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Baroness - Lynnette Lakey Taff

I'm a proud native of Texas, daughter of a mother with Cherokee-Potawotamie heritage and a father whose roots are not as well researched but are believed to be primarily British. And for the past seven years, I've been proud to be the wife of a man with ancestors from Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.

My husband and I recently made our second vacation trip to Ireland, and it's that experience that prompted us to start this journal. We wanted to share our photos and experiences with friends and family, and this seemed like a good way. So to all of you we know and love, and to any of you folks out there who don't know us personally - Welcome! We hope you enjoy this virtual trip, and welcome your comments.

By the way, the photo you see here is from one of my favorite vacations of all time - a nice long week in Hawaii. My travel companion (this was during my single days) took this photo, in which you could get the mistaken impression that I'm practically nekkid. We were taking a helicopter tour of.... Maui, I think it was. I was busy taking a photo of the waterfall, which I think was supposed to be the focal point of my friend's photo, too.

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Joined on: June 21st 2006
Last Login: April 19th 2007

Blog Entries: 9
Photos: 37

TB Code: [blogger=19202]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Baroness, order by Date newest first.

By Baroness
June 10th 2006

Working (and Praying) for Peace & Reconciliation

Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Belfast

Belfast City Hall
During our visit, the trees were green and lovely, but otherwise, this photo does a great job of showing you a little bit of this impressive structure. Many thanks to Nigel Clarke of Lisburn, Norther... [more]

After having breakfast at the Europa's generous buffet, we went with Rev. Bill Shaw to see the facilities of the 174 Trust. The 174 Trust was established in 1982 by a group of concerned Christians interested in tackling some of the many problems confronting the local community (unemployment, low education, and crime among them). As though the neighborhood problems were not challenge enough, they selected a physical location in an area that might reasonably be called ground zero for the historic "troubles" in Northern Ireland. A demographic map shows that t [View Full Entry]

The Big Fish at the River Lagan in Belfast

By Baroness
June 9th 2006

The Antrim Coast

Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland

A View From Our Room
Rossahilly House is situated on a rise at the edge of Lough Erne; our upstairs room presented a wonderful view. I made a point of including the window in the photo so it would be clear where I was wh... [more]

We hated to leave the wonderful Rossahilly House in Enniskillen this morning - it was certainly a beautiful B & B with a lovely couple as hosts - Eric & Monica Bell. No doubt the view from our bedroom was better here than at any other place we've been on this trip (see photo). And to top it off, the Bells probably made the best brown bread we've eaten, too - delicious, and served warm, straight from the oven. After a stroll through their gardens, we were back in the car, headed for the Antrim Coast. Old Bushmills [url=http://www.bushmills.c [View Full Entry]

By Baroness
June 8th 2006

Family Ties That Bind

Europe » Ireland » County Sligo » Sligo

Lough Talt

This morning started out in a much more relaxed fashion than yesterday. Tim and I had a cuppa tea and some brown bread while we chatted with Kitty. Alfie had already headed off to work since he was planning to take off early in the afternoon to meet us in County Sligo and point us to an old cemetery where some Taaffes are buried. After a nice shower (the Deehans have better water pressure than we found in many B & Bs), we loaded the car and left Athenry for points north. We stopped first to snap a few photos of [View Full Entry]

By Baroness
June 8th 2006

Lovely Enniskillen

Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland

Lovely Lough Erne
With a view like this, a stay at the Rossahilly House is sure to offer the opportunity for peaceful reflection.

We were unsure what to expect as we drove from County Sligo to Enniskillen, which is in Northern Ireland, not the Republic. Our Frommer's guide had promised there are usually no border crossings, and that proved to be our experience. We saw a Presbyterian church and a Quaker meeting house, but really didn't think much about it until we saw a building marked Police Service of Northern Ireland. Once we realized that we were in the U.K. part of the island, it made sense that we had started seeing churches other than Catholic or Church of Ireland. Thankfully, it was an [View Full Entry]

By Baroness
June 7th 2006

Happy Birthday to Me!

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

The Baron and Baroness at Galway Bay
Thanks to Alfie for suggesting and taking this photo!

Today is my birthday, but it seems that my husband is not going to do anything to acknowledge that until we reach our destination for today. :-( I think I irritated him by starting off late this morning - I stayed up late last night writing in my travel journal (the kind made of paper, bound in leather - remember those?), so I slept later than usual. By the time I got showered and dressed and we went downstairs, we had missed breakfast. Meanwhile, we did have a tea tray in the room, so Tim had at least had a nice [View Full Entry]

By Baroness
June 6th 2006

Dingle Day 2 - Killarney and More

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Dingle Peninsula

At Muckross House
The driver of the jaunting cart took this photo, and a fine job he did, too! The Irish draft horse is both a beauty and a sweetheart - her name is Suzy.

Today we headed to Killarney and spent several hours at Killarney National Park, including Muckross House, Gardens, and Traditional Farms. The park encompasses more than 25,000 acres and was Ireland’s first National Park. When we toured the Manor House, we missed the English-speaking tour, and rather than wait for the next one, we tagged along with the French-speaking group. My French is a bit rusty, but I was able to understand much - maybe even most - of what the guide said. One of the things that stood out in my recollection of her tale was that the estate was purchased [View Full Entry]

The Baron and Baroness at Torc Waterfall

By Baroness
June 5th 2006

The Journey Begins in Earnest

Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Londonderry

We slept late this morning, which is amazing since the sun rises at about 4:30 AM here at this time of the year. Apparently, the monks (or their decorator?) took that into consideration when selecting the shades for the Guest House windows, as no hint of the bright early morning sunshine disturbed us. We enjoyed tea and brown bread for breakfast again, then wandered around the beautiful campus. There were quite a few families here today, and when we asked about it, we were told that these were people who were considering Glenstal Abbey School for their sons, come to check [View Full Entry]

By Baroness
June 5th 2006

Dingle Day 1 - Adare to Tralee

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Dingle Peninsula

Adare Town Park
Note the thatched roof on the gazebo-type structure at the end of the walkway. There was also a lovely little stream meandering through the park, but unfortunately, THAT photo didn't turn out very we... [more]

Our Irish friends and the tour guides all seem to agree that Adare is one of the prettiest, most picturesque villages in Ireland, so we made a point of stopping here for dinner and a little sight-seeing as we drove from Glenstal to our next destination - the Brandon Hotel in Tralee. Adare is a lovely town, though I thought the same of many Irish towns. Perhaps it’s the number of thatched roofs in Adare that makes it stand out. I read somewhere that while other towns were busy “upgrading” to slate roofs back in the early 1800s, the local landlord [View Full Entry]

By Baroness
June 4th 2006

Dallas to Shannon - It's a long way!

Europe » Ireland » County Clare » Shannon

The Family Taff
This photo has nothing to do with our actual travel but shows why we're always glad to come home again.

We left our home in Lancaster, TX on Saturday morning, 3rd June, and arrived Shannon Airport Sunday morning, 4th June. Even taking the time difference into consideration, our journey was still long - about 12 hours actual flying time. We arrived tired and hungry, so our first goal after collecting our rental car was to find something to eat. We drove in to Limerick City, thinking there would be plenty of choices, but found the town closed up - apparently the Catholics in Ireland take their Sabbath more seriously than their counterparts in America! Even McDonald's and Burger King wer [View Full Entry]

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