Emerald Isle - 21 August 2008

[DionysiusP]

:banana:

Just booked ABD Ireland Trip (08/21/2008)!!! And, being me, will have worn my DS out by New Year's with my detailed planning. :rotfl2: Of Course, I probably already have ... she has retreated to her sewing room. :confused3

Anyhow & anywho ... Looking for fellow traveler's to set up a travel circle similiar to the Cruise Line scenario ~ which always seem to work out great!

Anybody out there yet? :hmghost:

[DionysiusP]

Just stopping by between pubs ...

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

[MJGirl]

Hi DionysiusP

Sorry I won't be travelling with you, but if you get Francesc as your guide you are in for a fun time. He was our guide on the London/Paris tour and I know he also does the Ireland tour. You will have a blast. And don't worry about driving DS crazy. I booked in September last year for a July tour and drove my DD crazy with all my chatter, but she still loved it and wants to go back again. We are doing Hollywood this year in August as well (the 12th)!

[DionysiusP]

MJGirl

Well it be a wonderful Lass you are ~ Taking time to send me good wishes.
I will surely look for Francesc. I am sure that whoever it is will be wonderful. In the meantime, I am studying the legends & myths of Ireland, along with updating the family ancestry. We are staying extra days after the ABD trip. Already excited :banana: beyond reason. In the meantime ...

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through

:goodvibes

[MJGirl]

No Problems ... And what a beautiful poem ... I too would love to go to Ireland some day and explore my roots, but alas .. there is too much to see and only one of me!!

By the way, if you happened to see the Disney Christmas Day parade, there was a bit on Adventures by Disney with the actor who played Reilly in National Treasure! The Adventure Guide talking to him was Francesc.

[DionysiusP]

Jus crawled outta nother pub an some-un be tellin me it's 2008! :rolleyes1
SO here are some Irish New Year's Blessings for you!!! :cool1:

'Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís.'
May we be alive at this time next year.

'Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit!'
A prosperous New Year!

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship but never in want.

Health, Happiness & God's Blessings to all

[DionysiusP]

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

[DionysiusP]

Dear Lord,
Give me a few friends
who will love me for what I am,
and keep ever burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope...
And though I come not within sight
of the castle of my dreams,
teach me to be thankful for life,
and for time's olden memories
that are good and sweet.
And may the evening's twilight
find me gentle still.

[DionysiusP]

May neighbours respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

[DionysiusP]

Like the warmth of the sun
And the light of the day,
May the luck of the Irish
shine bright on your way.

Based on the response, I guess I will be on this trip by myself!!! popcorn::

[MJGirl]

I'm wondering the same about my trip. Well more opportunity to tout the great DIS boards:lovestruc

[PrincessFi]

I think my husband and I are going on our Emerald Tour all by ourselves as well July 17-24 :confused: ...naw I bet not...but I only wish.:lmao:

[DionysiusP]

Princess Fi - I don't think the ABD trips have gotten around enough yet to get the board type response that they get with Disney Cruise groups. It may have something to do with the additional cost of airfare to international locations. Personally, I am all for small groups ... :thumbsup2

[PrincessFi]

I agree a smaller group will be nice. The additional and very expensive airfare is making this one very, very expensive and extravagant trip but for our 25th anniversary it is worth it. It's a once in a lifetime, plus we will be visiting family there for a week afterwards. My husband has never been and I am really looking forward to showing him my homeland.

[DionysiusP]

P-Fi - We were fortunate enough to have air-miles to execute our plane tickets. We "save" our miles for vacations only. Of course, now we have about 3 left. :lmao: So, I guess it will be awhile until our next trip. ;)
Yeah-Right. I know me better than that.

Visiting family? - We are extending as well - 3 days for the same purpose. Will be spending time in County Waterford & Cork - mostly. Planning to rent vehicle in SNN & drop-off in DUB. Car rental is not too bad BUT the insurance is a KILLER. Look forward to hearing about your trip.

In the meantime ... Here are some Irish Dancers to keep you in the mood

:yay: :banana: :dance3: :dance3: :dance3: :banana: :yay:

[karenpowers]

My mother and daughter (Age 10) are booked for the Ireland trip Aug. 21, 2008!

Karen Powers
Cranford, NJ

[DionysiusP]

Karen - Great to hear that!!! :banana: You will probably find this a bit of a suprise. My last name is POWER. :dance3: Isn't that something?

After the ABD trip, I am headed to Waterford to do some ancestry research and visit with some of the family members.

Your Mother and your daughter. Your not going? :sad2: What's up with that?

Okay ... let's get some specifics ... we can do that by PM ...

Great to hear from you!!!

:dance3:

[karenpowers]

Ireland is a trip I really want to share with my husband - unfortunately he can't get off from work at that time - and I don't want to go without him - and this is a "dream trip" for my mom - her ancestors are from the "Emerald Isle" - so an experience that my mom and daughter can share together... That's too funny about our names!

