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Ireland 2022

August - September 2022
10 years of marital bliss…or something like that. Read more
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  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 1

    Ireland

    August 27, 2022 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Like all travel stories in 2022 this trip was supposed to happen in 2020. However, now we get to celebrate our 10 year anniversary on an awesome trip. Which keeps with my milestone events = trips.

    Why Ireland? Why not! It is the only direct European city that WestJet flies to that we have not been to. AND we had an awesome pass for the 2nd person being practically free, so best bang for our buck! We all know I like a good deal. So here we are… IRELAND!

    The red eye was just like I like them, uneventful and I was able to sleep. We had the bulk head seats which means you get a lot of leg room, which is always great for my 28 inch legs. Need to to stretch them so they do not get cramped 🙄    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 2

    The Internet Lies

    August 28, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Customs and luggage pick up was uneventful and we made it to the hotel by 1pm. After a quick cat nap we went to explore. Thought we could just show up and get into the Trinity Library…nope. It is kinda a big deal so sadly we did not get it. We did walk around, found the Dublin castle, and some other cute areas.

    The plan was to stay awake until dinner time. Find a roast beef dinner and then head back to the hotel for an early bed time. How does one find a pub with a Sunday roast beef dinner, well the internet of course! I found an article from July 2022 that listed 11 and one just happened to be 150m from us. It was meant to be!

    But it was not, the bar tender was confused by my question. I was lost devastated, jet lagged and hangry. It was not a good scene on the streets of Dublin. Luckily we did find a little bistro with delightful chowder. Service sucked and they forgot half of our appies BUT it was a solid chowder so all good. Fed Nadine is a much happier person.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 3

    Galway Girl

    August 29, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Galway always came up when I asked people what I should do in Ireland. It is a coastal city in the west side of the island. I love coastal cities with their promise of ferry boats, mussels and clam chowder so I was sold.

    We got our jet lagged asses out of bed and boarded a train. 1 nap later we arrived! Galway has a common area downtown with shops and pubs called the Latin Quarter. Which seems strange but according to Google (still trust it) Galway has always had a close relationship with both Spain and Portugal, so much so that at one point the ruling class in Dublin once said that "Galway is more Spanish than Irish" due to the large number of Spanish residence. It is for this reason that the Spanish Arch got its name. The Spanish ships and galleons often would dock alongside the Arch.

    We wandered the shops, purchased sweaters from the best sheep in Ireland and found mussels and Guinness. Day 2 was pretty tame.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 3

    Eating after 8pm

    August 29, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I am convinced not really. Not all pubs serve food and those that do cut off food service at 8pm. Which is great for normal Nadine. But travel Nadine has mussels in the afternoon and then needs a late dinner.

    After a quick lay town we strolled back into the Latin corner at 7:30pm. Places were either lined up or closed (some places are closed Sunday-Wednesday…WTF). The pubs we managed to get a seat at came and informed us that the kitchen was closed. Like you are serving beer into the wee hours of the morning your kitchen should be open later. Sadly there was no one to complain to.

    It was looking like it would be a McDonalds supper until Ty suggested the hotel. Good call Tyler! OMG the chowder! Chowder #2 was soooo much better than the one in Dublin. The cream was divine and the potatoes…mmm they were cooked to perfection and were baby ones…so good. So good.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 4

    Ferry Boat Day

    August 30, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    There were 2 things I wanted to do while in Galway. See the Aran Islands and see the cliffs of Moher. (Ty is just happy to be along for the ride).

    The Aran Islands are 3 rocky isles guarding the mouth of Galway Bay, in western Ireland. They’re known for their ancient sites.

    The Cliffs of Moher are sea cliffs at the southwestern edge of Ireland. They run for about 14 kilometres (9 miles). At their southern end, they rise 120 metres (390 ft) above the Atlantic.

    Turns out there is a tour for that. I just needed to be okay with seeing the small island. We also had to be okay with being on a bus and touring for 10 hours. A 10 hour bus tour with 52 other people sucks but this tour was worth it.

    We dragged our jet lagged asses up early to meet our 52 new friends at 8:45am and zoomed along the coastline on Wild Atlantic Way road. Okay more stopping and starting and slowing down and speedy up on the windy narrow roads then zooming. But Patrick got us to the ferry with lots of time to spare.

    After a 15 minute ride we ended up at Inisheer (Inis Oírr). Since we only had 2 hours to tour the island we needed to choose one of three options, take a horse and buggy, take a tractor and wagon or bike. I thought of biking until Pat said it was hilly, so we turned to a horse and buggy.

    Rosie was a fine steed that pulled 8 of us so we could see the sights around her island. Which contained a shipwreck and a castle. After viewing the sites we shared fish and chips by the ocean in the hot sun.

    The weather here is fantastic. I brought jeans and a sweater to wear as I assumed it would be cold be the water. Nope. Thank you global warming and for giving Ireland a hot summer.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 4

    Cliffs of Insanity

    August 30, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    I am not a huge Princess Bride fan but Tyler is. The Cliffs of Insanity are a part of the movie and are the Cliffs of Moher. This was the second part of the tour. Another selling feature of the 10 hour tour was that it allowed you to see the cliffs from the ferry boat before taking you to view them from the top.

    We left Inisheer (Inis Oírr) and headed for the cliffs. Now we had sucky seats in the ferry boat as we got in line too late. (And by too late we were 10 minutes early than we were supposed to be in the line up🤦🏻‍♀️). But we still got to go up top and see the magnificent view. Just wow.

