Wednesday, May 28th

Up at 6 am to have some breakfast and then take the shuttle bus to the airport. After the bus dropped us off we began the long walk to the Aer Lingus check-in counter. Check-in complete, we began another long walk through all the Duty Free shops to and other shopping and dining establishments to our gate. Upon landing in Paris we began what seemed like the “Amazing Race”! We followed all persons with American and Canadien passports to our check in point (Connie had to see an agent because her passport was not able to be read by the scanner!). After scanning our passports we made our way to baggage claim…. The slowest baggage claim ever!!!! Bags in tow we had to figure out what train to take??? We found the appropriate line toward our destination – the RER C line (yellow). We hopped on the train and thought we were good until we were not😳. After going 6 stops beyond where we needed to change trains, we got off and made our way to the appropriate train. About 45 minutes later, we were truly at our destination station….Pont du Garigliano! From there it was a short walk across the Seine (10 minutes) to our apartment at 12 Excelsior. Connie found us a most excellent apartment!! Close to Roland Garros (15 minutes later walk) and close to the RER and the Metro. Our total travel today only took us 12 hours!! And we lost an hour when changing time zones😳

The Dorffs had created a beautiful dinner for us. We immediately started talking non-stop sharing travel stories, and then we started making plans for our Parisian adventures:)

Time for bed. Tennis tomorrow at Roland Garros!🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾

Monday, May 26th

It is a rainy morning as we leave Donegal and head to the Giants Causeway, a UNESCO world heritage site. The weather is questionable for hiking around the Giants Causeway….a break in the sky and we head to the electric bus that transports tourists to the causeway. Once off the bus at the base of the Giants Causeway road, we took no more than 10 steps before it poured!! Of course we had rain pants and umbrellas on our tour bus!?! On a different weather day we would have done a bit of hiking and ventured out on the basalt rocks. As quickly as the rain drenched us, a clear sky and a hike up the pathway to the top of the hill to the Giants Causeway dried out our clothes. We made a stop in the bar with the New York group before heading back to the bus, again in the rain.

Time to head to Derry (aka Loundonderry) and learn about the “Troubles”. Along the River Foyle we saw the peace bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge. Our first stop in Derry was to see the Bogside neighborhood and the Derry walls. Amazing artwork depicting historical events of the “Troubles”-Catholic versus Protestant. And we saw the gates (there are 20) that lockdown the city nightly.

After a brief overview we made our typical bathroom stop. This stop however was very near to the mural of the Derry Girls of Netflicks fame, which we were able to capture with our ever present phone cameras.

After our stop we began our walking tour of Derry with Sarah on the bus. We learned about the Bogside battle and Bloody Sunday and visited more murals. In order to continue our tour and to walk on the wall we all exited the bus armed with umbrellas and our rain gear. Derry is completely surrounded by a very well preserved wall that has 4 original openings and 3 added for a current total of 7. The wall is as wide as 26 feet, a mile plus in circumference and as high as 36 feet.

Time to head to Ballycastle in the rain for our final overnight and delicious fish dinner at the Mariner Hotel. We topped off dinner with a most excellent toffee cake and sauce! Lee posted the recipe on our What’s App:)

Tuesday, May 27th

We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning. Connie and I quickly dressed and went for a walk before breakfast. We could see the shores of Scotland from Ballycastle! After breakfast and packing and loading the bus, per our daily routine, Lee greeted us with his usual smile and “how are ye”? ….and off we went to Belfast via the Causeway Coastal Route.

First on our agenda was a “white bus tour” of the neighborhoods of Belfast – Catholic and Protestant (lots of Union Jack flags!). We then headed to the peace walls where we were able to record our thoughts on a huge wall covered with the thoughts of many. It was truly a call for peace and brought to my mind the song “what the world needs now is love”!! Lee then drove us one last time down the main thoroughfare of the Protestant neighborhood where we saw huge murals of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles and LOTS of Union Jack flags.

Time to head to the Titanic Centre for our 12:20 pm timed ticket entry. The Titanic Centre is a very popular tourist destination! What an incredible undertaking was the designing and constructing of such a huge luxury cruise liner. Every detail attended to by tradesmen of all sorts. And then the tragic end of the Titanic…. Lots of lessons learned in it’s aftermath.

Back to our bus/van for our return to Dublin. What a magical journey! Connie and I were the first to be dropped off at the Clayton Hotel next to the Dublin Airport. It is “au revoir” to our wonderful group as we now head to Paris.

Many thanks to Lee, our wonderful tour guide!