[DionysiusP]

Karen - Absolutley understand. I am SOooooooooooo excited about going. Tell me, where are your mother's ancestors from? Maiden name? My father was a Power & my mother a Murphy. Both grandparents & GGP's from Ireland. I have been doing an extensive amount of work on ancestry. Will need about an extra year or two after the trip just to trace the information I already have about my roots. :lmao: Places ABD is staying look awesome. I wish that there were a few more stops - like Blarney Castle - I MUST kiss the Blarney Stone before I leave IE!!! My wife :love: just rolls her eyes and tells me I am already FULL of it. :banana: More later ... HH&GB

[PrincessFi]

Karen - Absolutley understand. I am SOooooooooooo excited about going. Tell me, where are your mother's ancestors from? Maiden name? My father was a Power & my mother a Murphy. Both grandparents & GGP's from Ireland. I have been doing an extensive amount of work on ancestry. Will need about an extra year or two after the trip just to trace the information I already have about my roots. :lmao: Places ABD is staying look awesome. I wish that there were a few more stops - like Blarney Castle - I MUST kiss the Blarney Stone before I leave IE!!! My wife :love: just rolls her eyes and tells me I am already FULL of it. :banana: More later ... HH&GB

Hey Dionysius, I was born in Ireland and my mom's maiden name was Murphy also...well that's not much of a surprize - there are alot of Murphy's there I guess. Anyway her family is from outside Dublin, the Ringsend area. Her father was a stevador at the docks in Dublin.

[karenpowers]

I would definitely have to visit the Blarney Stone - I wish it was on the ABD tour! My daughter says "hi" - she can't wait to leave. I just showed her a picture of the Blarney Stone - she thinks everyone is nuts!
My mom's family name was Gorman (I think O'Gorman - I think the "O" was dropped when her family came to the US).
Waterford would definitely be on my "to do" list too!:banana:

[DionysiusP]

Princess - I have been hitting brick walls in an ancestry search on Murphy, from the County Coark area. I have got the POWER side locked down to the 1850's and pushing back a little further if I can get the birth dates of my GGParents sorted out. Do you know anyone with knowledge of Murphy ancestry? All the records were destroyed in Ireland ... :confused3

Karen - Say Hi to your daughter for us. Look forward to meeting them. How old is your mother? Give or take a few years ...

HH&GB

[Mr.Monk]

subscribing.
I want to hear all about your trips when you get back.
We're planning for 2009 now and Ireland has caught our fancy.

Does anyone remember when DVC posted this year's schedule?
Any rumor that Ireland might not be offered in 2009?

Karen -> we're in Union county as well.

[DionysiusP]

Mr Monk

I am sure that my spouse will expect me to write a "trip report" ... she has this great idea about Xmas Letters too... She thinks up such things and expects me to execute ... BY HER COMMAND!!!

[Mr.Monk]

:rotfl2:

I'm sure it will be a good report then!

[karenpowers]

HH&GB -
My mom is in her 70's - active - my mom and my daughter travel well together - they take care of each other. Great experiences for both of them. They are "cruisin'" on the Nickelodeon cruise - then back home for 3 days - then onto Ireland - what a life!

Mr. Monk - what a small world - Union County too!

[DionysiusP]

Been awhile ... just bumping up!!!

[WorknFires]

Hello D

My family and I are booked for this adventure for Sept. I have no idea what kind of clothing to be taking. I can guess the obvious because of weather but are there occassions to dress (after 5, formal, etc.) that you've heard of? I have to admit because of limited luggage, I hope not. But at the same time I don't want to be under-dressed. Have you heard anything?

Thanks,
Cheryl

[Poppins2000]

Francesc was one of our guides in our trip to the Emerald Isle and he was a lot of fun and the kids just loved him! Courtney was our other guide (just as fun and silly!) and I think she mentioned that she and Sarah (who was a shadow guide on our trip) will be the guides for the tours from July on. Either way, you'll win - everyone took wonderful care of us on our trip!

Have a wonderful time -(I know you will!!!!)

[DionysiusP]

Cheryl:

Great to hear from you. I was beginning to wonder about others...
ABD package should be arriving soon with additional information...

Remember that "no one goes to Ireland for a tan". Average temps are
August Avg Low: 53° Avg Hi: 66° Avg Precip: 1.85 in

Have heard nothing about "formal" wear. :confused3 Disney Cruise "formal" means a coat & tie for adult men. Unless something is indicated, it is highly unlikely that I will even bring a tie, never mind a suitcoat. Although I have not been provided dress standards by DS yet. :love: I am sure that Chrystina (DS) will bring some nice but comfortable & easy evening wear. Disney is a family event so it is usually more relaxed. My formal will, hopefully, be nice slacks and a Disney golf shirt.

So, how big is your family? Ages etc ... At this point, only two other folks have logged in here ... although I am sure there will be others. Arriving early or not? etc etc ... More later

HH&GB

Dennis

[DionysiusP]

Up early are we? Can you answer Worknfires's question about "formal" wear?
What is the high standard of dining for dinner? Thanks

[Poppins2000]

Don't worry about packing anything formal for the trip - you won't need it. We wore jeans and t-shirts everyday (went on the May 17 trip). The only time we "dressed up" (and by that I mean khakis and a nice sweater for me, khakis and a polo shirt for hubby) was the adult night at Mentons and the Farewell dinner at the castle. We had a couple in our group (both active duty Navy and stationed on a remote island in the middle of the Indian ocean!) who got dressed up (dress, suit & tie) for the farewell dinner only because they said they hadn't had an opportunity to dress up in months!!!