http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/briangilmore/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from briangilmore en-us Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:11:36 +0000 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:11:36 +0000 Sunday and Monday June 2829 Pirates of KinsaleNext on the Rick Steves itinerary was the town of Kinsale just below Cork in southern Ireland. One of the reasons I was excited to visit County Cork was because I had another Irish ancestor connection here. After my great grandfather the one from Sligo immigrated to the United States he met and married Elizabeth Collins who was from Cork. So af http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Cork/Kinsale/blog-417199.html Wednesday July 1st DublinDublin itself is a one day town especially when compared to the other great cities of Europe. Itrsquos really more of a business or party town in my opinion. The drunks we often heard at 300am in the morning would agree with me. The beauty of Ireland definitely lies in the countryside. Still this was a great place to complete our trip and wind down before heading t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-416585.html Tuesday June 30th Rock of CashelWith time running out on our trip we left Tuesday morning for our last destination which was Dublin. By now you could tell that I ran out of planning time before we left because I horribly underestimated the time to get from Cork to Dublin and oh by the way the car rental had to be back by 200pm as well. With reluctance we chopped out intermediary stops at Ard http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-416583.html Friday and Saturday June 2627 Dinging Around DingleThe Dingle peninsula is one of the most amazing parts of Ireland. Itrsquos like a smaller but less crowded version of the Ring of Kerry with a little bit of everything including ancient ruins the ocean farms the mountains and music in every pub. There are over 2000 archeological sites in Dingle. One could spend an entire trip in this a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Kerry/Dingle-Peninsula/blog-416578.html Thursday June 25 Kilmacduagh Kilfenora and other Kool Keltic Celtic NamesTwo days in Galway was barely enough yet we were forced to hit the road once again to drive to Dingle today. Along the way we had grand plans to stop at the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren. The long drives between destinations were definitely cutting into our sight seeing time by now and even sapping our energy but we h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Clare/Cliffs-of-Moher/blog-414178.html Wednesday June 24 Connemara National ParkTodayrsquos activities were an easy choice we were going to drive back towards the north and see Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey. The abbey was practically next door to Connemara so we were almost obliged to stop. As we drove over a bridge on the approach to the abbey I let out an ooooh and ahhhh at the beautiful image of the abbey set on the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Connemara/blog-413854.html Tuesday June 23rd On the Road to GalwayChoices ChoicesWe left Sligo for Galway Tuesday morning in what would turn out to be a long day in the car. Our plan was to hit a few major sites along the way like Connemara before arriving in Galway by dinner time. Guide books and tourist maps only point out the major sites but as you drive along Irelandrsquos roads numerous distractions encourage you http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Galway/Galway/blog-413027.html Monday June 22 Megalithic Fun in SligoIreland is littered with leftovers from the bronze age after all stone is pretty durable. Sligo is home to the Carrowmore megalithic cemetery a huge collection of dolmens and cairns dating from the bronze age or before the pyramids of Egypt. We visited Carrowmore Monday morning and were impressed by the size and number of the structures. Sadly there used http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Sligo/blog-413026.html Sunday June 21stCountry Sligo is a wonderful introduction to Ireland. Itrsquos not as touristed as the rest of the country but still just as beautiful with mountains megalithic ruins the ocean and a countryside full of farms. Most importantly it is also the ancestral home of the Gilmore family before they emigrated to the United States over 126 years ago. Ancient Gilmore FamilyMy brother Ste http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Sligo/blog-412762.html Saturday June 20th From Gaul to GaelicOh how I hate travel days. They are full of tension and stress. You have to wake up early be at such and such place on time or miss your trainairplane. Don't forget to triple check your room to see if you forgot to pack something or you might never see it again. On Saturday we left France and headed for Ireland after another planes trains and automobile m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Sligo/Sligo/blog-411786.html Friday June 19thAt the beginning of this journey I wondered how we would handle the longer than normal vacation. Now that we are almost half way done I am surprised at some of the things I have discovered. It seems that 2 weeks is the right amount of time to unwind and finally relax. Being gone for 2 weeks is like getting a deep tissue massage instead of a back rub. You begin to remember what lif http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Grenoble/blog-411785.html Thursday June 18thAbout an hour To the north of Grenoble just past the Chambery is a small city near the Swiss border called Annecy. It's only 30 minutes from Geneva and it sits on the edge of a mountain lake with very clear water. Annecy is like a little Venice or Amsterdam complete with its own set of canals a medieval prison and a castle on the hill overlooking the town. Pedestrian bridg http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Grenoble/blog-411783.html Wednesday June 17thThe morning started out pretty funny. Tiffany decided to take a walk around Brignoud with one of the girls since we weren't going into Grenoble until later that day. A few minutes later she came back and I asked her what was wrong why did she come back so early Tiffany said she was worried she might get a ticket for disturbing the peace. I was confused naturally. She laughed http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Grenoble/blog-411781.html Tuesday June 16By the time we woke up Tuesday morning Pierre and Christine were already in the garden working. Over breakfast we decided to tackle Charmant Som which is one of the peaks in the Chartreuse and the historical Abbey of Chartreuse. The heat was getting pretty bad this week so before we left for the mountains we stopped off at the local sports store and bought shorts for Tiffany an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Grenoble/blog-411778.html Monday June 15Monday was our first day in the RhoneAlps region of France. Grenoble is in a valley practically surrounded by high mountains with snow at their peak even in June. Pierre technically lives in the suburbs of Grenoble in a little town called Brignoud. From Brignoud it's easy to access the many hiking trails in the summer and ski resorts in the winter. When you step out of Pierre's hou http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Grenoble/blog-410262.html Sunday June 14We woke up very early on Sunday to take the TGV train to see my friend Pierre who lives near the French Alps in Grenoble. After saying sad goodbyes to our hosts Jean and Annick we took the local train into Paris to the Gare de Lyon. Tiffany somehow managed to get caught in the doors of the Metro train as they closed and screamed. Fortunately she was ok but the next thought was How http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Rh-ne-Alpes/Lyon/blog-409690.html Saturday June 13On Saturday we went to the Chateau of Versailles with Pierre's parents and with Anne's family. The plan was not to see the Versailles in the usual manner via the palace at the front entrance very touristy but to come in through the back entrance and see the huge English garden filled with fountains and walk around the Marie Antoinette's Estate also known as the Queen's Hamlet. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-409154.html Friday June 12thAfter only a few days of traveling I could already smell rebellion in the air with the wife and kids so tired the day before. So we decided to sleep in late on Friday and have a more leisurely day with some site seeing in Paris followed by dinner with the family of Anne. The girls ended up sleeping almost 12 hours which was unbelieveable. We left for the train station in Cormeille http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-408721.html Thursday June 11thOn Thursday Pierre's sister Anne accompanied us into Paris for a day of site seeing. We took the Bateaux Mouche which is a nice leasiurely way to see the primary sights of Paris in one sitting. The Bateaux Mouche is basically a big tour boat with open air seating on the top to get the best view. The weather was still mixed so it was freezing cold and windy on the top deck of th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-408714.html Where Have We Been Sorry it's been a few days since I posted to the blog today was my first opportunity to use the internet. I bet you thought I forgot about you guys already We arrived in Paris Tuesday afternoon after what seemed like an eternity on planes trains and automobiles. In a nutshell we flew through Charlotte Atlanta and Dublin to get to Paris hey the ticket was cheap . Whe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-407903.html