May 19, 2013 - Back in Dublin!

Took a train back to Dublin Ireland today, and it turned out to be the most beautiful, warm day yet. Of course, on our last day in Ireland. WTF?? Galway yesterday was COLD!!! It was hard to enjoy the city and the sites. We just ended up going home early and turning in. But our host Marie in Galway was a delight and her home was magificant! We felt right at home. Almost wish we could stay one more day in Dublin to enjoy Ireland when the weather is nice, but we have a catch a ferry at 8:45am to Holyhead, Wales then train to London!! :)) Very...

May 19, 2013 - Newsflash – “The Emerald Isle sinks into the Atlantic”

This week we have hiked to the top of an improbably named mountain, visited the last departure point of the Titanic, rambled through castles too numerous to mention, planted a kiss on the Blarney Stone and once again drunk beer(s) with the locals. We started the week in County Wexford in the “Sunny” South East and have ended in the famous village of Blarney, County Cork. Our intent to hike 3-4 times per week has been somewhat dampened by both of us being less than 100% healthy, but we have still completed a coastal walk and a hike to 3,000...

May 18, 2013 - Galway bound!

Hi there friends and family! So we are now on a train to Galway, Ireland. We just spent two days in Ennis, Ireland and went to a medieval castle banquet at Knappogue Castle Wednesday night. It was fun! All the hosts were dress in medieval garb and sang and danced to medieval music. Josh thought it was a little cheesey and touristy. :)) But I'm a geek and like that stuff. Yesterday we wanted to go to the Cliffs of Moher but didn't make it. :( There were no regular bus or train schedules. I'm kinda bummed about it. We'd been doing so well so...

May 15, 2013 - Official world travelers!

We are in Ireland! I love saying that! LOL! Our flights were ok, a little cramped, but not too bumpy. We were very tired though, so our first day in Ireland was pretty much a wash. Plus, poor Josh had to finish a motion for a big case he is working on. Took him 7 hours! I just ended up sleeping all day. We did go to one pub at about 11pm that was filled with Americans still on American time. Hilarious! :) It is strange being the tourist for a change. Feeling more rested today and Josh finished his work. Now we are off to Cashel!

May 15, 2013 - Dublin

Finally in the green, green Emerald Isle, after a stopover in brown and smoggy Abu Dhabi. I can't believe it's Wednesday evening already, and tomorrow I leave Dublin to drive north. I love Dublin...friendly people, great pubs, with great music of course. And so much interesting history. Trinity college library...the long room and the astonishing book of Kells; you don't have to be religious to appreciate the dedication that created this elaborately decorated version of the 4 gospels from the 7th century, and that it has survived. I have...

May 15, 2013 - The Rock of Cashel

We are now in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. Today was visited the Rock of Cashel, the seat of the Kings of Munster (the cheese?) in the 5th century. Awesome! It was cold and a little rainy. And got very windy at times. But worth it! Josh loved the gothic grave stones, and took some pictues with the animated options on his camera. I liked the tower dungeon and the remnants of the small moat around it. Now we are hungry and tired. Gonna go eat!! Yay! :)

May 13, 2013 - Newcastle to Dublin

Thanks to everyone for the Mothers’ Day wishes yesterday. It’s on a different date in April here so the wishes were quite unexpected. I woke up early this morning to bright sunshine & was packed up & on my way before 9:00. When I got outside I discovered there was a very cold wind blowing & all day there have been periods of sun mixed in with some very heavy showers. At one stage driving into Dublin, my car said it was 6°C outside. Fortunately I was in my warm 24°C car. I started off heading for Kells which is about halfway between...

May 11, 2013 - Pubs, green grass and a memorable concert……

This week we took the ferry from Holyhead in Wales to Dublin, drank Guinness with the locals, witnessed the sun shining for 2 days straight and since then have been deluged with rain and wind. But, the highlight of the week? Eric Clapton live in concert in Dublin – Liz spotted a poster the day before and we had tickets, before you could say “Luck of the Irish”. We love Dublin, with its history, vibrancy, quirky side and its social life. The Guinness is not bad either. The first Irish people we talked to on the ferry were a bunch of guys...

May 8, 2013 - It's Time to Go Home

4am, the alarm is ringing and it's raining. It's time to go home and Ireland seems sad to say good-bye to us. Dennis and I have a 7:50am flight from Dublin to London to start a very long day. It has been an amazing two weeks and it is hard to believe it is over. We have seen so much and accomplished so much more than we had ever hoped we could. Of course, we all wanted to find relatives and the old farm lands, but we were always afraid that we wouldn't. Meeting John and Sheila O'Connor is something we will all remember for the rest of our...

May 7, 2013 - Back to Dublin

Again we woke up to another morning of sunshine. Can't believe we have been so lucky. We had a lovely breakfast prepared and served by Laura and Bernard. Laura made great pancakes (more like crepes), Bernard regaled us with stories of his 40 years in the Navy and granddaughter Lucy who announced after tolerating us for a few minutes "I want my grammy". After checking out and packing the car we headed out to the Rock of Cashel, just a few minutes away. We were given a guided tour by Sara, a young lady who was very entertaining and...

May 6, 2013 - Kilarney . . . 'til we meet again

Killarney - 'til we meet again Amazingly a week has come and gone and it is time to leave Killarney and all the wonderful experiences shared by the O'Connor Cousins and Kathy. Bags are packed and we have said goodbye to Tim and Bernadette, the proprietors of The Priory. We wanted to take one more survey of "the farms" and Killarney provided us with glorious sunshine as we headed to the Coolick and Dunrine properties. Upon arrival we were once again mesmerized by the landscape and sense of well being. We all agreed that there is no doubt in...

May 6, 2013 - It's not too hard to say goodbye, when a glass of wine is waiting to say hello

Today, we jumped out of bed and walked down to Trinity College. I had wanted to see the Library and book of Kells before we left. The library was huge and filled with very old and beautiful books. After the Library, we walked around the down-town district one last time before saying our goodbyes to Ireland and heading for the airport. After a three hour flight we arrived in Rome. We found a bus from the airport and walked the rest of the way to our hotel. The hotel we are staying at is simple but nice. We finished our day off with a dinner...