MY "ADVENTURES N IRELAND" TRIP REPORT; JUNE 2011 (w/pics & video)

[knewton64]

ok...so where did I leave ya??


oh that's right - KATES

(exterior shot of Kates)



The entrance to Kates:

The menu for the evening:

and....

video:


fair to say that around 5:3o/ 6pm we arrived at Kate's for dinner and music.
the food was fantastic as usual I ordered the chicken:

The veggies were tender as could be - YYUUMM!


and of course....what meal would just not be complete without some:

MEADE.


The Meade goes great w/their desserts:

FYI: The Meade didn't come with the meal. I bought it on my own in the gift shop.


I could tell our group was hitting it off well with a few clicks here and there but overall; a very nice bunch of people. So, with a few nibbles here and there, I finished off the meal in nothing flat as well as the dessert with the Meade helping out as usual.

Afterwards, we were entertained with a trio of musicians who introduced us all to some Irish music and step dancing.

and...


**JUST DOUBLE CLICK W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE OVER THE BELOW VIDEO & IT WILL PLAY **




One of our adventurers' daughters also step danced - will admit she was good - here is the tail end of one of their dances:


** just double click on the below video w/your computer mouse & it will play**




The music was good and so was the step dancing......but.......I could tell after a while, IMHO that the musicians were losing the crowd (approx 2/3 of the way through).


So you know me. he he he........
I just had to "Plus it just a wee bit" -


Per se,
The musicians asked just right before they went on break if any of us had any requests. I made a few song requests and when they came back from break, they played them & I tell ya what, it was as if the whole room just lit back up again with them playing some toe tappin music from the Dubliner's.
I mean, everyone was clapping there hands(& a few stomping their feet) , laughing and having a great time.

NOW THAT'S IRISH MUSIC!



BUT - before we all knew it, it was 9pm and time to head back to our hotel.

We all got back around 10pm with me drawing a hot bubblebath for about 45 minutes before it was either me or the Meade that said "night night" around 11:30pm.


once again - what a wonderful vacation.





UP NEXT: The Ivernaugh Pennisula, the Skelig Experience & what about the rain??



STAY TUNED



cheers

 

[knewton64]

weather: partly sunny skies w/high temperature of 56 degress & isloated showers


A lot has been made about the weather in Ireland. I have received a few emails asking me about it. My response is that rain IMO was never an issue; only the first day stunk (constant drizzle) but I got over it quickly as hey.....you are on vacation

hotel we stayed in: Local B&B in city of Kilarney




Monday June 13th -
"Day 4:"


3:45am ish came rather quickly for me as I decided to meander on over to my bathroom but was soon met by a barking of a dog just outside my window and the outside hallway being lit up with the overhead lights. Now not wanting to upset my fellow adventurers, I quickly took care of things and then stumbled back to bed while watching on my portable dvd player "Celtic Woman" and slowly drifting back to sleep just in time for 6am.


The local B&B?

interior shot of my room:
pic#

even Scrooge liked the room:

The dog? Oh, that's Rosco, Kris' dog (co-owner of the B&B) and a very good dog/watchdog as well.
Around 7am, I was ready for a good breakfast and the local owner (Kris) of the B&B didn't dissapoint me with some good food. Although I do say it was quite amusing to see that some of my fellow travelers evidently haven't traveled before using the B&B system but nonetheless, all went well and soon we were off to see the Ring of Kerry around 8:15am.


FYI: IMO, bring your portable dvd player and or I-pod and listen to some Irish music as it really will enhance your overall experience of seeing the Irish countryside.



[What surprised me about the Ring of Kerry is that some people got sick coming to and from it ; I guess because of all the twists and turns in the road and that we were also up pretty high and very little guard rails to protect us from sliding downhill.

me??

Loving every minute of it........while wearing shorts as usual.

Even tom asked me if I was cold.


NOPE.

having the time of my life.


pics#


video#




One person even remarked that you seen one mountain, you have seen them all. too sad, he missed out on what wonderful sight to behold.

Got some video I took from when I was out in the (Hope I am saying this right) of the eastern edge of it.

listen to the wind and waves of the below video:


VIDEo:



We stopped off atWe stopped off at a local coffe shop for a bite to eat - me? I just had to try the stew w/lamb:

Wonderful! Ya gotta try it!!