Saturday, May 25th

As we awoke to rain in Westport we made the decision to not rent e-bikes. We contacted Lee to let him know and then proceeded with alternate plans. Carrie joined us for our day of exploring. First stop was a pharmacy where I could get some decongestant that was compatible with HBP…success. After getting set up with a proper med, we went in search of Paddington and his bench. We found it, but not without a bit of a challenge…thanks to Carrie we found the bench high above us and took our tourist pics:)

We strolled along the canal, headed up James street toward the clock tower, and made a stop at the Lawton Gallery where I purchased an unframed painting -“Fly Me to the Moon” which is being shipped home. We continued our walk toward the Westport House. Along the way we met an Irish man with a small dog and a very angry American partner from MI. We managed, with some difficulty, to extricate ourselves and continue to the Westport House. Once at the house, we completed a self-guided tour. Connie decided to stay for the guided tour which was to begin in about 20 minutes. Carrie and I took a walk toward the quay and stopped for some coffee when the rain picked up. After enjoying a cuppa, we headed back to the Westport House and on to the Towne centre.

Once at the Towne centre , I was in search of a thank you card for Lee, our tour guide. Success!!! Found some good cards from which to choose. we prepared the card to give to Lee on our departure.

Time for an early dinner at a small Thai restaurant on Bridge Street. Had a fantastic Thai Iced Tea to go with my Pad Thai and Connie ordered spicy Drunken Noodles that paired well with the Pad Thai.

Time for a return to our accommodation – The Mariner.

Sunday, May 25th

Packing up and leaving the lovely town of Westport. Hard to believe we are nearing the end of our 13 Day Irish Experience Tour…only 2 more overnights.

Today we travel to Donegal through the county Sligo via the Glengesh Pass to the Slieve League Cliffs (2000 ft. Cliffs). It was very, very windy at the cliffs! Lee had to assist Carrie up the rocks to the top.

After a visit to the cliffs it was on to Donegal and a visit to Donegal Castle, where they have done some extensive renovations which include replacing the Donegal Oak roof of the tower.

Time to check in to our accommodations. We wandered a bit and found an Aldi’s. And we made a decision about dinner – The Olde Castle Bar. We had a lovely dinner and watched the DI Women’s NCAA Lacrosse Championship on my iPhone.

The end of another wonderful day on our Irish Experience Tour.

Wednesday, May 21st

It’s anther 9 am departure from Lahinch to Doolin (a ferry departure spot for the Aran Islands) heading to the “Wild Atlantic Way” (a tourism trademark name). First stop is in the Burren region (a Natural Geo Park) where limestone rocks deposited during the ice age (361 million years ago) form a very unique landscape. Many wildflowers create a colorful patchwork.

After leaving the Burren region, we continued our drive along the Wild Atlantic Way coast with great views of Galway Bay and the Aran Islands. We stopped at another castle, Dunguaire, took some pictures and continued to Galway for an afternoon of exploring.

Our first stop was Eyre Park where President Kennedy addressed the Irish people in June of 1963 before he was assassinated in November of 1963. The Irish loved JFK! Many homes have a photo of him on their mantle.

We explored the pedestrian street known as the Latin Quarter; the Galway Museum (with a life size replica of the Galway Hooker); the “Long Walk”; the Spanish Arch; and the Train Tour of the city. We had a good chunk of time to relax in Eyre Park before boarding our bus to head to Clifden Town via the Connemara Region with its patchwork farmland divided by 7000 year old Neolithic walls.

We arrived at our accommodations (The Clifden Inn) where we would be for two nights with enough time for a bit of exploring before a group dinner and fun Irish music at Ravi’s.

Thursday, May 22nd

A bit later departure today (9:15 am) as we head to the Connemara Region to hike Diamond Hill (Elevation of 2100+)(One of the 12 peaks in the Manturk Range in the Connemara National Park) and visit Kylemore Castle. First stop on our way out of the town of Clifden was the launderette where we dropped off 16 bags of laundry to be picked up later in the day before they closed at 5:30 pm.

Only 4 of us planned to do the entire Diamond Hill hike that would take us nearly 3 hours – Carrie, Heather, Connie, and Laurette. Dory joined us for the blue loop and we parted ways for the Red loop. What a picture perfect day for a fantastic hike!!! Lee met us at the base of the “hill” to take us to Kylemore Castle where the rest of our tour group had spent the day thus far. We had but a short time to explore the Victorian walled gardens and the castle!! It was a rushed visit, but a good sacrifice given the beautiful hike we were able to experience:)

Following our Kylemore Castle visit we headed back toward Clifden after stopping for a bog cutting and stooking (peat drying) explanation. Once in Clifden we picked up our clean, folded laundry (what a treat!!) and then showered and headed to a relaxing, excellent dinner & dessert in our hotel.

