US convoy o economy cars with 2 totes inexperiences left side drivers! Things just got more interesting yet again. We're thinking of making a video on how to drive in Ireland from an American's perspective. More to come on that idea...
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