After a while, we approached the Iveraugh Pennisula. Pretty neat to see it but what really caught my attention were the Famine Houses:


Me in front of the Iveraugh Pennisula area:

pics of the ruins of a Famine house :

To just think what they went through during the "Great Hunger" period -
---------------


11am: the motorcoached pulled up to the Skelig Experience

I Was really impressed by what I saw thought i do say that I don't wanna climb those steps they carved into the sides of the Aran Islands! YIKES!! Even Tom remarked about that as he said one couple (a few yrs ago) lost their footing while attempting to see the top of them.

How sad because its such a pretty place.


If ya look waaaaayyy off into the distance, you will see the Aran Islands:

5:45pm: arrive back at the B&B.


6:15pm Dinner (clouds began to form in the skies but no rain! YYEEAA!!

7:30pm - After dinner, about 3 of us decided to head into town and visit a local pub (to listen to some Trad) and do some shopping.

i love to shop and wasn't disappointed in what the town had to offer.


And wasn't disappointed in the pint of Guiness i had at the pub either.

tho I do say it took me a while to get used to seeing children in the pubs.




10pm: arrive back at the B&B - sure felt odd still seeing sunlight.
took a quick shower then chilled out

11:30pm: Watch "Celtic Woman on DVD while nibblling on fudge and Meade - YUMM!!


around midnight - tumbled off to bed.


Wow - this couldn't be a more "funner" adventure - thanks!!





UP NEXT:

They clean the Blarney stone with WHAT??





cheers

 

[knewton64]

Tuesday jUNE 14TH
Temperature: approx 58 degrees w/slight overcast skies

Day 5:


Ok, I will admit it. I awoke very groggy out of a deep slumber to the melodic tunes of Roscoe singing (4am ish) to all of us; or atleast me. It seemed as if he was just right outside my window. Hmm....mabey he smells Beagle on me.
Don't know.


ANYWHO -

Decided to make a mad dash to the bathroom before he changes his song selction.
Too late! I have been spotted!!

Oh well. So I dive back under the covers and watch tv for a bit; no news though as I make it a point to not watch/read any news of any kind while I am on vacation.

5:30am came around before I knew it so I decided to interrupt Roscoe's singing (the sun was up anyway) and go jump into the shower and wake up.

No dice.
I wasn't feeling it.
Need orange juice.....Dr Pepper.....SOMETHING!!
I meandered on over to the breakfast area around 7:30am (late departure this day) as we all finished around 8:20am as it was time to head em on outta here and on to our next stop:


Blarney Wollen Mills & the Titantic tour

But before we left our B&B, I just had to say my goodbyes to Roscoe - who was sleeping. Woke him up to say my goodbyes -

Gonna miss that ol pooch.


Besides, I know Tom will wake me up w/his jokes later on in the am. Was thinking about getting some excercise for about an hour before
I decided to run me a hot shower enstead.



that helped get me ready for another fun filled day of more of the sights and sounds of the Emerald Aisle.
Besides, I had wanted to get up earlier, but Roscoe decided to serenade us approx every 2 hours with his singing.

Gonna have to say my goodbyes to him the next day - but how?
T.B.C.......


ANYWHO -
Soon, 7am was soon upon me and I meandered onto the breakfast area for some cocoa puffs and lots and lots of orange juice & other
various breakfast stuff. Had fun doing some more talking with my fellow adventurers over breakfast -

and after a while, it was 8:15am and time fo us to leave and do:
some shopping at Blarney Woollen Mills and seeing Blarney Castle.

So -
we all tumbled into the motorcoach soon just a wee bit after 8:15am and arrived at Blarney Wollen Mills area in a little over 90 minutes but I decided to change
up my plans for the day a bit and not go up there and kiss the Blarney Stone.

Hey, it's to each their own but after what I heard (while we were driving up to it) what they clean it with.....
NNOOOOOOOO WAAYYYYY am I gonna kiss that thing!!

yyuucckk!!!!

So hey, I decided to check out my fav haunting topic:

the hotel just adjacent to the Wollen Mills.

Pretty cool hotel; that being an old wollen mill and all. But I could tell after a while, I was getting a wee bit hungry and decided to window shop a little
over what they had in the coffee shop area.
They had a neat display of Meade in one of the shops:

Got some ideas while I was walking on over to the Blarney Castle but a little funny about while I was out and about walking and checking out the sights:

As I was leaving one building and walking out to the parking lot, I almost made a comment outloud about why is there a kid driving a car.....then I remembered that the steering wheel of the car is on the opposite side than USA cars......

Ok.....gotta also remember that when in Ireland, you also drive on the L.H.S. of the road.


