Ireland Travel Blogs on RealTravel

Blarney journal: Blarney

2008-04-09T21:47:11Z

a entry by Dementia Adventure from a trip to Blarney, Ireland.

Wednesday 9 April

Anne writing now

Started the day with synchronised torture in the hotel pool. Worse than that our personal trainer discovered a steam room and sauna. We were dragged through them all but felt better sometime afterwards.

Blarney Castle today. Some would say we have enough blarney to last a lifetime but when you kiss the stone, which we all did, you gain the ability to rabbit on for hours and hours, which we did. Light fingered Sue mistakenly took a guide book for us which was 4 Euro if you bought it. We all trudged up 109 very narrow stairs and kissed the ...

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Bray journal: Ireland

2008-04-09T21:25:46Z

a entry by Dementia Adventure from a trip to Bray, Wicklow.

Monday 7 April Continued

Stayed at Conwy overnight, its on the way to Hollyhead. Pleasant evening with a Chillian red wine, not bad. Avis told us this morning that we needed to fix up the extra insurance for Ireland at their office in Chester, it could not be done over the phone. No problem Avis advised that they had been out of the needed forms but had just got them in so it all could be done. Great from Avis’s point of view but for us it meant nearly an hours drive back the way we had come. That added 2 hours on to the time for us to get to Hollyhead, now 3 hrs away instead of 1 hr. ...

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Blarney journal: Rag Week Fun and Blarney Experience

2008-01-27T13:42:22Z

a entry by James Hanlon from a trip to Blarney, Ireland.

Well, to clarify, Rag Week is supposed to be a week where a lot of fundraising and charity work is done. The way this is done is through parties at clubs, pubs, and even at the school. Everybody was out this week; the city was mobbed! Every club or bar we went to we donated something to charity either from us paying cover or for beer. It was a wild week. On Saturday, my roommates Steph, Jackie, Liam, and I traveled out to Blarney to see the castle, the grounds, the wool mill, and of course, to kiss the stone. We could not ask for a better day to travel. It was sunny and warm; we even had our ...

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Dublin journal: Dublin, Ireland & little bit of England

2008-03-11T18:16:55Z

a entry by Chad Van Cleve from a trip to Dublin, Ireland.

Allen’s Visit

When Allen arrived we stayed in The Netherlands for a few days. We showed him the local sights, ate the local foods, and just hung out. We made it to Amsterdam for one day and visited the van Gogh museum among the other sights you just HAVE to see when you visit Amsterdam.

The next day we boarded a ferry to head to England. It was not exactly a Carnival Cruise ship but it was neat to be sailing across the North Sea. We took off from the port at 8:00 PM and ended up in England at 9:00 AM. On the boat we walked around, went to the different drinking establishments ...

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Midleton journal: Jameson is Awesome!

2008-02-02T13:50:55Z

a entry by James Hanlon from a trip to Midleton, Ireland.

Well, another fun week of class and Cork! We went and saw some more live music locally. Friday, Sarah, Liam and I took a bus trip out to Midleton, to the Old Distillery where Jameson makes their amazing whiskey. It was a quick 20 minute bus ride from the bus station in Cork. The town of Midleton was bigger than I thought. We were expecting just the distillery. We got to the Jameson Distillery, and the area was impressive. The tour was great too since we got to see the original buildings and process from when the distillery first opened in the 1800's. They now have a new facility next to the ...

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Cork journal: Blarney Castle and Cork Gaol

2007-11-20T23:03:19Z

a entry by SargeantKe from a trip to Cork, Ireland.

I KISSED THE BLARNEY STONE!! I don't have a picture on my computer of me doing it, but I have a hard copy that I had to pay for. If you want to see the picture, you gotta come here and see it!

So we flew from Edinburgh to Shannon, Ireland, then took a bus to Cork. We met a kid from New York who's studying in Athens while we were on the plane, but he was going to Galway, I think, so we didn't see much more of him than that. The bus ride was scenic, but I admittedly saw very little because I had the horrible habit of falling asleep. The ride took something like two-and-a-half ...

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Dublin journal: IIRReland

2007-11-30T00:03:13Z

a entry by Val's Adventures from a trip to Dublin, Ireland.

IIRReland, Brett and I said together smiling. “So Val,” Brett said inquisitively, “Why Ireland? Paris is a short train ride from Amsterdam, south of France where it is sunny…” I couldn’t give him an answer, and for me I really didn’t know why. I had chosen the Emerald Isle to celebrate my 27th birthday on a feeling and as fate would have it we would be taking the adventure together.

I was first introduced to Brett almost four years ago. I went to college with his brother and after moving to San Diego, we became friends by default. We shared some great times in the sunny city before he ...

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Glendalough journal: Informative Tour through Gorgeous grounds

2007-11-29T19:18:52Z

a review of Glendalough Monastic Site Tour, a thing to do in Glendalough, Wicklow.

