Parades and crowds are not my pint of Guinness, you might say. The pushing, the shoving, cameras in your face, drunk men getting right up to your nose saying, “How are YYYOOOOOOUUUUUU doing?” tends to annoy me more than charm me. I arrived in Galway the day before Saint Patrick’s Day. I decided to get my sightseeing in for the day as I knew March 17th would be the day for people watching. Instantly I was charmed by Galway and its small town feel. It doesn’t overwhelm you like a big city, but it is also incredibly lively. It could be due to the fact that it is a major university town. You Continue Reading
Redhead Reviews Travel Grove
Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored review. While I was compensated for reviewing Travel Grove, my thoughts and opinions are my own. What is TravelGrove.com? Travel Grove is a travel search engine, compiling together searches for flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages in one spot. Travel Grove aims to find the best travel deals for users in a easy and convenient way. The goal of the site is to weed through all of the travel offers and information so you don’t have to, while finding the price you want. Features I did some playing around with Travel Grove’s Continue Reading
Suzy Stumbles Over Travel: Week of March 14, 2011
From what seems like the edge of the earth in Dingle, Ireland I bring you this week’s Suzy Stumbles Over Travel. In case you are new here, each week I ask writers and readers to submit their favorite travel post of the week. I read each submission, comment, tweet the piece on Twitter, stumble the article using Stumbleupon and post a link to the piece on my Facebook page. At the end of the week, I pick my five favorites and the stumbling can begin again into the next week. Just a few things to keep in mind, you must leave your submission in the comment box below. You have until the end of Continue Reading
Blarney, Ireland Wishes You Were Here
I was somewhat apprehensive to head to the Blarney Castle in Blarney, just north of Cork. In case you have been living under a rock, or stone rather, Blarney is known for its castle and probably the most loved piece of stone in the world for all of the kisses it receives, the Blarney Stone. On top of the 15th century Blarney Castle, you will find that famous stone. If you kiss it, you supposedly will receive the gift of gab, the present of eloquent nonsense. Elizabeth I, out of frustration and annoyance, supposedly coined the term blarney over Lord Blarney’s ability to chatter endlessly Continue Reading
The Irish Spirit at Number 31 in Dublin
“You have arrived at your destination”, my GPS Susan keeps uttering. However, I would miss the only number I was looking for, 31 to be exact. I continued down my first “Irish lane” experience, where a wall sits dangerously close to your left and cars cram in on the right. You have nowhere to go but straight until you meet the regrettable dead-end. At the end of my dead-end were two saviors. Jesus doesn’t wear simple clothing. In Dublin, he wears a nice suit. Two gentlemen in suits kindly help me out of my pickle of a first driving experience in Ireland. Fresh off the boat, I know I probably Continue Reading
Suzy Stumbles Over Travel: Week of March 7, 2011
From Kilkenny, Ireland, I bring you this week’s Suzy Stumbles Over Travel. In case you are new here, each week I ask writers and readers to submit their favorite travel post of the week. I read each submission, comment on the article, post a link on Twitter, stumble the piece on Stumbleupon and place the post on my Facebook page. The following Monday, I select five favorites to be featured here and the stumbling begins all over again. Just a few things to keep in mind, you must leave a link to your article in the comment box below. You have until the end of the day on Friday to do so. The Continue Reading
Glendalough, Ireland Wishes You Were Here
After a dramatic first day in Dublin of driving on the “wrong” side of the road and going on one hour of airplane sleep, I decided to get back in the hire car a day later and head for some of Ireland’s narrowest roads. While this may sound like the worst of ideas, driving the Wicklow Mountains just south of Dublin proved challenging, yet good for this traveler’s soul. The Wicklow Mountains don’t really look like “mountains”, but I didn’t seem to mind. Driving through a number of gaps and valleys, I found myself on a narrow road and completely isolated. Apart from trying to not shut my eyes Continue Reading