ANYWHO -
About the Blarney Castle -

Now the grounds of the castle was pretty neat but again, thats as far as I got (and yes...a lot of my fellow adventurers were surprised
that I didnt climb the steps and kissed the stone.....) took some pics before some icecream was calling my name back at the coffee
shop (that and some cookies and Guiness):


pic#

pic#

video#



gonna guess that around 1pm ish, we were all Milled out and decided to head out to the City of Cobh (pronounced 'Cove") for the
"Titanic Walk."


Here is the The White Star Line ticketing office:

and to the the Annie Moore statue.

and....

now I will admit that I was really impressed with the guide that day and learned a lot about what the city was all about back in the
day when steamer ships ruled the waters; esp how the Titanic picked up passengers, etc.
The tour guide for the day was very informative and fun to listen to and really held my attention. Overall, a really fun city to
see and I highly recommend seeing it for it realy makes for a fun side trip on your ireland vacation.

The tour guide does sell a dvd on his Titanic presentation but I chose not to buy it but....



...to think what Violet Jessup encountered that early am when the Titantic went down.....
(she was a chambermaid onboard that great ship)

YIKES!!




ANYWHO -


from there, we headed off the the city of Kilkenny, and towards the hotel Ormonde.


the ride to the hotel was ....shall we say quite fun as I quenched my thirst for a wee bit from some of the purchases I had made (among
other things) while at the Blarney mills shopping area. So i wasn't feeling any pain while listening to some Irish music on my I-pod,
listening to Tom in the other ear, and taking in quite a beautiful countryside.

Something you just have to see to appreciate.

Some cd's I bought there?

1) Imelda May: "Love Tatoos"

and


2) the Chieftans


pretty cool music



But before I knew it, it was time to disembark the motorcoach and get checked into the Hotel Ormonde:


Dinner was nice (at the hotel)- so was the afterwards.

Most of us went pub hopping (checked out 2 pubs) to 2 pubs that were close by the hotel; 1st one we all went to we thought they were having some trad there but no dice!!

So most of us wound up at another pub for an evening of fun; with some of us dancing (quite well I add) an Irish jig while downing a few pints.

The 2nd couple & I (who were 2 days late into starting their vacation w/us cuz their pilot was 2 hours late which caused their whole plans to be thrown off) were the last to leave the pub (around 1:15-1:30am) as we had fun trying to find our way back to the hotel. Meandered the streets for about 10 minutes before I asked for directions -


GOTTA LOVE IT!!

Finally found our way back to the hotel; set up a wake up call - and then tumbled into bed w/a pocketfull of wonderful memories.


Pretty cool town.
Lovin' every minute of this vacation - don't want it to end.




UP NEXT:



THE ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN





cheers

 

[knewton64]

Wedneday June 15th
High Temp 57 degrees




Day 6:


ok, I will admit it. I awoke very groggy out of a deep slumber around 5am and decided to jump into the shower and wake up.

No dice.
I wasn't feeling it.
Need orange juice.....Dr Pepper.....SOMETHING!!
I meandered on over to the breakfast area around 7:30am (late departure this day) as we all finished around 8:20am as it was time to head em on outta here and on to our next stop:


DUBLIN



So, as we were heading out that way, approx 90 minutes into our motorcoach trek, we stopped off at a coffee shop (wish I remembered the name!!). It was there i found some wonderful pewter mugs (have to have some to go with my collection from my Mom's Dad's side when we won a few back in the 1810 - 1840's.
And it was there, I once again discovered.....


Irish coffee!!
YUMM!!
and I decided to plus" it just a wee bit with an extra shot of Jameson -
and 4 pieces of fudge
DOUBLE YUMM!!!!!:
**FYI - the extra shot of Jameson was my doing (NOT HERS) as I added it to the Coffee to help me wake up**


WANT SOME??

Just as her kindly & she will make ya some:


** JUST DOUBLE CLICK W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE ON THE BELOW VIDEO & IT WILL PLAY **




ANYWHO -

Once we arrived at Kilkenny Castle (I was awake by then), it was a sight to behold.

Look closely & I believe you will see some Hidden Mickeys on the exterior of the building:

And the interior of it?



Ladies....all I gotta say is just take a look at the "Anteroom," and the two rooms just adjacent to it -
THEY ARE HUGE!!
just imagine that 2nd room (meant as a closet)....that has to be approx 200 feet by 100 feet!!
WWOOWW!!!

