Ireland 

September, 1997

We were planning on going to the first weekend of Oktoberfest in Munich with Mike Coop, but couldn't find a hotel. Mike suggested Dublin instead since he'd been last year and loved it. We therefore found ourselves in Ireland for the weekend.

Ratings

BTDT Overall Rating - 8 Ireland is a very beautiful country that reminded us of New Zealand.
Ease of Journey - 8 Especially for making the reservations on the Tuesday night before, the journey was easy. There was a small problem however checking in when a hysterical Tara found out that we might not be sitting together.
Accommodation - 5 We had no pre-arranged accommodations, so each night had to find a bed and breakfast. Both the houses we stayed in were nice, but simple accommodations
Activities - 8 It was a good idea to rent a car and tour the countryside around Dublin ourselves.
Coolness - 9 Definitely a country we'd like to visit again.

Travel Experience

Immediately when we walked outside at Dublin airport, we noticed how clean the air was. As we were driving towards our bed and breakfast for the night, we went through a small town. To Tara, the small town looked very much like the main street of Wauconda. Many people were out since it was a Friday night and everyone looked to be having a good time

Since Mike had been to Ireland before, he choose our tourist events. Saturday, we were heading to Newgrange and Mike knew all the tricks. We picked up our tickets for Newgrange early in the day and then toured the countryside as we waited for the time on our tickets. After visiting a few old castles and tramping around in fields, we headed to Tara. Tara, where the ancient Kings of Tara ruled from. Guess who was excited? We arrived back in Newgrange at the time posted on our tickets.  We went inside the Newgrange burial monument and learned how the sun illuminated the central chamber on the Winter Solstice. Kool!

Then on Sunday, we headed to the Wicklow Mountains early in the morning. We spend the morning exploring Glendalough and then the afternoon in Dublin.

Photo Album

The height of the sign pointing towards Tara was just perfect! You get one guess as to why Tara liked this tourist attraction.
Seth makes new friends in the field alongside castle ruins.
We also explored many Celtic churches.

 
 
And enjoyed a final look out across this lake before heading back to the airport.

Travel Facts

When: September, 1997
Tourist Office:
Web Sites:
Airline:Aer Lingus
Travel Times London - Dublin
Hotel: