Day 15: “When I die Dublin will be written in my heart.” ~ James Joyce

Our flight leaves Dublin at 12:45 P.M. so we will wake up and leave our hotel at 8:30 (we don't want to rush and for international flights we have to be there three hours in advance). Goodbye Ireland, you will always remain in my heart!




Who knows where the road will take me (image site)

I do not want to wait too long before partaking on this dream vacation as I want to experience the world before kids come into the picture or I am old and have regrets. Though my dream vacation at the moment is to go to Ireland so I can learn more about my past, I still have other dream vacations in the back of my mind: I want to travel to Greece and Turkey, then I want to see the Pyramids in Egypt. It is never ending. I never want to stay put in one area focusing solely on work. I want to travel with my friends, I want to try new foods, see exotic places, learn more about human history. I am so excited to bring Josh on this trip as he has not had the same opportunities I have had to explore the world. I have been to Italy, France, Switzerland, Mexico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands and many different states in the U.S.. Josh has never left Ontario. I have a wall in my room which contains a map where I have pinned off places I have visited and above I have framed pictures showing key tourist destinations for each of those places. Some say that with globalization today the world has become much smaller, but each time I travel my world view expands, the world continues to astound me, and pictures can never do it justice. I feel this course may be detrimental to my bank account because the more gateways I see the more I want to travel! What is funny is that I was just showing my Aunt this assignment and less than a few days later she herself booked a trip to Ireland! My excitement must have sparked the desire she held deep down to visit her mother’s home country. This trip is a reality, we will save up the money and on the trip we will enjoy ourselves (without being too liberal with money). The trip itself will cost around $7,500 (with food and drink, gas, car rental, flight, souvenirs, cost for tours, shows, massages and rooms) Josh himself was there as I planned it and I made sure to ask whether he too thought certain sites were to his liking and he put in his own two cents in as well. The scenery, the food, the beer, the atmosphere all is so enticing I have neglected my other studies to work on this assignment :S I hope you enjoyed my trip. I know I certainly will.

When I come back, hopefully I will have learned to pronounce the sites and places (oh and also the proper way to say my last name hahaha) we visited after going on this trip. I also really hope I can come back and show my family here in Canada their family tree and can trace our ancestors back to Ireland and figure out who they were, what they did, and why they came to the beautiful country of Canada! I also hope I find a new favourite beer while in Ireland and have mastered the art of pouring it. I want to come back with a few tacky t-shirts, some Irish tea, and a few pieces of pottery and glass, AND I also want a camera card full of pictures! I have a feeling I will be full of pride after having visited my ancestral land! I hope I will come home feeling lighter in heart and mind, and not to mention body seeing as we will be walking everyday and learning how to dance the Irish Step (but then again with all the food and alcohol we indulge in .... maybe a few extra pounds won’t be too tragic). My goal is to inspire others to travel, especially to Ireland, and I won’t stop at anything to show my friends pictures (of course I will make a shutterfly book) and tell them the amazing stories of the experiences I had and the tales I heard.

Day 14: "I write it out in a verse - MacDonagh and MacBride And Connolly and Pearse Now and in time to be, Wherever green is worn, Are changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born." ~ W.B. Yeats

 

Today the theme will focus on Irish history revolving around the events of the Easter Rising. In my British and Irish Literature class we spent a lot of time discussing this pivotal event and its implications. I was deeply moved and decided to do further research on it by writing an essay on Yeats’ "Easter, 1916" poem. We will embark on the 1916 Easter Rising Walk, a two hour informational tour which takes us to all the locations associated with the Rising (LP 95). To conclude this experience, will then stop and see the General Post Office where the rebels of the Rising raised the Irish Republic flag in an act of defiance against the British (info from my lectures). Furthermore, what is interesting to note is that there are still bullet holes in the structure (LP 88).

Considering it is across the street from the GPO and because I love his works, especially “The Dead,” I have to visit the James Joyce Statue (LP 89).

                                                                                                                         The GPO

Why not compare different Whiskeys at the Old Jameson Distillery, I may find out which I like best thereby acquiring a new drink, or perhaps I will just become more knowledgeable. The tour sounds interesting and informative and ends with whiskey, but we have time to spare so Josh and I might just enhance our whiskey tasting skills by adding on to our tour and participating in the Comparative Whiskey Tasting. 