I was really looking forward to this tour because I love the old Celtic Crosses. I wasn't disappointed. Their was a narrated tour that showed you through the visitor center as well as the monastic site outside. Afterwards you were left on your own to wander the grounds and take photographs. It's a beautiful area.

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Dublin journal: A peek into the life of the medieval rich

2007-11-29T19:01:47Z

a review of Tour Dublin Castle, a thing to do in Dublin, Ireland.

A fairly interesting tour of the Dublin Castle situated right in the center of the city. The tour includes a narrated tour and history of the state rooms inside Dublin Castle. You get to see the old, expensive furnishing and historical portraits.

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Dublin journal: Tree days in Dublin!

2007-11-27T13:44:47Z

"thought about going to the Guinness factory - but too expensive and thought we can see it just as well in a pub!"

a entry by Nat B from a trip to Dublin, Ireland.

Dublin was grand! I met Jade at the Dublin airport she flew in from London and I flew in from Edinburgh and we caught a local bus into town. It’s not as ‘old worlde’ as Edinburgh but it still has it’s own charm and I love the Irish people!

We stayed in an area called Temple Bar which is the oldest part of town with cobbled streets and hundreds of bars! It’s very touristy but lots of atmosphere and buskers and music playing in the pubs. We found it really hard to find any accommodation for the Saturday night and were lucky to find a room in a good hostel called Oliver St John Gogarty.

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Ireland journal: Tree days in Dublin!

2007-11-27T13:42:46Z

a journal by Nat B from a trip to Ireland.

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Aran Islands journal: Bike Riding on Inis Moir

2007-11-12T18:59:56Z

"The spectacular stone ringed walls form a semi circle with the 150m sheer cliff face"

a entry by Lauren & Justin from a trip to Aran Islands, Ireland.

After our breakfast of vegemite toast (thanks mum!) we headed 37km west of Galway to Rossveal where we caught the 10.30 ferry across to the Biggest of the 3 Aran Islands and home of the infamous Aran sweater (a nanaish looking kniited jumper!) The 45 minute ferry ride was terrible with huge waves pounding the sides of the boat as we jumped over more waves and we were rocking wildly from side to side. Thankfully we arrived on the island a little nauseous bit otherwise unscathed. We hired a suspension (I should of been weary) bike for €10 each and set off excitedly on our adventure across the ...

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Newgrange journal: Dublin and Newgrange

2007-11-11T12:31:07Z

"Unsurprisingly Newgrange is one of the fairy mounds of Celtic legend."

a entry by Jo Budd from a trip to Newgrange, Ireland.

Angie and I set off for Dublin from Bristol airport, arriving in Ireland just 40 minutes later. It had taken longer than that to drive to the airport! Our hotel was situated in the Temple Bar area of the city, Dublin’s cultural quarter offering a vast array of traditional pubs, restaurants and cafes. We were especially impressed with the breakfast raspberry scones in The Queen of Tarts and the extensive beer menu at the Porter House where we also enjoyed a traditional Irish music session. We met up with our old friend Keith who took us for some great pub grub – Guinness hot pot seemed to be ...

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Blarney journal: The Blarney Stone

2007-09-10T11:35:31Z

"...see, much more eloquent now!"

a entry by Lucy & Andy from a trip to Blarney, Ireland.

Yeah, I kissed the damn thing...see, much more eloquent now! It is a beautiful castle though. I really loved the grounds and climbing trees and eating blackberries. And Andy climbed the wishing steps backwards with his eyes closed...touristy but beautiful.

Lucy

Lucy is probably more eloquent due to kissing above the stone where as I am just glad they didnt drop me thru the little hole to what I would imagine would have been a rather uncomfortable landing a 100or so feet below (although thought of offering a few € to the guy to let a couple of the noisier Americans go)

Overall ...

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Cork journal: Arriving in Corcaigh!

2007-09-19T21:51:04Z

a entry by mustlovedogs from a trip to Cork, Ireland.

The main even for today was packing up and getting read to go to Cork, or Corcaigh in Irish. We had a charter bus all to ourselves, so I had plenty of room to stretch out and sleep during the four hour ride to Cork. We drove through the countryside, which was literally filled with rolling green hills. I didn't take any pictures, because it would have been through the windows, and it wouldn't have done the scenery justice.

The atmosphere of Cork is a lot different from that in Dublin. There are far less people, and the city is separated into a town side, and a not-town side, which reminds ...

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Dublin journal: Going to the Theatre

2007-09-19T20:55:26Z

a entry by mustlovedogs from a trip to Dublin, Ireland.

I did some more orientation stuff today, and learned quite a bit about Irish language and the vocabulary. One thing I love about Ireland is that they still use the old Gaelic language, but they also speak English. All of their street signs and shop signs have both the Irish and English letterings on them, so if I'm keen enough, I can pick up on some Irish. Although Irish seems like an impossible language to learn! The pronounciation of words is nothing like how it is spelled. For example,

'Caoimhe' is pronounced 'cuva'. Where does the 'v' sound come from!?

