Travel Tuesday - Ireland

This is my sweetie kissing the Blarney Stone, where it said if you kiss the stone, you gain the gift of gab. I didn't kiss the stone because number one it's really high up and there is a huge gap between the stone and wall and number two I already have the gift of gab. But really I was so scared of the height and kept thinking the man that holds you might lose his grip and you would fall, so I walked all the way up the castle for nothing. Also on the property is where I bought most of my Irish treasures at the Blarney Woolen Mills where I got the most beautiful Irish wool sweater. Check it out if you love beautiful wool sweaters and the styles are timeless.
This is my sweetie and I at the Cliffs of Moher, which rise 700 feet up from the Atlantic and stretch for 5 miles along the coastline. Absolutely spectacular! This was one of the most awesome sights I have ever seen. Read that first sentence again, these cliffs rise 700 feet up from the Atlantic and stretch for 5 miles! But let me tell you, it is very windy at the Cliffs of Moher and there are no barriers to stop anyone from falling off and I heard stories of people falling before. We were there in February of 2003, so it was cold and very windy. You'll notice that when I travel, I always go in the off season and that is because it is less expensive and also less crowded then the busy time of year.
This is a picture of me at the Blarney Castle. Just wanted to show you that even in the winter that the grass is green.
And I'm not sure where this was at. We were on a escorted bus tour and the bus just stopped here for a photo op, but I liked the landscape.

And here is one more photo of the Cliffs of Moher, just to show you how awesome they are. When you stand at the top, you really feel the awesome power of what God has created.



My sweetie and I went to Ireland on an escorted bus tour in February of 2003. It was our first experience with an escorted tour and we both really enjoyed it. We were with a group of travel agents from around the country and we just all clicked as a group. We flew into Shannon and even as the plane landed you could see just how pretty this country is. All green with many streams, just beautiful and while we were in Shannon we went to Bunratty's Folk Park, which depicts Ireland's past. We headed on to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway City where we visited the Royal Tara China Factory and then on our way to Dublin we stopped at the Waterford Crystal Factory and watch the artists at work. Now that was fun! You should see some of the one of a kind pieces on display. In Dublin, we went to Trinity College, home to the Book of Kells and we also visited St. Patricks Cathedral. Dublin was also a fun shopping city. Then it was on to Blarney where my sweetie kissed the stone. We also did the Ring of Kerry, which has spectacular scenery. Now that I go over it all, we did so much in a little over a week and I would encourage anyone who has the desire to go to Ireland, to do it. Either as we did it or on your own. What was great about the escorted tour was that everything was done for us, all of our bags were loaded and unloaded at each stop for us. But you are on a schedule, so if that's not your thing, doing it on your own would be better. Once again I feel like I glossed over this wonderful country, it is beautiful and the people of Ireland are about the most friendly I have ever encountered on my trips. I would love to go back to that area someday and see Scotland and maybe Northern Ireland. I haven't decided where to go next week yet, maybe we'll try somewhere I haven't been too yet. Either way, I hope you enjoyed our visit to Ireland!