Top 10 things we learned on our trip to Ireland

10. Ireland hates our knees.
9. There are Starbucks in Ireland. Marnie uses them to figure out directions/where she is in cities.
8. Irish people can make really good Mexican food.  When all else fails, soak food in Guinness. I like that rule, actually.
7. The Europa hotel is commonly known as the "Most Bombed Hotel in Belfast."  It's been a while since it was bombed last so (a) it's due or (b) they've lost interest in the bombing thing....
6. Even three of the least interested in politics people can get wrapped up in trying to figure out the causes of The Troubles. And history is a lot more fun to learn when you're in the country it took place in.
5. Between Oscar Wilde and the ballet version of "A Streetcar Named Desire", we had a distinct theme going on.
4. Seamus was a great hit in Ireland. Even the very nice French people who couldn't speak one word of English got a kick out of him.
 3. Irish people do NOT sound like the Lucky Charms Leprechaun. But you can definitely hear different versions of the accent, depending on what part of Ireland you're in.
2. Irish people are fantastic human beings. They are friendly, funny, and sweet and made the trip worthwhile.
1. This was honestly one of my best vacation choices ever. I'd go back to Ireland in a heartbeat!!

Alarm Clock

Marnie's contribution: Lloyd and Karen don't need a wake up call. With Marnie always being on the ball. Karen's watch on which they were relying. Who knew that it was lying?? Poor Marnie, they had to stall. Last Day!! We did a bus tour of Limerick. Then toured King John's Castle. The motion-detecting talking scared the crap out of me. Off to St. Mary's Cathedral for our 400th visit to a church while here (might be a slight exaggeration). Then to Hunt Museum. We were then on overload of history and touring so we sat in a park and had fun discussions with an extremely friendly Irishman who lives in England. Then to a restaurant recommended by a woman from Limerick who we met on the train to Belfast - it was yummy!! Awesome last day. We're sad to see it end, but man, we're tired... Over to Mom: Marnie said it all -- but I just can't resist one more limerick: City and castle tours were fun, But with Ireland's history, we're DONE! Our bodies are slow, We're ready to go, Good memories we now have a ton!! See you at home! Lloyd has nothing to say....

Marnie Is In Killarney

I know I already used that one, but I think it's funny. Hey, I'm easily amused. Today we loaded up on a tour bus and drove around to Killarney and the Ring of Kerry. If Wicklow County is one of the ways you envision Ireland, then the Ring of Kerry is the other. It was beautiful. Stopped for lunch in a town that Charlie Chaplin fell in love with and built a house. Honestly, you can see why. It was a gorgeous view. Then back around to Killarney. I think Mom and I spent the entire day singing "Christmas in Killarney". Catchy song about a rather quaint little town... And over to Mom: Another limerick from Limerick... The tourist bus left from Arthur's quay, At 8:30, we were on the way, Drove the Ring of Kerry, Was it scenic? VERY!!! Another "lovely, grand" Irish day!! One day to go, so we're making sure we make the most of it! Dad's contribution: The ice cream sundae at the Texas Steakhouse tonight was 10 times better than Dairy Queen.

Limericks in Limerick

Mom's contribution: Time to sleep in, have breakfast and pack, Then a walk across the park to wait at the track, A ride on the train, Means no walking pain, And now the city of Limerick we'll attack! A hot humid day today! Nice to see the sun though. We got settled in our hotel and then, again, off to see what this last city has to offer. Someone asked if Lloyd was having fun. Well, we happened to come across another cathedral so I suggested we go see it. Lloyd answered "Well, we've already seen 100, might as well make it 101" - slight exaggeration but he is having fun! We had a nice walk along the riverfront - the river Shannon, again, we won't have trouble finding things to do here for 2 more days! Marnie: We got to Limerick in time for lunch. Many an Irishman we didn't have to punch. Mom had bangers and mash. We are rapidly running out of cash. Much of my luggage will have to crunch. Tomorrow back on the bus to Killarney. A visit there from Marnie! Off to bed early tonight. Probably before the end of the day light. Perhaps we can meet a man named Barney? Dad: "I don't do limericks."