Friday, May 23rd

Today we leave Clifden and head to another part of the Connemara Region. And I must note that we are experiencing our first rain on our 13 Day Irish Experience Tour!!!

Our first stop was to see a view of the Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord. In the fjord was quite the mussel fishing operation for what we were told are the best mussels in all of Ireland.

We stopped in the Village of Leenane where many members of our tour group purchased souvenirs. I purchased a bracelet with Connemara Marble. And a few of us walked down the street to experience the unique aroma of burning peat that is not used as much in Ireland as years ago. Only certain homes are permitted to burn the moss peat.

The next part of our journey took us to the breathtaking valley of Doolough and its tragic past… death from famine. The first famine memorial we visited was in memory of those who perished on the coffin ships and the next (Croagh Patrick) was a National Famine Memorial. The Irish famine of the 1800’s is such a sad, tragic story.

On a lighter note, our next experience was an award winning walking tour of Westport. It even stopped raining for our tour!! The Irish we have met throughout our journey are very proud of their history and their towns. Westport is an award winning “Tidy Town” (the cleanest town in Ireland due to a brigade of local volunteers).

Our accommodation for the next two nights is The Mariner of Westport (the most modern of our accommodations).

5/18 – Sunday

We began our journey around the Ring of Kerry in County Kerry at our typical 9 am departure time. Our first stop was a replica village of a small village in County Kerry.

Leigh loves rocks. Check out his rock pile in the pics!

Bray Head and Coman Chiste were just 2 of several beautiful, scenic stops along the Ring of Kerry.

We witnessed hundreds of famine fences and famine huts and road to nowhere built as part of the work relief program during the famine. Ireland lost millions of people during the famine due to starvation and emigration.

As we neared Dingle we made a stop at the Torc Waterfall in the Killarney National Park. After a brief uphill hike one was rewarded with the sounds of running water and a beautiful waterfall.

When we arrived in Dingle we checked into the Dingle Harbour Lodge and then set out to explore and find our dinner spot. We ended up at the lively Dingle Pub (one of Lee’s recommendations). The food was good, the music was entertaining, and we engaged in great conversation with fellow travelers from the US who were staying in the Dingle Inn above the bar for 3 nights – a bit noisy!

Time to head home to bed.

5/19 – Monday

It is Monday morning and time for our drive along the curvy Slea Head Drive (part of The Wild Atlantic Way).

Our first stop was at the “bee hives” which were home to families dating 2000 BC. Their homes became known as bee hives because of their construction that gave the appearance of a bee hive.

Our next stop was at a “bee hive” village that is dated 3200 BC. This village had a very unique design. The village was constructed in order that two times each year the entrances were aligned with the sunrise in order to get maximum light into the hives…amazing!

After the “bee hives” we continued our drive along the Slea Head Drive to The Blasket Center/Museum, a beautiful center that celebrates The Island of Blasket and its hearty residents who are well-known writers, poets, historians, musicians, composers, philosophers, etc.

Our afternoon today was designated as “free time” to fill as we wish. Our choice was the Dingle Sea Safari Rib Ride. It was a 3 hour tour in a speedy boat with a maximum capacity of 12 tourists out on the open water with a skilled “Captain Colm” who navigated the choppy waters of the Atlantic. We were able to see many dolphins, seals, Puffins, and Cormorants. The return journey was a bit chilly.

Upon our return to Dingle Bay, we went in search of warm food. We found a pub offering hot Vegetable Soup & hearty brown bread. When my soup was set down in front of me I immediately thought I had received the wrong order…it looked liked tomato soup. I learned that most soups are pureed. It was both different & delicious.

Our return to our accommodation was a windy, chilly walk. Was glad to take a hot shower!

5/20 – Tuesday

Off on another adventure day. Our first stop was meant to be at a sheep farm demonstration at 9:30 am. When we arrived the gate was closed and we learned we were a bit early and would have our demonstration at 10 am. With time to kill we visited a nearby, unique Windmill that was built to be able to rotate 360 to catch the wind from any direction.

