Today was our last official day of our Ireland/Scotland tour with Cosmos Tours. After our tradition breakfast buffet, we got on the tour bus and set our for Edinburgh Old Town and New Town. (Our hotel was out of the city center). We had a local tour guide, Kenneth, join our group for an in-depth tour of the city of Edinburgh. Our regular guide, Will, made arrangements for our tour of Edinburgh Castle, where we would meet him at a later time. As we drove around the city I didn’t know which way to look first. There are so many churches, schools, monuments, building, etc. I just took pictures….lots of pictures. Sadly, today was a rainy day so some of the pictures aren’t the best. Many of them won’t be identified because we didn’t know what ... read more

From Glasgow to the Scottish Highlands, this is one of the days Shealyn has looked forward to. Mostly she uses the bus time as her catch up on sleep time, but not today. She’s in the front seat watching out the window for Cooley Cows and the Loch Ness Monster. Our first stop was Loch Lomond And Trossachs National Park for pictures of Loch Lomond. This National park was the first in Scotland to be awarded that status. Loch Lomond is a fresh water lake that is 200 meters deep at its deepest. Much of our drive this morning was around the lake. We drive through some beautiful countryside. It was just as I imagined…… hills, valleys, sheep, cows, the foggy mist of the Scottish Highlands. It was so incredible!! It makes me sing the songs ... read more

July 21 Today we had an earlier day that is usual. We had to be on the bus at 8 and breakfast was at 7:00. It meant getting up at 6:00, which wax no problem. Our first goal today was the Northern Ireland town of Derry or Londonderry. Derry/Londonderry is the second biggest city of Northern Ireland, after Belfast. It's a walled city, and there is so much history within the walls. The city was originally named Derry, from the Irish “Daire“, meaning “oak tree”. It was then anglicized to “Derry”. In 1613,  the name was changed to Londonderry. The name of the city is now a topic of dispute between Irish nationalists (using Derry) and unionists (using Londonderry). In Northern Ireland, the religious differences are what turned into a political split; Catholics predominantly consider themselves Irish ... read more

July 19 This day started out a little different. Since our first event was right here in town we had a later breakfast and departure time. We got to sleep in just a little longer! We went on a jaunting, horse drawn carriage ride through the Killarney National Park. It is the only means to get through the forest unless you walk, rent a bike, or ride a horse. The Ross Castle and the Lakes of Killarney are the reward at the end of the ride. Our driver Micky, and his son Patrick, were quite entertaining. Micky told stories, jokes, and even sang to us. It was a great ride! Once our ride was over, it was back on the bus headed toward the quaint town of Adare. It was to be a short trip but ... read more

July 17 Today was going to be spent on the bus traveling from city to city. Following breakfast, we loaded our luggage on the bus and set out for our first stop, Kilkenny. Today, in Dublin, was the National Hurling Championship, so it was a good thing we were getting out of town. All along our journey today we saw busses, people boarding trains, cars, all heading to the big game. We also drive through fertile farm land complete with crops , cattle, sheep, and horses!! Our first stop was Kilkenny, who just happened to be one of the teams in the big hurling match up. As we arrived in town the police were escorting the team out of town. It was kind of exciting to be in the thick of it all. As the team ... read more