                            http://www.celtictours.com/stw/STWProduct.aspx?Theme=CELTIC&ProductCode=IRE-CDB13

Tonight we will have our final dinner at The Brazen Head. What an excellent way to end the trip by listening to amazing speakers recite the folk-tales the Irish have passed along through generations while eating a delicious meal. Everyone loves listening to a good story and tripadvisor raves about how excellent this experience is, so we can't go wrong!

Beef and Guinness Stew or Traditional Irish Stew, I can't decide! But I will pair it with freshly brewed tea and Chocolate Fudge cake :) (info from irishfolktours.com menu). 

We will then make our way back to the hotel, no late night tonight as we have a plane to catch :(

Day 13: Lions and Tigers and Bars ... Oh my!

          The Dublin zoo will be the perfect way to start off our day. The best time to go to a zoo is in the morning as the animals are awake and energetic. The zoo opens at 9:30, so we will be there at 9:30! I am very excited to see the different exhibits and I may have already started watching the live video feed of the penguin habitat :S and then managed to stumble upon this at the gift shop. As the site claims, there are over 400 different species and, most importantly, this zoo is home to many endangered species (with "international breeding programs" set in place) which I am excited to see but also saddened to hear (dublinzoo.ie). We humans must live more sustainable or else the list of endangered species will continue to grow. We will have pizza for lunch, yes something quite common in Canada, but this morning we are in the mindset of a young child, before heading out to enjoy our adult alcoholic beverages. I guess the theme of the day is adult vs inner child ... beer vs. zoo.

Big kittens

          Once we have finished exploring the zoo, we will make our way to the infamous Temple Bar district. There are so many shops, pubs and restaurants I have no idea where to start. Who knows what might actually suit our fancy when we get there, but for now here are a few places that caught my eye!

          1. Why not continue our day of exploring the inner child by stopping at a sweet shop. The selection's astounding and I have no idea what to pick ... yum! 

I feel like a kid in a candy store

          2. Maybe I will try and design some fancy hats, see if Josh will like that! The designs look truly amazing and unique.

This one might be a bit too advanced for us

         3. I would love to stop at the Old Storehouse Bar & Restaurant as according to the site there is a live band every night (and live bands are in my opinion the best way for music to be played). But what I like most about this bar is how green and outdoorsy it is. For, there is actually a garden in the Storehouse, so for once the term “Beer Garden” is justified (theoldstorehouse.ie). 

        4. Of course in the Temple Bar District, one must stop at the Temple Bar. Their claim to fame for dinner is Dublin Bay Oysters & Guinness, and that sounds excellent to me. I do not often get the opportunity to eat seafood so I will indulge in it tonight. The menu continues to excite me as it also serves Irish Coffee and it is known for how excellent it tastes. Sure it may just be all hype, but I can’t wait to find out and try it for myself! Furthermore, there is a historical sense to the building as it is over 160 years old. And finally another reason to go is due to the fact that they won "Bar of the Year Awards in 2012" along with countless other awards (thetemplebarpub.com)! 

         Eventually we will stumble back to our hotel, glad we picked one so close to our festivities, and take a well deserved night's rest!

Day 12: "A drink precedes a story" ~Irish Proverb

           My Aunt Linda, whose family is from Ireland, told me as I was planning my trip that I had to go to Waterford Crystals. So this stop is for you Auntie Linda! I look forward to seeing how such works of art are created, I really do not know much about glass making so I am highly intrigued. And, of course, I look forward to purchasing a set of fancy glasses for Josh and I (it is not our 15th anniversary but who doesn’t like crystals!)

Quite the spectacle in the "Blowing department"

           After stopping somewhere for a quick lunch we will then make our way back to Dublin. 

           Our next stop, which I am very very excited about, is the Guinness Storehouse. There, some of the highlights I have discovered by exploring the site is learning how to make Guinness and also, learning how to pour the "perfect pint" (guinness-storehouse.com). I am usually quite embarrassed when it comes to pouring beer so I look forward to developing this skill so I can impress my friends back home! What is interesting about the storehouse is how each floor holds something different. For example, there is a restaurant where we will eat dinner (yum... meals made with Guinness)! Another floor has a spectacular shop where Josh and I will most definitely buy a Guinness shirt and I plan on buying my dad a personalized bottle of Guinness as a souvenir. But the best floor will be the amazing circular room surrounded by windows known as the Gravity Bar. How wonderful would it be to see all of Dublin from there (very CN tower-esque) while enjoying beer. (info from guinness-storehouse.com) This day cannot get any better! 

