Planning a trip to Northern Ireland? We've developed a focused, 10-day itinerary that has it all: hiking, history, charming villages, castle ruins, and stunning vistas. Chris and I love to get boots on the ground, so our plan involves three days of hiking the Causeway Coast Way. If you're not that into hiking, that’s ok!…
I've written a surprising number of articles about packing for our 6-week Ireland trip, including how I choose clothes and pack lightly, how I choose and pack toiletries, my initial packing list, and my final packing list. In this post I give you our line-by-line list complete with weights and notes. I'm sorry the "tables" are…
There’s really no trick to finding good Irish music in Dublin, just get out, walk around, and you’re bound to see pubs advertising live music. The biggest concentration is in the Temple Bar area; that’s where we listened to popular Irish classics at both The Old Storehouse and The Temple Bar - around lunchtime no…
Traveling Ireland, you’re bound to see sandwich boards advertising the words Live, Irish, Traditional, Trad, Music, or Session in various combinations such as “Live Music”, Traditional Irish Music“, or ”Trad Session". It’s important to note they don’t mean the same thing. We were in Ireland for 6 weeks, heard live music at least 15 times,…
…I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone. Really. There’s a rather voluptuous statue of her on Suffolk Street in Dublin. During our week tromping around the city we passed her more than once, and each time I broke out in song; it’s practically an involuntary response. There’s so much to do and see…
Overview Chris and I spent a total of six weeks in Ireland: three weeks on our own, one week hiking with a friend, and the final two weeks sightseeing with family. It was a fantastic trip and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but was it “perfect”? Nope. Here’s a taste of lessons learned…
After we dropped family at the Dublin airport, Chris and I had a half-day to fill en route to Kilkenny. We chose to explore Carlow and while I’d like to report wildly fun hours filled with must-see sights, we simply had a pleasant afternoon walking town and trail. Carlow Town Heritage Trail Carlow provides a handy online map…
If I’m honest, had we not taken the free guided tour of The Hunt Museum we would have raced through, read superficially, and learned little. As it was, we were offered a personal guide who drew us in with her passion and knowledge. We stayed an hour and a half and the time fairly flew.…
I adored this sightseeing stop and yet I hang my head sheepishly whenever it comes to mind. There’s probably a one-in-a-gazillion chance you’d make this mistake, but just in case… if you have three cars and you’re in the lead car and you miraculously arrive at your destination even though your directions were vague, do…
What a find! Kids of Ireland, do you know how lucky you are?! I grew up in the Las Vegas desert where a decent chunk of my outdoor time was spent with friends building hideouts in massive tumbleweed thickets and illicitly running through forbidden drainage culverts (very dangerous - not wise!). It was barren, dusty and…