John Wayne, pedestrian sheep, & a fox

So today, Mom & Dad slept in because we were planning on taking a bus ride through Connymara and to visit the Kylemore Abbey at 1130am. We decided to make sure where the bus was leaving & the time. We found the place & the guys herded us onto a bus to meet the early departure! Saw much more as a result. We saw a reconstruction of the cottage from "The Quiet Man", a John Wayne movie I've seen, but Dad hasn't (figure THAT out). Our bus guy said that movie started a lot of tourism to Ireland.... We saw the bogs where they get peat from for heating some homes. And sheep. Lots and lots of sheep... Then we got to Kylemore Abbey. A man named Mitchell Henry bought an old hunting lodge in the 1800's for his wife Margaret. She must have been a fox for such building. The home was later bought to be a convent and then a private girls school. Now 8 nuns live there & have it open for tours. They have a great view, a formal Victorian garden, and lots of tourists... It is beautiful. Then back to Galway for supper & watched drunks in the city... Over to Mom: Just when we think we should be ready to go home because we've seen enough, we find another neat area. The bus ride today was through different country than we've seen so far...along the ocean, through mountains (hills in Canada) by villages & sheep farms. We even saw Ireland's fjord...I said we could pretend we were in Norway! The weather was perfect, sunny and warm. Kylemore Abbey & garden were beautiful. Food has been good so far, we can always find something we each like..lunch today had some more unusual choices so Marnie & I had quiche & salads, Lloyd was fine with a triple chocolate muffin and a chocolate bar!! The many,many stone fences and yet another account and evidence of the 1846-49 famine made us realize what an impact that had on the country. This side of the country was hit hardest because the land isn't as fertile and they were so dependent on potato farming. Time to pack up & be ready to move to our last city,Limerick tomorrow.

so we took a stroll.....

Today we went on a bus tour of Galway city. First we met the tour guide, he sold us tickets, then basically walked us over to a coffee place where we could wait for the tour to start. Then he drove us around, sang a song and told us stories. A bunch of folks waved at the tour bus and generally were quite friendly. Then we went for a walk, looking for the bay. Locals would tell us it'll only take ten minutes. It was a smidgen longer than that. We found a casino, but sadly did not make our fortune in Euros there. Took a cab back to the hotel in which the cabbie expounded on the dreadful financial situation here. Then over to a pub for supper with music & dancing. Galway has been fun. We're taking it much easier now. There's only so many times i can drag Mom and Dad out by 8am or earlier until they object... over to Mom - Yes, the later start & slower pace today was good. Walked to couple more cathedrals, one was where Christopher Columbus supposedly worshipped. The walk out to the bay was WAY longer than 10 minutes. Found a park bench long the waterfront to relax & enjoy the scenery. Another good bowl of Irish stew tonight--food has mostly been great. Time to turn in to rest up for another tour tomorrow!

the promised limerick

The spacing isn't going to happen.... - We took a bus this lovely day Around the beautiful city of Galway. I ate an eclair in a shop And drank a latte with my Mom & Pop. What a great place to spend the month of May!

Chicken salad?

So we got up at a godawful time to leave Dublin & get on a train, then a bus. We toured Bunratty castle and the cliffs of Moher. It was beautiful. We ate lunch at a small pub with definite political leanings. I spoke with a lady whose Dad was in the IRA years ago while her uncles were in the Irish police. Of course, the Dad never told anyone. Politics can definitely divide families. Which is so sad... We're in Galway for the next few days... Over to Mom: Given the time we got up and the walking/climbing steps at the Cliffs & castle stops, an early bedtime is welcomed again! Our tour guide mentioned that he was born in 1950 and used a horse & plow on the farm growing up so we took time to have a little conversation about how it was so different for us, growing up at the same time. Of course Marnie is pretty sure her Dad told her the same kind of stories about growing up! Lol. We have no more tours pre-booked but have a "maybe" list of things to do, not hard to find things, that's for sure. I just said we're not meeting til 9 tomorrow-a later morning is in order! Later...i

Titanic, ice cream and other thoughts

Today, we went to the Brand New Titanic museum, just opened here in Belfast. It was great! They were very focused on making sure we had the whole story of the building of the ship here in Belfast, to the sinking itself. Definitely worth the time we spent there. I did like that the urban legends were taken apart during our visit. Like the one about the ship being cursed by a mummy being onboard. And the one about how third class was locked out from survival. The crew was simply so unprepared for the ship to actually sink that it was pure chaos and whoever actually survived was just plain lucky, no matter what class they were traveling in. Third class definitely bore the brunt of the deaths, but the idea that they were locked in maliciously appears to not be true. Belfast was sunny and warm today. Slightly different from the rest of our trip. After the museum, we just kind of wandered around. Then sat at City Hall and people-watched. Before we went to the Titanic museum, we went into City Hall. It was beautiful. I got up onto the second floor while Mom and Dad got kicked out since we weren't supposed to be up there in the first place. For those of you who have never traveled, playing dumb tourist card is a great advantage. As for me, I think they must have thought that I was supposed to be up there since I was all alone and not flashing my camera about. Belfast is a really lovely city. It's not completely touristy, which is nice. But they definitely have the potential to become something really special now that the city is relatively quiet. The horrid situation due to the politics and divisions because of political beliefs have definitely settled down. They are still there for some people, but it's definitely getting better. I had a great time exploring this interesting city and would definitely recommend it. We're off to Dublin soon, then early train to Galway tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, we're on the downswing of the vacation and soon be back to real life. I'm sure by this coming weekend, I'll be ready to be done with the living out of a suitcase thing.... Cheers to you all and we'll blog again soon!!

