Anyone been to Ireland?

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cozee

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We are gonna need some traveling tips!!

Dawn and I celebrated our 29th anniversary today. Was over at poppers-n-pens house this evening for dessert. All our kids where there along with respective spouses. We had an Irish apple pie of some sort with vanilla ice cream. After everyone was finished, our oldest had a package in her hand and said it went along with the pie. She also said they were wanting to wait till our 30th to present this but due to some logistical issues we'd understand better after we opened the package, so they needed to give it to us now. Upon Dawn opening the package, we found it full of literature and some Rick Steve's DVDs, all about Ireland. Seems next year, all the kids are sending us to the Emerald Isle!!!!! Joshua said he was even going to help make sure we had some extra spending money!! I asked him if he has been saving the $10 and $20 he borrows here and there just for the occasion!!!!!!!!


We understand now why they had to present it this year as both Dawn and I need to put in for and jockey our vacation times next year so we can go together!!!

It still hasn't completely set in for either Dawn or I. But still, we want to tell ya how special all our kids are!!! Thanks to Jessica & Terrence, Shannan and Steve, and Joshua!! We love 'em all!!!!
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maxwell_smart007

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Yeah, I went to Ireland in 2000!

Just graduated from university for the first (of three) times, and decided to go abroad. Bought myself a plane ticket, and flew to Dublin. I had no plans, no reservations, and no problems finding a place to stay...I just went from town to town meeting locals in pubs! :)

It was a lot of fun. The Book of Kells is kind of neat - it's in Trinity College, Dublin - just an old book, but kind of neat. I stayed at the Guinness factory in Dublin in a hostel...smelled terrific! Next night, I checked in at hte start of the day, but when I went back, they had overbooked, so I had to find a new place...ended up staying in a scary old house with a charlie manson doll hanging in the window...freaked me out! Definitely locked the door that night!

Make sure you have some fish and chips - they put them right in the newspaper, and it tastes terrific...Whiting, I think. You can't go a block without passing three pubs, however, so plan on having lots of beers! Apparently there was a contest once that asked people to go across the city without passing a single pub. Apparently, no one won!

The most beautiful place you'll ever see is called Glendalough. It's a little villiage just south of Dublin, and it has the most picture perfect views and hiking you'll find anywhere. Highly recommended!

The Blarney Stone was overrated, but it's something that has to be done when in Ireland...it's kind of gross - a black rock in a castle that's discoloured from years of kissing...but there's a really good Shepherd's Pie in one of the local pubs.

Also in County Cork was Kinsale. Very nice little villiage, and it's the culinary capital of Ireland. The Head of Kinsale is overrated, however, and very hard to get back from (hitched there, but no busses or cars going back)....neat old fort in Kinsale.

Killkenny is a neat old Irish Medieval city - stone buildings and bridges - beautiful. Have a glass of Kilkenny in a Kilkenny pub.

Killarney was very touristy, but the park in the city itself is gorgeous. Very nice gardens in the area, and it's a good staging area for Dingle or the Ring of Kerry. Both of those areas are very wild and gorgeous, and you have to see them!

Guinness is cheaper than milk, over there, so if you're not liking it now, you'll get used to it in a hurry!

That's all I have off the top of my head. If you have any specific questions, let me know and I'll dig up what I can remember...luckily, I have pics of everything...

Don't skip Glendalough! It's gorgeous!

Andrew
 

airrat

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Kelly and I went for our honeymoon. We had a great time on a tour from CIE Tours. We did the one called the "pub" tour. I am glad we ended up with that one due to spending usually a couple nights in each town.

Dublin was fun, went to Guinness and Jamesons. At the end of each tour you get a pint or a "shot". Trinity college was interesting. Site seeing across town. The hotel we were staying at was hosting the Irish version of "The Oscars" while we were there.


Our favorites were Killarney and Kinsale. If you get a chance to in Kinsale and like crystal there is a master crystal cutter there that use to work for Galway. He still does the "90 degree" cuts vs the "60 degree" Galway has been doing. I can look up their name and location if you want me to. They took us in the back and showed us how to cut designs in crystal, even let me do a couple cuts.


Instead of me going over our tour. Go to their web site and look at the different tours. You can get ideas of places to go.


www.cietours.com

Not trying to promote this company just giving you a resource to look at different things and some descriptions of destinations. Also the maps might help you plan routes.
 