- and the lush gardens -

WOW!!

just something you have to see.



Afterwards, while we were waiting for Tom to come back for us, there was a street fair of sorts just right outside the castle. So, me not worrying about my diet, just had to have:
1) hot chochlate
2) poppysead cake slice
3) 6 pieces of various fudge slices
Ok....now THAT WOKE ME UP!!


from there, we made a stop off at the Nicholas Mosse Pottery area:

pic#
video#


a pretty neat place to check out. Of course duriing the introductions, we were all handed pieces of clay.
Some of us were up to no good fun while we were listening to the guest speaker:


One of our fellow adventurers made a clay model of Tom; our tour guide:

me?
I made a model of Mickey Mouse:

ok.....squint yer eyes and I betcha you will see MM
he he hehe...


ANYWHO -



Here is part of our presentation:

**JUST DOUBLE CLICK W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE & IT WILL PLAY**




After our presentaion of how they make things there, we all went shopping upstairs:

Rats!!
having too much fun and it was time to see the Rock of Cashel - so we all hopped back into our motorcoach and we were off to the the "ROC":

and....

ANYWHO -

we were back into the motorcoach in no time and off to our hotel.
But before I knew it(4pm), it was time to disembark and get checked in.

keys were handed out to the right people.


But.....I made a mad 2-3 km dash to see Christ Church Cathedral & St Patrick's Cathedral -

was lucky enough to get in and see St Patricks

THE WHOLE INTENTION OF MY ADVENTURE

Just to sit there in one of the pews for a short while.......

WOW!!

Ok - i will admit it.....

I did shed a tear of two.

The quick mad dash back to the hotel didn't bother me as I was in too much of a hurry to see these two wonderful churches that.....

I forgot to bring an umbrella!!

And yes -

I got caught in a 10 minute drenching!!

Oh well - just changed my attitide and off I went back to the hotel with a big ol grin on my face about seeing St Patricks - from the inside.


FYI: be sure and check ahead to make sure the times and such that they are open.


So, I
made it back to the hotel in time to get cleaned up as dinner was at the Abbey Tavern later on that evening.

Now about the Abbey Tavern (as well as Kates).............



**JUST DOUBLR CLICK ON THE BELOW VIDEO W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE & IT WILL PLAY **
(short video of the musicians warming up)




The menu for the evening:

and an interior shot of the place:

It is to each their own but out of the two, I would choose a "traditional music pub crawl" (Dublin) as the best overall way to see/take in
what I call GGRREEAATT Irish music but hey - I will get into that in a later posting.


ANYWHO -

the dinner and step dancing show was nice and IMO, was made complete with some Meade and -

IRISH COFFEE

YYUUMM!!

Irish coffee is to NOT be missed!!

try some!!

(FYI: The Meade was something I purchased - it doesnt come with the meal)**



BUT.......

About 15 minutes in the show, my camera's battery gave out on me......it died!!

NOT COOL!!

So, this was all that I have from the evening's festivities.

Oh well - next time....there will be a next time.



ANYWHO -



Alas,
soon it was time to hear, "Molly Malone" ( the cue for us to head to the exits and to the motorcoach).

Arrived back at the hotel around 10:3opm.


I ran me a nice hot bath -

yup - chilled out with some nice Meade while listening to some Irish music on my I-pod speakers.

....while nibbling on some wonderful Irish carmel candy.


DIET?? What diet?? he he he.....

Afterwards, I nosed dived into bed around midnight with a great big ol smile in my heart.

I am home.




UP NEXT:


MY FAV TOPIC: DUBLIN



Cheers

 

[knewton64]

Thursday June 16th
high Temperature: 56 degrees w/overcast skies
(but no rain! YYEEAA!!)



Day 7:




Today was my fav day of all as I was one busy camper today; seeing lots and lots of Dublin and got in just a wee bit in the am.

So to pick you back up from where I last left ya while in Dublin:


We had Ms "Reenee" - our Dublin tour guide for the am (very nice, funny & informative) who during the tour around town was telling us that the previious night she felt a litltle bit under the weather and proceeded to tell us that she mixed the ingredients together (on the drink to the left in the below picture) to help her feel a little better:

To wit, I replied, "Renee, does that make you a......hot toddie??"



ok ok ok ok.....I am trying to give Tom a run for his money when it comes to the bbaadd jokes.


Moving right along -


Later on in the am, we had fun seeing St Stephens Green, Georgian Square (?) hope I said that right...it's the place where all the front doors are painted different colors each, and the Famine Memorial. Also,

Kilmainham Jail was very intriguing to me as I have many a friend who work at death row in Huntsville, Texas.


