Oh Ireland how I miss your shores, rolling fields and fences made of stone. I have nothing but the fondest memories of my two trips to Ireland. Today on St. Patrick’s Day I’m reminiscing about my travels to the Emerald Isle. Irish Daydreams Shamrocks & Steins: 11 Days in Ireland & Germany Please share, what’s your favorite Ireland experience? Continue reading May the luck of the Irish be with you today!
Where’s the best place to grab a pint in Dublin? Well, there are many fantastic pubs around town, but if you really want a view, you’ve got to enjoy a pint of Guinness in the Zero Gravity Bar at the Guinness Storehouse. We visited the Guinness Storehouse late in the afternoon. We’d taken one of the touristy double decker buses to St. James’s Gate. On … Continue reading Sláinte!
No trip to Dublin would be complete without seeing the Book of Kells http://www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells/ at Trinity College. On our first try there was over a two hour wait to get into the exhibit, on our second try, it was an hour and a half wait…so we got in line. We were not disappointed. The first part of the exhibit, “Turning Darkness Into Light” details the … Continue reading Magnificent Manuscripts
After Galway, it was on to Dublin! Prisons aren’t usually on my list of places to see when I’m on vacation. But sometimes you have to make an exception. Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin opened in 1796. While it served as a prison for citizens that committed terrible crimes, it also served as penitentiary for leaders and participants of the Irish rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, … Continue reading Dark Side Of Dublin
From Dromoland Castle we took the train to our next stop, Galway. While visiting Ireland (and England), I enjoyed my share of fish & chips. From beer battered to sprinkled with sea salt, spritzed with lemon or just fresh from the fryer, my award for the best version of the classic dish goes to McDonagh’s on Quay Street in Galway. http://www.mcdonaghs.net. This place has been … Continue reading Fish, Chips & Claddaughs
If you really want to make your trip to Ireland unforgettable, plan to spend at least one night in a castle. With many castles to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which castle to select. After a lot of research, we decided to stay at Dromoland–the perfect choice. Seeing the castle in the distance made me feel as if I were living in … Continue reading Queen For A Day
The next stop on our trip was the Jameson Experience in Midleton, County Cork. http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/tours/jamesonexperience. Our visit started with a video about the history of Irish Whiskey, followed by a guided tour of the old distillery grounds. It was a lovely afternoon, with the sun casting a beautiful glow on the complex as we walked through the restored buildings learning about the whiskey making process. With … Continue reading Just Add Jameson
On our second day in Ireland we visited the iconic Blarney Castle, http://www.blarneycastle.ie. The bus ride from Cork to Blarney was filled with views of modern businesses blended with traditional Irish architecture. When we arrived at the gate we were greeted with the sounds of birds chirping, a babbling brook and live Irish music. As we made our way from the gates to the castle, … Continue reading Blarney Bliss
My Grandfather’s Grandmother left Ireland in 1880. Despite tons of research, I’ve yet to determine the county she lived in before she left for America. Which is exactly the reason I wanted to visit the Cobh Heritage Centre http://www.cobhheritage.com. Located in a Victorian Railway Station, the museum features fascinating exhibits about what it was like to emigrate from Ireland. Cobh, formerly known as Queenstown was … Continue reading Returning To My Family’s Roots
With St. Patrick’s Day just a week away, I find myself thinking often about my 2012 trip to the Emerald Isle. So for the next week, I plan to post a daily daydream as I reminisce about my seven day adventure to Ireland. We started in Cork, then took the train to Limerick where we hailed a cab to Dromoland Castle, then back to the train … Continue reading Irish Daydreams