I really enjoy it though. ...

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Ireland journal: Travelin' with the Luck O' the Irish

2007-09-17T19:25:01Z

a journal by mustlovedogs from a trip to Ireland.

I embarked on my trip to Ireland to study abroad at University College Cork this fall semester of '07. It is my first time out of the states and I am so excited for the adventures that lies ahead!

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Bundoran journal: The funnest little ghost town around OR the Irish surfing capital

2007-09-10T14:16:59Z

"Strange little place, beautiful beaches but the main street had nothing but pubs, B&Bs and amusement arcades...and no people"

a entry by Lucy & Andy from a trip to Bundoran, Donegal.

Strange little place, beautiful beaches but the main street had nothing but pubs, B&Bs and amusement arcades...and no people. Down at the main beach there's a really cool cave system that we were lucky enough to find at a really low tide...and LOTS of algae.

I think this sums up the town....

We walked past an Indian restaurant and an indian walked out with a smile on his face....so good first sign. We ventur into this indian restaurant located in an old church to be greeted by Romanians who sat us upstairs where the choir would have probably been back in the day looking over ...

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Dublin journal: Lodging with a great location

2007-08-26T10:08:00Z

a review of Ashfield House, a place to stay in Dublin, Ireland.

The rooms are alright, the people (both guests and staff) are funny & breakfast is included. But the best thing about Ashfield House is the location! Close to shopping, restaurants, nightclubs, Temple Bar, airport buses...

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Blarney journal: Blarney Castle & Kinsale (County Cord), Rock of Cashel (County Tipperary), Thomastown (County Kilkenny): Days 7 & 8

2007-08-17T19:18:57Z

"The medieval castle near Blarney in Cork houses the ‘Stone of Eloquence’"

a entry by michelle finkelstein from a trip to Blarney, Ireland.

Drive east to County Cork (approx. 1 1/2 hours) for the obligatory kiss on the Blarney Stone. Along the way, pass through the mountains of West Cork and charming Ballyvourney and Macroom.Blarney Castle – The medieval castle near Blarney in Cork houses the ‘Stone of Eloquence’ – kiss it and you’ll never be at a loss for words. Legend dictates it must be kissed upside down, which involves being held on your back by a staff member with sometimes dubious hand placement

If you wish, drive about 45 minutes to the fashionable harbor town of Kinsale for lunch. It does take you ...

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Kenmare journal: Kenmare, County Kerry: Day 6

2007-08-17T19:14:30Z

"Besides magnificent seascapes, there are picturesque villages, ancient forts, Celtic standing stones and grand manors..."

a entry by michelle finkelstein from a trip to Kenmare, Ireland.

Drive south to Kenmare (2 1/2 hours), nestled at the foot of the Cork and Kerry mountains in southwest Ireland, makes a good base for touring the sights in County Kerry. Depending on your mood, drive along the Ring of Kerry en route to your hotel in Kenmare or check in and start from there.

Where to Stay in Kenmare

Sheen Falls Lodge – Set above Sheen Falls and Kenmare Bay this lavish Relais & Chateaux manor features well-appointed rooms, a mahogany wood library and leather-trimmed bar

Park Hotel Kenmare – This Victorian manse offers sweeping views over ...

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Kenmare journal: Luxurious rooms and lovely views

2007-08-17T19:40:30Z

a review of Park Hotel Kenmare, a place to stay in Kenmare, Ireland.

This Victorian manse offers sweeping views over Kenmare Bay, luxuriously furnished rooms and inviting public spaces decorated with Flemish tapestries and marble fireplaces.

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Kenmare journal: Lavish Manor with library and bar

2007-08-17T19:39:41Z

a review of Sheen Falls Lodge, a place to stay in Kenmare, Ireland.

Set above Sheen Falls and Kenmare Bay this lavish Relais & Chateaux manor features well-appointed rooms, a mahogany wood library and leather-trimmed bar.

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Burren journal: Culinary retreat with award-winning restaurant

2007-08-17T19:37:08Z

a review of Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge, a place to stay in Burren, Clare.

The culinary retreat located in Ballingarry, 18 miles south of Limerick offers 18 attractive quarters filled with antiques. The award-winning restaurant uses all organic suppliers and has an extensive wine list.

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Burren journal: Country estate with ornate rooms and a golf course

2007-08-17T19:36:04Z

a review of Dromoland Castle, a place to stay in Burren, Clare.

This dazzling country estate only 15 min north from Shannon airport is set on 410 acres and was once the home of Gaelic royalty. Rooms are a bit ornate and heavy on the floral pattern, but the service is fantastic and the hotel has it’s own golf course and club

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