Mom's Belfast experience

Belfast--their two claims to fame are The Troubles (the unrest from 1969 to 1998) and the Titanic!! You can tell by the tourism & local people that they'really working hard at showing that Northern Ireland has a great resource--its people. I found it troubling, being on the streets where so many people were killed and so much damage was done. Big f6ences that divide the two sides and still use gates on the streets that close overnight. They also said that only 5% of the people were really involved in the conflict..most just wanted to live peacefully. We met a lady on the train whose 90 year old cousin had to movetwice because of threats. She was a Protestant married to a Catholic, even tho the conflict was political, some connected religion with it. Very interesting anyway. The hotel we're staying in is the most bombed hotel in Europe...37 times! The Europa...very nice. The Ballet...it was FABULOUS! I enjoyed it more than than Cirque de Soleil! Back in our hotel relaxing. Our tour guide (Marnie) has us getting up early and Lloyd is right with her...I'm the one wanting that extra half hour of sleep!! But, having fun, fun, fun!!!

What have we gotten into?

That was my first thought coming into Belfast. Although there was no checkpoints or security coming in, the city still has walls separating communities. But it has ended up being a fun time. We went on the on-off bus yesterday. Then went to the ballet at the opera house next door to our most-bombed hotel in Belfast. I'll let Mom talk about the ballet in her section of the blog. Today we went on a cab ride of the murals throughout Belfast. They were fascinating. Learned a LOT of politics. Then off to the titanic dry dock where they painted & completed work on the Titanic before its fateful trip into history. Then off to the Ulster museum for yet more Northern Ireland history. Belfast is awesome. The people are lovely. Tomorrow we're off to the big Titanic museum (brand new too). Then back to Dublin tomorrow evening. This was a great addition to the trip!

Newgrange & Irish folks

Today we went to Newgrange, which has a Neolithic (read: really old) burial tomb. It`s 5000 years old, which is older than the pyramids of Egypt. It was basically stacked rocks which made a cave where the people of that time left cremated remains. It was a pretty tight squeeze into the chamber itself & Dad chose not to go in, which was probably the right choice.. Then we ate at an Irish pub in a tiny little town. Awesome food! I had guinness and beef casserole. Honestly, the people here are the real treasures. From our tour guide who was this spitfire of a lady who had opinions about politics, finance and other drivers to the guy on the train who was teasing a fellow passenger about being Justin Beiber (& asking me if I was following him home - maybe that jumping around the tower does work! To Mom... Good day but a little cold & misty, felt it when we were waiting for bus & shuttles. More peaceful, beautiful scenery on the way to Newgrange. Now to pack up & plan for Belfast tomorrow. We've seen all we can in Dublin. I agree w Marnie...Irish people are entertaining..our tour guide was a blast!

bog bodies & the internet lied, man!

I blog today alone. Mom`s in bed at the moment... It`s pretty late.... Today was a rather calm day. We found the Harley Davidson dealer where Seamus (and Dad) found like minded souls. We (eventually) found the Ireland museum where they had on display bodies of people found in bogs in Ireland. The bogs kept their bodies in pretty amazing condition considering when they died. I also got my Roman history itch scratched with their display of Roman coins. Only I could get excited about coins featuring Cladius, Nero, and Constantine among many others, of course. Then we ventured off to find a tango venue downtown that I located on the internet. It wasn`t on. So we simply went for a walk. It was a nice, relatively laid back day. I think all three of us enjoyed the more laid back pace.

Awesome day!!

Over to mom first: I think this was the best day so far! A bus tour out into the rural "mountains" (600ft!) Now I can say Ireland is beautiful (Anita) !!! Up til today I didn't know...we were just in the city. Ireland has many myths...we decided to test one today. St.Kevin's monestary there was a high round tower. Legend says that if a single person hops around it 7 times on one foot, they'll be married in 90 days. So we made Marnie do it!!!! We'll let you know where the wedding is. Well, maybe she just posed for the picture, think it'll still work? What history in this country! And if the tour guides can't tell us something, Marnie can! A dinner show tonight was AWESOME!!! Rousing Irish music & dancers. Good food, I had Irish lmb stew (on my TO DO list). Interesting people we met today... a family like us, a couple from Calif with their grown up daughter. The mom is a nurse working for an insurance company, the daughter is a casting director for CSI among other shows. Then a recovering heroine & meth addict who volunteers downtown at a drop in center, and.....get this...a blind man from Dublin who came on the bus to enjoy the scenery! LoL! Guess I'm tired. Over to MJK.. I`ll agree with Mom. Today was great. I probably enjoyed the history parts in Dublin on the other days more than the parents, but today was good for all. The tour guide kept pointing out where movies were made in Wicklow County. I laughed at his descriptions of certain actors` attempts at the Irish accent: Julia Roberts- worst accent in the history of film, Tom Cruise- demented leprechaun, and Gerard Butler- dodgy. Mom covered this day well otherwise. until tomorrow, all...

our feet may fall off....