Time for the sheep farm:) We met Bridget, the “master of ceremonies” for our sheep farm visit. We were instructed as to how the Border Collies are trained with both verbal commands and whistle commands – left, right, forward, back, lie down, come. The demonstration of the dog response to these commands and their ability to corral the sheep was quite impressive. Even more impressive was the demonstration of what happens in a competition – the handler has their dog that is expected to corral 5 sheep unfamiliar to both dog and trainer and guide them all together through gates and toward targets. Points are deducted if unsuccessful. After watching the dogs and sheep perform we were introduced to the family pet sheep and told what tools are used in caring for the sheep and the timing of mountain grazing, mating, labeling, sheering, etc. We were able to offer the sheep some biscuits that they devoured!

The highlight of the entire video was bottle feeding the baby sheep, holding the sheep, and holding the adorable 4-week old Border Collies.

Time to leave the sheep farm and ferry across the longest River in Ireland, the Shannon River. After a quick loading process, we set out across the river and soon we were headed to the Cliffs of Moher, one of the most popular sites in Ireland. We hiked up to the viewing areas, photographed spectacular views, and hiked along the shore as much as possible. Much has been closed off due to deaths of persons not respecting the danger presented by the cliffs. The museum was interesting and offered an opportunity to photograph yourself on the cliffs and send yourself an email with picture attached.

Following our visit to the Cliffs of Moher we headed to our overnight accommodations in the small town if Lahinch.

Our “free day” adventure – The Gap of Dunloe in the Killarney National Park. First stop was Ross Castle. Then we boarded a boat with 10 others to travel across 3 lakes in the Killarney National Park. We were joined by the boat operators dog, Bailey (adorable). The water was low in parts of the lakes and a one point we had to disembark and hike about 250 yards to the next lake. At the end of our boat trip across the lakes we had lunch at a small cafe before boarding our horse drawn jaunty to travel on a narrow road across the Dunloe Gap along with tourists in cars and on bicycles. Several times we were asked to walk/hike in order for the horse to take a break. At the end of our jaunty journey we, of course found ourselves in a small pub as our bus driver anxiously awaited us for our return trip to town.

Our next destination was the Towne center where I took a stroll down the Main Street while Connie ventured into a pub with 2 of our fellow travelers. During my stroll I found some chocolate ice cream and some great music provided by 4 musicians/singers…. Guitar, Banjo, Accordion, Vocalist. They played & sang for more than 2 hours!!!

After standing for 2+ hours it was time for a dinner at the Porterhouse Restaurant.…came highly recommended by Leigh, our tour guide.

A great day made more wonderful with beautiful weather!

We began our last full day in Dublin with the Epic Emigration Story Self-Guided Tour via an excellent app.

We had fun watching school groups while enjoying a very tasty lunch at the Epic Center.

On our way to our Guinness tour we visited Saint Patrick’s Park & Cathedral.

The Guinness Tour is a self-guided tour of 6 levels and of course ends with a toast -“Slainte” and a small glass of Guinness. Then on to the 7th level bar wherein one has a ticket for their choice of one pint of one of the Guinness beers. Connie found that her new favorite Guinness is their Hop House Lager 13 and Laurette’s is Guinness Clear!

Following our Guinness stop we headed to ThaiSpice restaurant – an excellent, quality restaurant.

The evening ended with packing and re-packing for our big adventure – The 13 Day Irish Experience.

Thursday, May 15th

Our “Irish Experience Tour” begins!

Meeting at Point A Hotel to join our group of 16. Luggage in the boot and off we go in a beautiful 28 passenger tour vehicle…. Lots of room for our group to spread out.

Our group of 16 are all from the United States! 8 of the group are from upstate NY and are traveling together. We have a couple from Wilmington, NC; a couple from San Diego; and 2 friends from WA who are master swimmers.

Our “Irish Experience” tour guide is 6’6” gregarious Leigh. Leigh was his birth name and after seeing his name penned as Lee by others for many years he adopted the spelling of Lee as his own.

First stop just outside of the Wicklow Mountains National Park in Glendalough. The “Round Tower” (well preserved) and a cathedral.

Second stop at an abandoned mine with an awesome safety record until bought by a US company.

A Hollywood, IR does exist and they have a sign!

Lunch stop at a service station.

Kilkenny; castle; walking tour with “ Shenanigans” (a magician).

Accommodations (Kilford Hotel) & Dinner (Langton’s)

Music at Langton’s very slow tempo; 2 guys on guitars)

Friday, May 16th

Another beautiful, sunny day!

A visit to St. Patrick’s Rock (Rock of Cashl)

A visit to Chair Castle (on an island; a defensive castle)

Lunch – Rainbow Tavern

A visit to Muckross Abbey just outside of Killarney and the National Park.

Accommodation – Abbey Lodge

Dinner-Murphy Brownes

“Celtic Steps”- Excellent show with world class dancers.