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Ireland 2010

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May 17, 2010

Travel day....Dublin airport is open and should be ok for the week. Flight to

Newark was on 777 with individual monitors. Very nice.

8pm.....sitting in Newark airport President's Club with a view of Manhattan.

Flight leaves around 10 pm and arrives at 9am Dublin time. Hopefully we can get

some sleep...ie no crying or screaming baby like the last flight.

Flight was long, but we had personal screens, so time went by ok. Watched 4

episodes of House MD. Sleep was difficult. Once again...screaming babies and

since baby Ambien is illegal, I see 2 Bose noise cancelling headphones in our

future.

May 18, 2010

Landed in Dublin around 9:15

am. Took taxi to Fitzwilliam

Hotel, but was too early to

check in. Walked around

Grafton Street and did a little shopping. We had our

first pint of Guinness at O'Donague's Pub, but may not

have been the one that was recommended. It seems

there are many pubs with the name O'Donagues. It was

still good food anyway. I had fish and chips, Chyrisse

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had Irish beef stew. Service was good,

love the accents.

Walked back to hotel and took a nap.

Hotel is awesome, balcony is huge and

overlooks St Stephen's Green. Watched

British and Irish game shows as we slept

off and on, trying to get rid of a little

jet lag.

For dinner, we walked to the original

o'Donagues on Merrion Row. It was

crowded and looked loke the previous one

from earlier. So we looked for something

else, and waLked and walked, all the way

to Temple Bar. We decided to look for The

Porterhouse Brewery, and when we finally

found it, the kitchen was closed. So, we

looked again....

We settled

on

Elephant

and Castle.

And it was

great. I

had the

Elephant

Burger

with bacon and curried sour cream,

Chyrisse a chicken club with curry mayo.

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O'Hara's Irish Stout to wash it down. Very nice dinner.

Took a taxi back to hotel and had a couple of pints of Smithwicks in the hotel bar.

Then crashed....

May 19, 2010

Had breakfast in the hotel. Best Eggs Benedict ever!

Shopped for souvenirs on Grafton Street.

Went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the Long

Room library. The Book of Kells was awe-

inspiring.

Went to lunch at The Stag's Head Pub for

Guinness beef pie with Kilkinney beer.

Chyrisse had chicken tenders and a pint of Guinness. Nice pub.

Very quiet.

Went to Temple Bar, crossed Ha'Penny Bridge and bought some

yarn for Kelly. Bought a couple of bodhran drums and more souvenirs.

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Dinner at Citron in hotel...ok...nothing special.

Took a taxi to the O2 to catch the Mark

Knopfler concert. Concert was

incredible...what a special evening. Mark was

injured and sat the entire night, but played

many favorites. Here is a copy of recent playlist

from concerts...

Border Reiver

What It Is

Sailing to Philadelphia

Prairie Wedding

Hill Farmer's Blues

Romeo & Juliet (Dire Straits cover)

Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits cover)

Donegan's Gone

Get Lucky

Marbletown

Speedway at Nazareth

Telegraph Road (Dire Straits cover)

Encore:

Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits

cover)

So Far Away (Dire Straits cover)

Piper to the End

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Back to the hotel after

a great taxi ride with

a driver fromScotland....took a

couple of

Smithwicks upstairs

and enjoyed on patio.

What a great day!

May 20, 2010

Breakfast at hotel...then off for an early start. Got tickets for double decker on and

off city tour bus. First stop was St Patrick's Cathedral, which was actually an

Anglican church, but very nice.

Next stop was Guinness Storehouse,

which was amazing. Tour was very

informational and fun. We had lunch at

the snack bar, a BBQ Guinness chicken

sandwich. At the end of the tour was an

awesome view of Dublin from the

Gravity Bar. A nice fresh pint ofGuinness was included in tour. We

bought lots of souvenirs here.

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Next stop was Kilmainham Gaol.

Another great tour. Very

educational and fascinating.

Took bus back to O'Connell street

and walked to Porterhouse

Microbrewery. I had bangers and

mash, and Chyrisse had sweet

chile chicken pizza. Both were

great, as was the beer samples.

We had 6 samples of stouts and

ales.

We walked thru St Stephen's Green and took a few pictures.

Then the fun really started when we went to O'Donagues Pub on Merrion Row. I

made the enormous mistake of ordering a black and tan at the bar, which did notgo over well at all with bartender or customers at the bar. I did not realize that this

is only popular in U.S. Irish bars. I later learned that Black and Tans referred to

the British soldiers in the past. My bad! Now we know....but then the fun started.