Another good day. Went over to Howth, a little fishing village just outside Dublin. Then onto Malahide. We got back into Dublin and got slightly lost in Dublin. I got some Irish music CDs and Dad ate fish and chips. We talked to a couple on holiday from Northern Ireland and we made the comment about learning about the rebellions. The husband said that the Irish have a lot of rebellion in their hearts. Which seems strange, given their overall personalities. I guess if you get pushed hard enough... I do get a kick out of the nicknames they give statues: The floozy in the jacuzzi, the prick with the stick, the flirt in the skirt. Irish have quite the sense of humor. Over to Mom: Getting lost=miles of walking = sore feet!! We're getting to know the downtown streets of Dublin anyway! Good to have shoes off & feet up now! Good train/bus service here. Weather changes from sunny to rain to cloudy to sunny,sounds like that's normal.Great day again. The flirt in the skirt is "Sweet Molly Malone". Can't remember the others'. Later...

Monday.....

Today went great! Took the on-off bus to several sights. Went to Trinity Cillege and saw the Book of Kells and the long room. This room is a huge library with around 200,000 books! Took a tour of St. Patricks Cathedral. Legend has it that St. Patrick baptised people in a well on that sight. It was beautiful. Then onto the Guinness brewery. The tour was fun and we all sampled the goods. It was okay and I hate beer. Finally went on a tour of Kilmainham gaol. Interesting and spooky. Overall we had a great, busy time! Over to Mom.. I agree, a great time so far. Even after being up too many hours. Lloyd slept more on the plane than me. But, Marnie finally agreed right after our BIG carvery supper that we could go to bed and after a good night sleep and we were good. Time change is 7 hours.Driving on the wrong side and taxi driver putting suitcases in the boot is a little strange. Our first experience with that. Good cultural day....library, church, beer factory, jail. LOL By the way I hate beer too but all three of took a sip of our sample of Guiness beer but we still have our coupons for the free pint we got with our admission. Anyone want them? Guess we can't send pictures yet. Til tomorrow...

so far... part 2

We met in Salt Lake, flew to nyc, then onto Dublin. We took a cab to the hotel driven by this totally awesome cabbie. He was incredibly nice and helpful. We were too early to check in so we took the train to downtown & just kind of wandered around. Got back to the hotel & I got into a gigglefit over a fishicure (pedicure by fish). Then I bought Mom and Dad supper. It was called carvery time and the amount of food was ridiculous. I would have had one huge doggie bag at home. The Irish know how to eat. And scare the bejeebers out of me while watching football (soccer to us). Yhe Irish are extremely lovely. Friendly, open, sweet people. Barely been one day in Ireland and I already love them. And I can`t think of any better to experience this with than my parents. I finally allowed them to go to their room. Hopefuly we can have a great time tomorrow too...

I`m loving it?

First meal in Dublin? McDonalds. It`s 9am so we got some time to kill before we can check into the hotel.... So far, so good though

no limerick yet....

Well here we go... this should be an interesting adventure..... I hope the flights are unevetful and we get over there with minimal fuss. Wish us luck!,,

There's oil in them there hills?! Oh, wait those are sheep.

Questions I've been asked in the past couple days (with answers in bold):

Q. How do you feel about your parents are going with you?
A. I've been wanting them to come travel with me for years. But my trips before were a bit too out of their comfort zone. I'm THRILLED!!! Like stupidly excited!! Like really, really happy. Not sure I can emphasize enough how awesome I think it is.

Q. Do you think they're coming to protect their little girl?
A.No. If they wanted to do that, they probably should have come to Turkey.... (long story not suitable for all age groups) Seriously, no. They're coming because they want to and I definitely want them to.

Q. Is there oil in Ireland?
A. According to Google, they found a decent sized oil deposit/pool/lake/hottub/whatever (my Dad's going to disown me for not knowing the right word!) just off the shore from Dublin. I can't figure out if they drilled it or if Google is just screwing with me.

 Q. Is there tango in Ireland?
 A. Yep. The real question is am I going to bother to go.

Q. Well, are you?
A. We'll see.

Q. Will you have fun?
A. Always. Fun is inevitable. So is adventure. And we will manage it all.

Talk about being thrown for a loop

So, my parents have decided to come to Ireland with me. And I'm thrilled to the death! I wanted them to come from the beginning. Of course, I also wanted them to go with me to Israel, but that was probably a bridge too far. My parents on one of my adventures with me. This should be interesting.....