Front gates of the iconic Guinness Storehouse

           We decided that we'd return to the same hotel we stayed at the first two nights in Dublin. It is a good price and on the edge of Temple Bar district. We plan on relaxing and prepping for a late night and early morning the next day! 

Day 11: "May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face" ~ Irish Blessing

          Josh and I both decided it would be a lot of fun to play a round a golf in Ireland, the land of green. There is nothing like having fun while exercising! Both of us have played before, but we had to ensure we picked a course that was open for everyone, we are no experts. I did take lessons as a kid and Josh worked on a resort that had a golf course. Wouldn't it be amazing if we happen to come across my favourite player, Rory Mcilroy :)

FORE!!!

          Once we have finished golfing, we will relax and de-stress by spending time at the spa. Here we will partake in Refresh & Revive

Taking the opportunity to pamper ourselves, we are on vacation after all

          After we do a bit of touring through the streets of Cork we will travel to Waterford, sticking to a more scenic coastal route. We are stopping here for the night so we don't have to drive all the way back to Dublin in one go. The hotel we will choose is situated on the river with a wonderful view and is conveniently close (300 meters) to our activities in the morning.

Day 10: "There is risk and truth to yourselves and the world before you." -Seamus Heaney

Angela's Ashes

          
          The next morning, while traveling through Limerick, Josh and I will stop at the Frank McCourt Museum. I will never forget Angela's Ashes. It was on the list of novels we had to read in grade 12 and this touching and haunting memoir truly affected me. As Grade 12 was pivotal to shaping my career as a teacher, and also further instilled within me a love for language, I feel stopping at this museum is a must.

Oooo, So pretty

           After this quick visit we will go to one of the places I actually knew about before planning out my vacation, the Blarney stone, and yes I am going to kiss it! As a teacher I need the gift of gab. I will admit I am a little nervous to be leaning over the edge to kiss the stone, I have a 'little' fear of heights ...We will also tour the gardens surrounding the castle afterward, most likely in hopes of calming me down after this event! I think Josh just wants to go into the poison garden section which has an "enter at your own risk" sign. With plants I have only heard of in stories, like Wolfsbane and Mandrake, I am quite excited to see it as well. There are also tours of the castle and its dungeon which sounds fun and spooky as well. (blarneycastle.ie) 

I won't need the help to kiss the stone ~Josh

A skull? Is this safe?

           Afterward, we will treat ourselves at the Castlemartyr Golf Club and invest in the package deal which includes dinner, 18 holes of golf, and a deluxe room. (this will be our most expensive night but why not indulge :) There is also a swimming pool as the site explains, which will be nice to relax in after walking around the castle all day.

Day 9: "Ah, you've come over the water. Powerful wet stuff, ain't it?” ― C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"

          Now that we have gotten the partying out of our system we will resume our sight seeing, this time by taking a Boat Cruise, giving us a different vantage point and a new way to explore Ireland. If I have flown and driven, ridden a horse and walked, why not boat? (and will make for beautiful pictures). Josh is quite excited for the opportunity to see some puffins after scrolling through the site for it is one of his favourite animals (note: he made me write this in the blog)!

Let's hope we feel sea worthy from the night before

           Once we return to the mainland, we will stop for a bite to eat before heading underground to the Doolin cave. The tour is almost an hour and occur ever 30 minutes throughout the day as the site describes. I went on cave tours in South Dakota and it was the highlight of the trip, in fact we had only booked one tour and loved it so much we went on a second. Hence, I would love to take Josh on a tour like this so he can experience it. It is thrilling to be in a cave, feel the dank musty air surrounded by darkness while using lights to see alien like rock formations. Journey to the center of the earth anyone? 

The cave is known for its "enormous stalactite that looks like a giant squid" (LP 372)

Baaa

          We will then return to the surface for some fresh air while taking a 1 km walk through the farm land and country side. I am interested in seeing how farm life in Ireland differs from that of Canada.



          After the walk, a nice pottery souvenir  will be the best way to remember the trip, as pictures do not turn out well in caves unfortunately, especially if you do not own an expensive camera. I myself would be way too worried about loosing it on the trip that I have no desire to own one. What is neat about the pottery, is that it is formed out of the cave's clay (doolincave.ie). 

 Dinner please! Vaughan's pub is a "Top Choice" according to the LP (376). So after the tour we will try the seafood chowder and combine it with the well known Irish dish, bacon and cabbage. We look forward to hearing great Irish music while participating in Set Dancing in the barn next to the pub as it sounds like a rip-roaring good time.