Interior view of the main section of the jail:

Section of the jail that was very emotionally moving for me to see:

pic#


**JUST DOUBLE CLICK ON THE BELOW VIDEO W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE & IT WILL PLAY**




.....lunch was wonderful at the Guiness Wharehouse (they have a wonderul coffee shop there) and after that I boogied on over to the Gravity bar for a tremendous view.

To those of you who have an overhead map of Dublin, you will know what areas this video is consisting of:



** JUST DOUBLE CLICK W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE OVER THE BELOW VIDEO & IT WILL PLAY **




video:

and of course, ya can't leave the Wharehouse without your dessert; courtesy of the Gravity bar:



** just double click on the below video & it will play **



so she got me an:

with this on top:

(ok ok ok....thats a load of blarney! actually, she does that for everyone)




And hey - why not while u are at it, see the Jameson Disterillery?

pic#


from there, wow - what can i say. I was seriosuly a whirlwind of activity; courtsey of Viator.com


FYI: It really really rreeaally helps to have a good mental picture of where things are in Dublin as it is a really easily walk-able city.

But hey - I also had the advantage of the Hop-On Hop-Off pass as well.
highly recommend it.

For starter, we got a chance to see/tour DUBLIN CASTLE & Trinity College via our guided tour:
(highly recommend doing this as I enjoyed listening to the tour guide)



**pic of Trinity College**

and......


**JUST DOUBLE CLICK ON THE BELOW VIDEO W/YOUR MOUSE & IT WILL PLAY**

(video of the interior courtyard of Dublin Castle**


From there, we toured the Post office & City Hall. very enlightening to see all of this history right in front of you.

pic#


pic#


Other areas we saw was the Dublina area of Dublin before we made it on over to ....


....the Temple Bar area - was a blast to see as well. Was quite fun to the the "CLANK- THUMPA THUMPA" sounds coming from that area....looking around to see what was causing that sound.....then you see that its a local pub unloading the kegs.

And that lady unloading them from the truck? WOW!! She had arms!! She was unloading them from the truck and rolling them indiviudually downhill to the next person who in turn would roll them into the pub. Quite a sight to see.

From there, it was a hop on over to Christ Church for a bit but.......

****before I knew it, YIKES!!



It's 5:45pm!!

Time for me to hot foot it on over to Gogarties!!

Gogarties was easy to find in the Temple bar district:

had once again (as I had earlier in this adventure ), some Irish stew.

While listening (in between band sessions) some excellent classic rock music:



** JUST DOUBLE CLICK W/YOUR MOUSE ON THE BELOW VIDEO & IT WILL PLAY**



Now a few days earlier (on a pit stop we made on the way to Kilarney), we had stopped off at a coffee shop and I had the Irish Stew - with lamb.

YYUMM!

highly recommend it.


Afterwards, I headed on up stairs for the beginning of the trad music pub crawl.



NOTE: While I am not insulting Kate's nor the Abbey Tavern, I am choosing to say that I enjoyed the Dublin's Tradional music pub crawl because they didn't entice you into feeling like you were a tourist - you felt right at home with the musicians.

Just my opinion for all it's worth.


Fun was had by all, even though I did cringe a time of two at hearing people ordering a "Smith-Wicks" (YOUCH!! Nails on chalkboard)

Soon it was time for requests to be sung by your home country.

the three who chose to get up and sing were great!!
BUT WHOOPS!

it was now fast approaching 10pm ish.
time for me to go and meet some friends I met last year while on a vacation.

So we all headed out to their hotel for a bit followed by a pub crawl of their choosing and yes, I got up the nerve to sing "My Pretty Irish Girl" while at one of the pubs.

I am still thinking the dogs in the next county as far away as Limerick are still howling in protest but hey...it was the effort ya know?.


Afterwards, a few rounds of 301 & 501 were played - over a few pints of Guiness as the craic topic was about jumpers and WOW! the stories that were exchanged. Laughs were had by all.



WE ended the fun filled evening with song and a few step dancing lessons with the bewitching hour of about 1:30am hitting me b 4 I knew it.

Said our goodbyes.

threw myself in a cab and made it to my hotel room with no issue.

Tho I do say, no bubblebath. Just did a double-turn and felt back in to my soft bed - one happy camper as the sandman got me in no time.





UP NEXT:
On our way to Galway Bay .






