Blogs from County Dublin, Ireland, Europe

Forgot to mention on the last Blog, after the Jameson Whiskey tour we had dinner at the Brazen Head, reputed to be the oldest pub in Dublin, established in 1198. It was a cavernous place so probably had a few expansions over the past 1100 years. Undoubtedly there were few parallels to the original other than a few guys sitting at the bar; although the patrons of 1198 would be surprised with their 2024 peer group who were mainly looking at their phones as opposed to chatting with each other. We ordered Irish stew which was good but cost $30.00CDN per bowl!! Couldn’t find the inflation rate from 1192-2024 so unable to calculate what the stew would cost when the pub first opened. The third day in Dublin was warm and sunny which made the trip ... read more

Today we leave Ireland and our EF Go Ahead tour group! We met some people we dearly loved spending time with plus we loved our tour guide and bus driver. We hated to part ways but another adventure with a new group was waiting for us in Switzerland. In order to get to the airport at Dublin, we had to take a bus from Galway which drove clear across the country. Now Ireland is not that big, but Galway is on one coast and Dublin is on the other.it was about a 3 hour ride. Our flight was at 12 noon, so we left Galway at 6:30 am. It wasn't a bad ride, it was a local bus with several stops. We made it in plenty of time. The airport wasn't busy, but they did things ... read more

Today was a day on our own, so we decided to take it easy, not set an alarm, and just have a slow start to our morning. By the time we were up and ready to start the day, it was past time to partake in the hotel breakfast. So we decided just to walk around town and find someplace to eat breakfast, brunch, or lunch. We saw McDonald’s, Burger King, and KFC. We decided to go in one of them, opened the door, and found it was a Mall! We walked through the mall, found a lovely café/coffee shop and decided to eat there. I had pancakes and fruit and a flat white. Nanci had a sausage roll and a great coffee. As we sat at the cafe having our breakfast, we looked around, and ... read more

Dublin Tour The next stop on our British Isles cruise was Dun Laoghaire the gateway to Dublin. After taking the train from Dun Laoghaire to Pearse Station, Renata, Mom and I headed over to Trinity College. Trinity College We previously booked a tour of Trinity College and the Book of Kells before departing on the cruise. When we arrived at Trinity College, we were greeted by a student representative of the college, Ethan who specializes in Theoretical Physics and took us on a tour of the campus. Some of the interesting facts about Trinity College include: 1. Famous People: It produced some of the world’s finest most original minds including the writers Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett and Bram Stroker. 2. The Campanile: The bell tower in the heart of Trinity’s Front Square. The superstition goes, that ... read more

Welcome back all, after 5 years, 3 of those interrupted by the c-word (COVID), Greg and Rose are back on the road! On this trip, we are spending 10 days in Ireland mostly to catch up with some of Rose's distant relations and historical ancestry. Then we are going to Scotland for 10 days to catch up with family of two of our special friends, after that going to London for 2 nights to see our nephew and one of Rose's cousins. France is the where we will pick up our car and spend another 10 days getting to Tuscany where we will have 1 month with friends and family. The last 3 days will be traveling to Rome to catch the flight home. At this stage that seems like a long way away, but it ... read more