WooHoo! I'm going to Ireland!
Jan. 14th, 2011 03:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madeleoneI booked our trip yesterday, I am so excited!
It has been a dream of mine for a long time to go to Ireland someday. Both of my dad's grandparent's came from there, and I have always, always wanted to visit. I don't know a lot about them, other than what county they came from, but just to have the chance to go there is a thrill.
I have been after hubby since our youngest graduated from high school four years ago, that now is our time to travel and do things like this while we are still young enough and healthy enough to enjoy it. And while he agreed in theory, he always had an excuse... can't get time off work, need to save up more money, we'll do it someday, yadda, yadda, yadda. I finally told him about a year ago if he didn't make up his mind to go within the next year, I was going to sign up for a tour or something and go by myself. Of course he said: no, no, I really want to go too, we'll get around to it. Sad to say, it was his mothers passing last summer that was a real eye-opener for him that life really is too short. So he said then that we should start planning to go.
I spent several months drooling over travel sites and deciding where I want to go and what I want to see. He is pretty much letting me choose where we are going as I want to focus on one region rather than try to rush through a whirlwind tour of the whole country. We applied for our passports early in December and they arrived last week. So I did some final checking on different packages and made a final decision and booked it yesterday.
We will leave on 3/29 arrive in Ireland on 3/30. We're going to rent a car and have B&B vouchers for 10 nights, I want to mainly explore the western areas, the Great-grandparents were from Mayo, so there definitely, and also probably Galway and Clare. Return home on 4/9. If anyone has been there, or has any pointers, suggestions, likes, dislikes, please feel free to let me know.
I am so excited, I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas. :)
It has been a dream of mine for a long time to go to Ireland someday. Both of my dad's grandparent's came from there, and I have always, always wanted to visit. I don't know a lot about them, other than what county they came from, but just to have the chance to go there is a thrill.
I have been after hubby since our youngest graduated from high school four years ago, that now is our time to travel and do things like this while we are still young enough and healthy enough to enjoy it. And while he agreed in theory, he always had an excuse... can't get time off work, need to save up more money, we'll do it someday, yadda, yadda, yadda. I finally told him about a year ago if he didn't make up his mind to go within the next year, I was going to sign up for a tour or something and go by myself. Of course he said: no, no, I really want to go too, we'll get around to it. Sad to say, it was his mothers passing last summer that was a real eye-opener for him that life really is too short. So he said then that we should start planning to go.
I spent several months drooling over travel sites and deciding where I want to go and what I want to see. He is pretty much letting me choose where we are going as I want to focus on one region rather than try to rush through a whirlwind tour of the whole country. We applied for our passports early in December and they arrived last week. So I did some final checking on different packages and made a final decision and booked it yesterday.
We will leave on 3/29 arrive in Ireland on 3/30. We're going to rent a car and have B&B vouchers for 10 nights, I want to mainly explore the western areas, the Great-grandparents were from Mayo, so there definitely, and also probably Galway and Clare. Return home on 4/9. If anyone has been there, or has any pointers, suggestions, likes, dislikes, please feel free to let me know.
I am so excited, I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas. :)
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Date: 2011-01-20 07:19 am (UTC)Our itinerary had us driving a loop - south from Dublin, west to Dingle, north to Connemara and east back to Dublin. We only reserved lodging for the front and back end of the trip - since it was the shoulder season we decided to wing it (successfully) on the days in between.
Dublin ~ Trinity College, Grafton Street, Kilmainham Gaol, Temple Bar <-lots of hen parties and drunken 20-somethings
drove south to Powerscourt Castle (Count of Monte Cristo movie set, beautiful gardens, inside an empty shell w/tourist shop) - also got desperately lost in the Wicklow Mountains - Salley's gap :D
Glendalough - tower, monastery with a lovely scenic hike to the lake... hike might be over-stating, but a nice long walk with nothing terribly steep.
On the way to Dingle we we to the Rock of Cashel which was breathtakingly beautiful.
We stayed a couple of days in Dingle and explored the peninsula, the famine cottages (when I looked inside the first one, I almost screamed - if you go, you'll know why), etc.
Drove north thru The Burren... where "there's not enough water to drown a man, wood to hang him, nor earth to bury him" - and that about sums that up. Think 'moonscape' and you'll have the general idea.
Doolin - I know there are caves here, but I don't remember much about this place.
Cliffs of Mohr - a must see.
Galway - We didn't spend a lot of time exploring this city. We went to the dog races and shopped some of the cute side streets (the tourist-y part).
We visited the Aaron islands - the weather was beautiful (for most of the trip, amazingly enough) and we hired one of the many horse-drawn buggies for the tour around the island. - I would've liked to stay overnight here, but we still had all our stuff at the hotel thinking we wouldn't want to schlep it with us and try to find another place to stay if we didn't want to stay on the island. Oh, btw, Galway was the most difficult place to find a hotel during the whole trip.
From there, we explored Connemara and County Mayo - Roundstone (the Matchmaker movie set)
We hiked around Croagh Patrick and wanted to explore Diamond Hill, but didn't get to it.
Stayed at Ashford Castle (we had reservations) for the last few days before heading back to Dublin. Ashford Castle has a GREAT falconry experience. I wish we'd done this every day, as their golfing was so-so (and I'm a total hacker anyway).
With no reservations between Dublin and Ashford Castle we had a lot of flexibility. The driving's nerve-wracking, highlighted here and there with points of sheer terror, but we had a GREAT time and I know you will, too.
If you have more specific questions, let me know. I hope this helps.
Bon Voyage!
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Date: 2011-01-20 07:41 am (UTC)That generally sounds very similar to our plans. We will reserve out first and last night, but we are flying into Shannon and will concentrate our travels on the western counties.
Definitely had planned on the cliffs of Moher, also interested in the Aran islands. Of course for me Mayo (the birthplace of my great parents) is a main point of interest even if just to be there. I'd like to visit a castle or two, but want to avoid the extremely touristy ones, (kissing the blarney stone just does not appeal to me. LOL) Hubby would like to golf at least 9 holes one day (I am a devoted non golfer so may just take an afternoon for myself there). I am so looking forward to the whole trip. I've already got a couple of travel guides and am pouring over them madly.
Thanks for the pointers. When did you go there? Do you have Irish ancestors also, or did you just go there for fun?