Cheers

 

[knewton64]

*** JUST DOUBLE CLICK ON THE BELOW VIDEO W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE & IT WILL PLAY **


(one of the many fun things I saw just outside our B&B while staying in Kilarney)





...one of these (Gotta also play catch up w/my blog, etc) -




UP NEXT:

On our way to Galway Bay, Clonmacnoise & just why in the heck did I forget my camera....back at the hotel in Dublin?


(and seeing the peat and the bogs & did I do any laundry while on vacation.....)




I will be back in a couple of days - I promise.




cheers

 

[knewton64]

that in relation to the previous post.............................


Hmmmmmm......welll - it's like this.......


Well......


Hummmm.....


oK - I'll tell ya.

It's 1/2 Blarney.


Yes, I did see them coming down the road like that while in Kilarney.....

But.......I don't know what purpose they were being used for that day.


Just thought I would clear up any confusion here.

YYEEAA!!!


ANYWHO -


Now....about that museum I saw in Dublin the other day ....

Cheers

 

[knewton64]

DAY 8

Hotel we stayed at: Galway Bay Hotel
High Temperature for the day: 58 degrees w/overcast skies



Ok, so ya wanna know why I also took this vacation enstead of the 8 day "Irish Welcome" adventure? So I could recouperate on Galway Bay day -



And yes, 5am hit me sooner that I thought as I was smart the night before & asked 4 two wake up calls. very thankfull for the hotel staff as they made sure I got up ok and with little outstanding issues. I managed even to stumble (applicable word here folks) into the bathroom area and take a nice bubblebath.

it even gave me an opportunity to remember what year is was.

Ok-----still 2011 - I must be all right then.


But for some funny reason, I felt like I was a Tennessee Walker horse that morning; ya know - my walk feeling a little too pronounced as I seemed to make it downstairs with my luggage, my wallet and my body (didn't forget that esp after last night).

I feasted like it was my last supper over breakfast - had fun looking over my pics I took the day before.

*****BAD IDEA-----DON'T DO THIS AFTER A NIGHT OF HAVING FUN ON THE TOWN *****

Quick....que the bad music!!


DUM-DE-DUM-DUM.....DUM-DE-DUM-DUM-DA!!!!!!!!!!!


Why Am I saying this?

keep reading, you will see shortly.


So, with breakfast all up underneath all of us, it was time to climb into our motorcoach and head off to our first stop; **Clonmacnoise**.


Now, here I am - trying to WAKE UP and enjoy this day and wouldn't ya know it.........

about 30 minutes into our Motorcoach trip, i noticed my camera wasn't in my day bag.


NICE.



Ok.....where did I put it??

With my mind still emptying last night's Guiness, Guiness extra stout, Irish Flag shots and yes - shots of Jameson.......

step dancing lessons.....

trying to sing NOT OFF KEY.......


Dummy me finally get to the realization that I just earned the "Homer Simpson" award of the year.

You know -

the "DOH!" award.


Yes, I left that thing on the breakfast table back at the Dublin hotel we were staying in.


Man - that put me into a deep sour mood but I was determined to not legt this get to me.


Then Tom donned on his Superman shirt and saved the day for me.


He called the hotel for me.

An inquiry was made -


Camera found!!

yyeeaa!!!


But.....that means I wouldn't have access to my camera for the rest of the vacation.

RATS!!


Needless to say, I thanked the hotel staff (& Tom) for saving the day as we continued to roll on to Clonmacnoise.




TO BE CONTINUED........





Cheers

 

[knewton64]

Ok........to continue from where we left off.....




So, we were now off to see Clonmacnosie.


And the ride over to it was very quiet and peaceful with me listening to my latest Irish cd purchases (from Woolen Mills the other day) on my portable dvd player. **Highly reccommend doing this ** as the rides in the motorcoach will be that much more of a pleasent experience while watching the countryside go by.

So after a bit, we arrive at the Monastic settlement and all check out the sights. our first stop was to see a short presentation of how all this came to be. Very informative and enjoyed it very much. Afterwards, we were all taken outside to see the siite. Now, keep in mind that dummy me was still recouping from last night's fun in Dublin AND FORGOT TO BRING AN UMBRELLA while seeing the area. And sure enough, after about 20 minutes, down came a quick 10 minute downburst.

And I got caught in it.