There were several very drunk ladies falling all over the place, spilling drinks,

bumping into us. What a hoot. I wish my video camera had a charge....these

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videos would be on you tube.

Then these guys walk up to us

and start talking to us and

asked if they could tAke a

picture of us. One guy was

Paul and the other was Jim

O'Reilly. It was crazy....they were a bit drunk also. Crazy place. Then in 2

different corners of the pub, impromptu bands started to play old Irish tunes. It

really was a fun night.

We walked back to hotel and enjoyed a couple more Smithwicks at the bar. Alex

the friendly bartender gave us a couple of Smithwicks glasses. One broke after we

got back to hotel.

May 21, 2010

Woke up a little late. Checked out of luxuriousFitzwilliam Hotel. Walked with souvenirs to

Mailboxes Etc. It costs 140 to ship package

home and it will take 2 to 3 weeks. Oh well,

got to do it just in case we don't have room in

van.

Walked back to Grafton St. And had lunch atBewleys Cafe. Good sandwiches. Then took

taxi to meet Jim at Mespil Hotel. Group seems

real nice. Judy is an older lady from New

Jersey, Anna is our age from Virginia, but

looks 25, Missy is young and a student from

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Atlanta, and Jim is really cool.

We all walked back to Grafton St, and stopped at St Stephens Green Mall and the

group had lunch at Bewleys. We walked thru Temple Bar and photographed many

lots of interesting things. We walked back to hotel and had dinner in hotel cafe.

We took a taxi to the Customs House and took photos of famine statues and the

Custom House at twilight. Then walked back to Temple Bar for night shots.

After a few more photo ops, we headed back. Anna, Chyrisse and I, stayed backand enjoyed a Guinness at John Kehoe's Pub. Great conversation, then walked

back to hotel. All told, we must have walked 6 or 7 miles today.

May 22, 2010

Breakfast in Hotel cafe at 8:30. We then drove to Christchurch Cathedral, which

was extraordinarily beautiful. We really enjoyed touring and photographing the

church. Next we went to Powerscourt waterfall and had lunch at Powerscourt

Gardens. We photographed another estate, then drove to Glendalough, where

photographed an old cemetary.

Drove back to Dublin, and had dinner at a great little Thai restaurant.

May 23, 2010

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Left Dublin in morning for Belfast. Checked in to Jurys Inn and had lunch in hotel

bar as a group. We left Belfast and headed north. Our first stop was the rope

bridge which had some good shots. Next we went to Dunluce Castle then to

Giants Causeway. After that we drove to photograph some trees, but the light was

mostly gone when we got there. Exhausted we arrived back at hotel around

midnight and had soup and Guinness in hotel bar.

May 24, 2010May 24....morning breakfast...then Jim taught a little photoshop and I went for a

walk around Belfast. We took a Black Taxi Tour of Belfast with lots of history

about the troubles of Northern Ireland. Our guide Tom is really cool and gives a

lot of insight from a Catholic perspective. We see many of the murals on the

Protestant side and the wall on the Catholic side. We go to St Peter's Cathedral. A

very good tour.

Next we have lunch at Jurys Inn. Then head off for the notrh again with stops at

Dunluce castle and the trees again. We have dinner at hotel near Giants Causeway.

Back to Belfast a little too late to take pictures of Queens University.

May 25, 2010

Today, we will see a few sights in Belfast, then drive on to Galway. We had

interesting tour of City Hall, and by interesting...I mean lady who led tour, spoke

like a Shakespearan actress, and she was not in a good mood. Made for fun tour

about people we could not care less about.

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We drove toward Roscommon, and stopped for lunch at a little village called

Clones at a hotel/restaurant. A very good find. We all liked restaurant and village.

Bartender gave drink to her toddler (screwdriver) to calm him down...it worked.

I discovered a new favorite artist today...Damien Rice is amazing. It is really fun to

discover new music.

Also started reading Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Then we drove to Roscommon and stopped at castle and cathedral. We took some

great pictures and Judy took some portraits of Chyrisse and I.

Made it into Galway around 9 and went to McSwiggins restaurant and bar. Very

neat place and good food.

May 26, 2010

Morning at Carlton Hotel in Galway. We drove to Kylemore Abbey in

Connemara. This was a great excursion. Great photos of castle and gothic

church. We had lunch at Abbey and did a little shopping before heading out. Judy

owed me a little bit of money from taxi ride in Belfast, so she bought a really nice

Guinness camera pouch for me. On drive today, i discovered some more great new

music...todays favorite find was The Chapters.