    Then we travelled to the top of the cliffs and also wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Patrick also told us that there are about 15 days out of the year when the view from the cliffs and today was one of them. This is unusual for me as I have the worst luck and usually get fog and rain when I try to see cool sites.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 5

    The Food Scene

    August 31, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We have been loving food tours for a few years now. It is a great way to learn about a city/area of a city and try places we probably would have never found. I have always thought of Irish food as cottage pie, potatoes and stew, Galway Food Tours has changed all that.

    Sheena, our amazing tour guide and former chef explained it all to us. Ireland has amazing dairy, meat and produce. Everything is locally sourced and taste like it was just picked. Problem was that until 25 years ago no one really knew how to cook in a way that was not traditional Irish. Then Culinary Irish Folk start traveling to France, Italy and Switzerland learning the tricks of the cheese and meat trades and voila the food scene started. She is on a mission to showcase local Galway and Irish food!

    We started at a local coffee shop which is a relatively new concept in a land of tea drinkers we found out. Hipster coffee places are just picking up and from the sample we had, they are good. 2nd stop was a local business that makes pastries and chocolates. For a non chocolate lover they were good but the real highlight was the raspberry croissants made with damn good butter and the raspberry filling was made with raspberries that the owners grow in their back yard. So, so good.

    Stop #3 was at 11:15 and was a whiskey sampling of 3 different types with cheese and meat. We had what could be explained as lamb prosciutto which was amazeballs. Like so good I now have a package in my purse. And yes even Ty drank whiskey and before noon. Vacation Ty is spicy. lol.

    Stop #4 was maybe the best bang for our buck. We stopped at a famous pub known for the original owner starting what we know now as the SPCA, where we were served a platter of mussels, smoked salmon pate, an oyster, brown bread and a beer. Side bar on brown bread, I am usually not a fan. Brown bread in Canada is nasty. Multigrain is good but brown I can not stand. Irish brown is really yummy. Except that I go in thinking it is pumpernickel and want to make the cringe face but am pleasantly surprised at the end.

    We then stopped at a small local restaurant that is known for only cooking with ingredients that can be found in Ireland. We had a small shot of tomatoes so our bodies remembered what vegetables were. Then we were off for ice cream where they had local flavours such as Irish soda break, and Dingle gin and sea salt. I went for the basic strawberry.

    All and all a pretty good brunch.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 5

    Snug

    August 31, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Snug means something different to everyone. To me it means snug as a bug in a rug or I have visions of the Snuggie. Oh we all remember the Snuggie.

    Anyways in Ireland a snug is a walled off section in a bar with an entrance with a table and a seat. Usually they are in a row. Very Covid friendly BUT that is not what they are for. They were built for ladies to go to the pub and drink and smoke away from viewing judgy society (aka males). Some pubs still have these and they are a hot commodity since pubs can become packed and standing room only.Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 5

    Whiskey in a jar

    August 31, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    You can not come to Ireland without doing an Irish whiskey tour. Now the first one that comes to mind is Jameson. I do not care much for Jameson. I was interested in this place in Galway called Micil that a friend went to and said they the best Irish cream she has ever had. I love me some baileys so I was in.

    This Irish cream makes Baileys taste like crap. Seriously. It is sooooo good. What makes it unique? Well the Mical family recipe uses Poitín. Which is a traditional Irish distilled beverage also known as Irish moonshine and taste like whiskey. It was illegal until 20 years but this family has been doing it for 6 generations, so they were bad asses. It is pretty tasty and is fantastic in the Irish cream.

    They also make a Galway whiskey which is whiskey aged in sherry or red wine casts so it has a pink colour. It is aged in these casts as back in the day those were the only casts that could be reused for whiskey so Galway whiskey was always pink in colour. Sadly they were out of this one so I am going home without :( But have the cream form so it is all good.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland 2022
    Day 6

    Back to Dublin

    September 1, 2022 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We boarded the train back to Dublin for the last 4 nights of the trip. Again a pretty uneventful trip back to the big city.

    The best part of the end of this trip is the hotel. Thankfully to points (thank you Deloitte) we got a pretty decent deal at the Shelbourne Hotel. I was hoping to use my upgrade options to get a suite like London 2019. Sadly there were no upgrade options available. Still the room is nice and I get a robe, slippers and turn down service. Which is where someone turns down my sheets and sets my slippers out on their own rug. It is ridiculous but awesome. The hotel is deep in history with poets, writers and artists inhabiting it’s bars in the late 1800 and early 1900. My wanting to stay at the hotel is also the reason we ended up being in Dublin a week before our anniversary. I could not get a room Sept 8-14. And I was confused as to what the hell was going. Well I found out…Garth Brooks is in town at this time. He probably has the hotel booked for his people combined with the people coming to see him. Fucking Garth. But we saw the sun for most of the trip…okay fine I will not hate Garth.

    We dropped off our things and headed to Stephen’s Green park for a picnic lunch which was all the goods we picked up in Galway. This park is like a mini Central Park. With green spaces and a pond. It was another sunny day so we enjoyed the sun. Then we went on the hunt for a tweed jacked and wool cardigan.

    That evening we enjoyed chowder #3 and some fish and chips at a pub recommended by our taxi. At this point we are sharing everything as we eat a lot it seems like. Haha. And we also wanted a pub off the beaten track from the Temple Bar area as it is crazy there.

    We enjoyed a night cap at the 1824 pub that was made to look like an old library.    Read more

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