I decided to duck under the tour guide's umbrella as we saw the rest of the area and enjoyed the sights but yes....I wish I woulod have brought my umbrella.
Oh well -



Also,
if I had more energy, I would have seen the section (way in the back) something about a "lady in the...." but the rest of it just slips my mind. Anywho...next time....there needs to be a next time for me and Ireland.


Still managed to see the rest of the area as well as the museum/gift shop near by and soon it was time to head off to Galway Bay.


The ride over to Galway was so nice - even got one last opportunity to see some fields drying their peat - quite a treat to see this.


But.....I wouldn't wanna get caught in a Bog.

YYUUCCKK!!

talk about a sticky situation!!


ANYWHO -


So we all tumble out of the motorcoach and check out the sights of Galway.

VERY festive!!

They seemed to have had a festival of sorts going on while I was there; culminating in me watching a blues concert for a bit in their central park area.

PRETY COOL!!

There, I thought I would be funny and flash the Coca Cola rep (on hand) that i would love a Coke (while holding up the Disney sign of 2 fingers held close together).

She promply handed me TWO bottles of Coke.

oh well - needless to say, that was a good suggestion as did the trick in waking me up.

So from there, I boogied on back to the street area and did some nice window shopping before heading on back to the motorcoach and our next stop:


Galway and the GALWAY BAY HOTEL





UP NEXT:


Enjoying one last full night over in the Emerald Aisle & did I do any laundry while over in the Emerald Aisle??



Cheers

 

[knewton64]

A small little ditty from the Traditional music pub crawl while I was in Dublin:


** JUST DOUBLE CLICK ON THE ABOVE VIDEO W/YOUR COMPUTER MOUSE & IT WILL PLAY**


ANYWHO -



Allrightee - we are coming down to the tail end of my adventure!! So how did it end??


So before we all tumbled into the Motorcoach, I decided to meander off for a bit and see the Spanish Arch; located near the spillway. This to me was the most emotional time of my life on this adventure - just me and my I-pod....turned to the song, "Galway Bay" and just taking in such a beautiful sight to behold. From the Seagulls to the water lapping over the causeway, yes....I cried just a wee bit. What a wonderful way to bring this adventure to a close.

But wait - got a little bit left of me story to tell ya .....

So off we now go onwards to Galway Bay hotel and get all checked in and such.

Some of us went to church.

Me??


I decided to hang a left and check out the slots (just a way to relax and unwind as I make my contributions.


But....I be danged in after 1 hour & 10 Euros.....

I won 10 Euros.


Came back to the hotel and had our farewell dinner;

TIPPED Tom the tour guide.


**That's the very first time I have ever tipped anyone on my previous trips and I really felt that he deserved one for a job well done.**

Went back to my room for a weee bit.....


turned down the Thermostat to 10 degrees Celcius....

opened up the windows and settled down for a short snooze -

with one last nip of -

What else?

MEADE -



and......


fudge.




UP NEXT:



up at 2:30am 2 head back to Shannon airport & a comment from the cabbie that will leave you in stitches (about Newlyweds)






Cheers

 

[mamajoan]

I have been reading your posts with great joy. It is my fervent hope to one day make a visit to Ireland. I am so happy that you enjoyed your trip.

 

[knewton64]

I have been reading your posts with great joy. It is my fervent hope to one day make a visit to Ireland. I am so happy that you enjoyed your trip.

Well, here is how I got started (hope this helps):


I have lived in Texas for all my life and well, I wanna get outta the box b 4 I am put in one. So.....
What started out as an idea that I wanted to c 3 places of historical significance has grown to what you c in my below signature.


1) my "Spirit of America" blog becuz of its USA historical significance.
2) my WDW & DL experiences because IMO, it represents a slice of Americana.

and
3) Ireland becuz it represents 1/2 my heritage.


But hey....
What I have next is New York City (Sept 2012) on my "bucket list."
I wanna c the Statue of Liberty, etc.


Hope u get the Ireland bug to go and if so, please b sure and send me a pm or an email letting me know about your experiences for after all, it is an experience to cherish.



Cheers

 

[knewton64]

Day 9



2:30am hit me with a vengance as I woke myself up to the tunes of Celtic Woman while drawing one more bubblebath before I hit the long road back to the United States. I tell ya what, that really felt nice to relax like that that I decided to get dressed and boogy on downstairs to update my blog one more time.

Was quite a scene downstairs as the wedding reception was still going on and wow! The place looked like a scene straight out of the Kentucky Derby or the Royal Wedding; with ladies and their hats and men in their tuxes........

then came me be-bopping into the business center in shorts and a pull over button down shirt.