Rudy Vey

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Yes, sixteen times. First time in 1976 when Ireland was really cheap for vacationing. Last time was 2006 in March.
Its a beautiful country! My favourite places are in the west: Ring of Kerry, Dingle peninsula and Connemara. And then there is Dublin, worth a visit. In the west I like Galway and Limerick. Killarney is nice, but normally overrun by tourists. For our last visit we stayed in Navan, which is close to Dublin. In this area are a lot of the pre-historic and historic sites (and that is what we wanted to see this time). We went to Newgrange, a megalithic passage tomb - well worth the trip. Here is a link:
http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm
My wife went inside, but I had to stay outside, I am claustrophobic. Was btw the first time I saw snow in Ireland, during our visit to Newgrange it had gone pretty cold and we had snow showers all day long - just didn't stay on the ground for long. Close to Newgrange lives a very good professional turner, whos name slipped me know. We stopped there as well and chatted away for some time.

Staying in Navan allowed us to take the bus into the city of Dublin, and we did this a few times.

If you are going for the first time, I would recommend to get a rental car (takes a bit to get used to drive on the wrong side of the car and street) and get vouchers for B+B's. Then set up you tour and make reservation in the B+B's and off you go. It s possible to see quite a bit in a weeks travel - my wife and I have done this a couple of times. The other times I went there for a certain area only to fish for salmon or play golf. If you can do it, fly to Shannon on the west coast and fly back from Dublin. In between you can see the west coast with all the wild, rugged beauty, then drive through the middle of the country, visiting Rock of Cashel and Clonmacnoice, the prehistoric sites out side Dublin and finish off with a day or two in Dublin.

One thing I have observed over the thirty years I went to Ireland is that the country has become extremely expensive. So, take extra money with you! Let me give you an example, my wife and I ate dinner one night and shared a pizza (we would call this here a personal pizza - size-wise), I had a beer, she a coke and we both had tea to end it: $50 - and this was not anything fancy, just a pub with a dining area.
Another thing you will experience is that pretty much everyone in the service industry is from an eastern European country. We were told that well over 100000 Polish people live in Ireland. Most of our waiters came from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. We spoke with a lot of Irish people and they did not like this at all. But in the European community, someone from a member country can live in any of the other member countries without a problem.

Anyways, enjoy it, it is still my favourite country in this world.
 

Rifleman1776

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My daughter-in-laws family is Scotch-Irish. Earlier this year eight of them, including my son and grandchildren, went to Ireland the Scotland. They loved the trip. The castles were particularly impressive they said. The tour of the Guinness brewery was, surprisingly, a highlight. I did some research for one of my books and learned there are tons of information available on the Internet.
Congratulations on your family loving you enough to give this great gift. Enjoy and report back. With pictures.
 
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Cead Mile Failte Greg (hi There!!)

You have picked one excellent place to visit. For such a small Island we have a huge range of sites and experiences for all tastes. Andrew gave a good round up of general sites to go to, it really depends upon what you would like to see. If there are no specifics the a good general tour could be on the cards, booking as you go. A CIE tour (now called BusEireann) is a good way of hitting the tourist spots on a predefined route.
A personal recommendation would be to go to the Gaeltach on the west coast of Ireland (Galway/Connemara). this will show you some of the older and wilder beauty of the country and people. A lot of whom will speak as Gaeilge (Irish Language) which most of us don't even understand!!!
If you do go out this way make sure you take a trip to the Aran Islands by either ferry or plane. Inish Mhor is the larger of the Islands and is particularly scenic. I wouldn't be planning on staying there for more that one or 2 nights as there is not a lot on the Island other than the PUBS.
Has anyone mentioned the PUBS!!!!!! We have a fair few over here and mostly give directions using our pubs as landmarks.
As perviously stated by a member it is very expensive over here now. In particular over in the west around the tourist trails (Hope I'm not stepping on anyones toes here!). Just be aware of the prices and ask for discounts!!! It works.
I have been told that driving over here for by some American friends is an experience that has changed them! Dont know why....we at least drive on the correct side of the road!

And of course who else but the Irish can get people to shell out money to lie under a brick and kiss it .....Blarney my A$%E........having said that the castle is a must to see.

Just to give you a weather update.....we have 4 seasons over here ... Wet rain, Cold Rain, Frozen rain and plain rain......and we do get the occasional bit of sunshine!