We stopped in Clifden, a quaint little town and had Guinness in small pub there. I

think Anna is getting a bit addicted to the black stuff....

Next we stopped along the highway to shoot another castle...Clifden Castle.

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Back to hotel for dinner in bar...excitement was provided when Anna realized that

she is flying out of Dublin, while the rest of us are flying out of Shannon.

After dinner we met and lobby and the photographers showed their pictures and

got critique from Jim.

Tonight is the finale for American Idol in USA. This will be first year that we

miss....but we have it taped on DVR. Can't wait to see it.

May 27, 20107:30am....Breakfast at hotel.

Very tough to wake up early especially after

late night last night.

We drove to Moydrum Castle ruins, which was on private property. Met a nice guy

named Ned that drove us to the sight, then another nice guy named Frank who

lived next door to castle. Chyrisse and Jim decided to climb on a fence to get better

photos, When a angry young man told Jim that photography was not allowed and

told him to erase all pictures. Jim faked him out and formated a blank card....

Next we drove to Clonmacnoise Monastery ruins and cematery. What a great

location. We had lunch there and did a little souvenir shopping. I am sure

Chyrisse got some great pictures here.

We drove back to Galway for a nap at the hotel. Next we drove to the city center

and walked around. What a quaint city. Shops, pubs, and restaurants fill the

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pedestrian only street. Many street performers were out tonight and we had a

great time watching. My favorite was a hang drum player named Peter. This is a

steel drum made in Switzerland. Very cool.

We had dinner at McDonagh's...which had awesome fish and chips. I went next

door to the Spanish Arch Pub, to pick up beers for Anna, Chyrisse and I. I tried a

new beer from Galway called Hooker. It was a pale ale and very good.

Then we walked to Galway Cathedral and shot some night pictures. Then back to

hotel for more Guinness and computer time.

May 28, 2010

Last morning in Galway. Breakfast early today, so that we can hit the road early.

Our first stop is at a castle near Galway called Dunguaire Castle.

Our next stop is in the small town of Ballyvaughn. We have lunch at a sandwich

shop called the Tea Junction.

Next we went to Poulnabrone Portal Tomb Ruins in the Burrens. A tomb that is

6000 years old is still there. Lots of flowers as well.

We then drove to the Cliffs of Moher for more amazing photographs. Also got a

little shopping done at the gift shop.

The restaurant at the cliffs was a bit pricy, so we decided to stop along the way to

Limerick. We found a little place called Joseph McHugh's Bar and Bistro. Fish and

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Chips and Guinness never seem to get old, as they were delicious here as well. Judy

was a hoot tonight after drinking her Calsberg beer. Lots of laughing and joking.

Another great day.

Checked in to Maldron Hotel and Limerick and stayed in the bar for more

computer time..

May 29, 2010

Breakfast at hotel at 9:30. Drove to Cork with a stop at Holy Cross Church in

Charleville. This is a beautiful Catholic church with amazing art work and stained

glass.

We travelled to Cork, and stopped at another cathedral called St Fin Barre. We

had lunch at The Brick Oven. We shared the pizza special with pepperoni, bell

pepper and feta.

Then we travelled to Cobh. A ferry took us across the river and once again a

beautiful cathedral and a row of colorful houses. Jim climbed on a wall to get the

best shots. Mass was going on, so we could not go into church.

We had dinner in hotel bar. Chyrisse had chicken tenders with red chilli sauce, andI had curry chicken.

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May 30, 2010

Breakfast in hotel, then drove to Rock of Cashel. We walked to Hore Abbey and

photographed there, because castle was undergoing restoration. We had lunch on

site at Granny's Kitchen for soup and sandwiches.

Next we drove to Adare for shopping and some really quaint houses, many with

thatch roofs.

Farewell dinner in hotel bar.

May 31, 2010Travel day. Up at 4am for a 9

am flight.

Flight to Newark was ok....once again baby crying and hitting back of seat....Boseheadphones never sounded so good....went to Presidents Club and ate at Brooklyn

Brewery Bar...IPA and Brooklyn lager...both were really good...and manager gave

us 3 Guinness glasses.

Once again screaming baby on flight to Houston.

Got home around 7:30....Louvieres were home. Leonard put up lights outside and

put TV on wall in guest room.

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