Hmmmmmm......I must be just a tab bit underdressed -

YA THINK?



So with that oughta the way, I boogied on upstairs but not without spying the bride and groom. And with a quick demurred "Cheers," I was off again back upstairs to finish that pesky thing called:

PACKING YOUR SUITCASE.


Now yes, a few have asked me if I did any laundry while on this adventure and well.....my answer is no.

WHY??

Cuz I was having way 2 much fun I didn't have nor wanted to make the time to do that. I opted enstead to wait until I arrived back in the USA to take care of that.



ANYWHO -

So around 4:30am I make it to the front desk and get all checked out of the hotel and such but not before checking out their breakfast bar area.



Tom was nice to arrange this for us who had early flights -


Had fun grazing on Cocoa Puffs, toast, and lots of OJ before I decided I was awake while chatting with a couple who was also going to ride with me back to the airport (they were the 1st couple who was 24 hours late arriving for their vacation).


Cab came promptly at 5:30am but.......


here is where the fun begins -

WHY?


keep readin -

u will c - I promise.




So as we all climbed into the back seat, I decided to chat with the cabbie to keep myself awake until I hit those "comfy seat" of those airlines and I chose a topic of customer service as the topic.


I began to tell him a few things and well......I admit that what he said next totally floored me(in a positive way of course).


Meaning.............



in response to my story, he said that one day recently (but in another town) DURING GOOD FRIDAY, he picked up a newlywed couple and was taking them back to the hotel. The Groom was all mad and the cabbie asked him what seemed to be the issue.

Well -

he replied that he was upset that all the pubs were closed and that's not right....

this being a Friday and all & .........

well - he was upset. Quite upset at that!!


Now the cabbie looked up into his rear view mirror of his cab,
mustered up the look that would just melt the hearts of any 12 person jury
and replied:

"Why, the reason all the pubs are closed today is that we are all out Leprechaun huntin' Sir."



ok -



I am letting you digest that comment for a bit before I continue with his story.......


Ready?


Ok..... let's continue.


For what seemed like about 5 seconds of Newlywed silence (as they were looking at each other in stunned disbelief) suddennly turned shall we say very loud for the Cabbie as the Groom said to the Bride,

"She didn't tell us this! Our Travel agent LIED to us! Why (as he is pounded literally his index finger into their itenerary he pulled out of his wallet), when we get back, she is going to hear from ME!!!!!"



Now the Cabbie?

He told me that he continued on driving, shoulders just a hunched a little while just a grinning from ear to ear listening to this rather LOUD conversation that went on & on (between the Newlyweds) for a good 15 or so minutes.



Now did the cabbie change his story by the time he reached their destination??
or did he let is stand as is??


Well -


That's where I have to jump in and say that to reveal the answer would spoil the fun and magic of what has been truely a wonderfull experience for me over in the Emerald Aisle. I feel now if my blog has sparked an interest in seeing Ireland, make that move and over time, let me know via a pm or email. What you have just read is how I travel and love every minute of it - I hit the ground runnin and have fun seeing the world.


Now yes, my opinions expressed in this blog are well - just opinions. You may disagree with me and ya know......that's ok with me. That reminds me, I do regret NOT kissin that ol Blarney Stone.....me thinks even ol me was fed some Blarney that day so -

Yes, there will be a next time....me and the Emerald Aisle....and my first date with that ol stone.


ANYWHO -


Lastly,


Thank you to all and especially to Mr. Tom Keane, for without him, none of this would have happened.




Kris



p.S.

To those of you who wanna follow my next adventure, I am off to Hawaii in 96 days -

What new things r in store for yours truely?

Well -

just follow the below trip report you see in my signature





*************************THE END***********************





Cheers

 

[MelindaRuns]

I read your adventure from beginning to end and I must say I enjoyed it! Sounds like you had a fabulous time! I am traveling to Ireland June 14-26 2012. I hope to have a blast! I don't know my whole itinerary yet (I am travelling with a group) but I should have it soon.

Thanks for posting!

 

[knewton64]

I read your adventure from beginning to end and I must say I enjoyed it! Sounds like you had a fabulous time! I am traveling to Ireland June 14-26 2012. I hope to have a blast! I don't know my whole itinerary yet (I am travelling with a group) but I should have it soon.

Thanks for posting!

be sure and take plenty of pics!!



CHEERS-

 

[knewton64]

See below trip reports & feel free to follow along if ya want.





T.T.F.N.