If you have any specific questions about your trip, or where your going or would like to see, drop me a PM and I'll get the info for you if I can. Or just give me a shout anyway.

Try these links ...
http://www.discoverireland.ie/
http://www.visitdublin.com/

For car hire try these .
www.carhire3000.ie - these are great for hiring cars anywhere in the world.
 

Boomer

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Greg
I have a good friend in Dublin. He has been after me for years to get over there and visit him. One of these days I am going to get there. Have fun you and Dawn should have a fantastic time.
 

PR_Princess

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Greg, it has been a long time and many things have changed since I lived there. But I still might be able to give you just a few suggestions . :) PM me if you are interested.

Oh, and if do you decide to hire a car, driving it will be a life changing experience!:eek::biggrin:

Congrats on the trip!
 

Russianwolf

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Went in 2001 for our Honeymoon. Flew into Shannon and drove to Sligo were we stayed in a BB. If you look at the map it's a long drive, but remember that Ireland is the size of some of the east coast states so nothing is more than about 5 hours. County Sligo is great and we spent most of our time there and County Donegal. We did drive over to Dublin for a day which is great for shopping.

Rule 1) meet the people. They are among the friendliest on the planet as far as I can tell.

We had a flat one day and when I took the tire to be replaced, the guy changed it before telling me the price. I didn't have enough cash and he didn't take cards, so I had to drive to an ATM to get cash for him. He never thought twice about putting the replacement tire on the car and saying see ya later. Find a place in the states that's willing to trust people like that now a days.
 

wolftat

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I have been there twice and loved it. I was thinking about going again this spring. You have some generous kids. I am sure you and your wife will enjoy the trip, it is a blast.
 

scoutharps

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I've not been, it's on my list! But I did get to Scotland a few years ago, so based on that:
Go Hostels! We found ours through the Blue Hostel Guide, which also has an Ireland edition. Most of the time we were in private rooms, at a cost way below hotels. It also meant we could use the kitchen, which drastically cut our food cost. We would eat lunch from our backpacks--cheese, fruit, crakers, etc, and pick up stuff daily for a quick cook supper. We also got bagles, scones, etc for breakfast. Marks and Spencers would have a food hall, which had many precooked individual meals, some days I just gave each kid a few pounds and told them go shop, then collected my change. Do look out for early shop closing times! Way earlier than we are used to.


Tell your kids I am availible for parent watching duty! Only charge them my travel room and board expenses!
 

nava1uni

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Congratulations on your anniversary. Your kids sound very nice. You both did a good job of raising them and you are fortunate that they appreciate and love you both so much.
 
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Greg,
I had a supervisor in 1975 in San Francisco< John Murphy > who was from the old coultry... he always said there are two kinds of people in the world.... "The Irish and those who wish they were Irish".

Never been there but one of the few countries I would like to visit. My great-grandparents (my materal grandmother's parents) were from Ireland, so I guess I have some Irish blood.
 

cozee

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This all came about due to a conversation with my oldest last year. She knew I was going to plan something for our 30th and asked me if I was going to take mom to Hawaii. I told her no as having been stationed there I couldn't think of anything I wanted to see and that her mother had been there a few times when her father was in the Air Force. She asked where we'd like to go and since Dawn and I had already discussed this, I told her either Australia or Ireland. ANd since my beloved is of English-Scotch-Irish decent, Ireland was our first choice! (Oh, we'll still be going to Oz, just a little bit later than sooner!!) Sooooo, my daughter got the rest of the kids involved and they decided for us. They are not wealthy by any means and Dawn and I know the sacrifices they will be making for this to be possible.

I want to thank everyone for their input. We still have plenty of time to decided where we want to go and what we want to see but I think we are heading in the general direction of getting a car and, using local guides as needed, and staying in the B&B's we hear so much about. The whole country sound quite appealing and right now it is hard to decide where we want to go and what we want to see.

Bheonadraiocht, I will definitely be getting in touch with you and hopefully we can meet for a time while we are there.
 
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keithkarl2007

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well i can guarantee one thing, you'll have a hell of a time over here. You couldn't meet a more friendly clan, if i do say so myself :biggrin: it has got rather expensive over here and with a recession after hitting the country, it could get worse. Unemployment is rising everyday, a few weeks back they let 8 lads go from work, its a scary time as more of us could be let go between now and christmas
 
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