I left dull, dreary Toronto April 21 on the direct Air
Transat flight and arrived in Dublin to green grass, blooming flowers and
spring! Our first night was spent at the
majestic Kilronan Castle. With the
beautiful Irish lake and hills as the backdrop it was a perfect start to our
week long trip to Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. After experiencing a night befitting that of
Irish lords and ladies we travelled to Belfast for a two night stay at the
Malone Lodge Hotel in Belfast. With
Belfast as our center we toured Florence Court, a beautiful manor. You could envision the lives of the wealthy
as well as their downstairs staff. Touring
through the emerald rolling countryside we lunched at a lakeside restaurant and
then off to the ancient Navan Fort.
Belfast is a mix of the old and new.
The Belfast City Hall is a work of art, the Crumlin Road Gaol as cold
and eerie as you could imagine and the Titanic Museum is a wonderful example of
a museum that attempts to bring back to life and times of the Titanic in the
making. Next to the museum is where Game
of Thrones is filmed but to my disappointment Tyrion Lancaster or Jon Snow were
not filming to make my trip to Belfast complete. We had no choice but to drown our
disappointment in a pint of Guinness at one the many Belfast pubs.
A trip to Ireland is not complete without experiencing the
Wild Atlantic coast. The Giant’s
Causeway, the Antrim coastline and the Cliffs of Moher are gorgeous, wild and amazing. The beautiful coastline is dotted with castles,
ruins and green pastures of grazing sheep.
Our personable and knowledgeable driver Joe drove us safely through
Ireland and amused us with his antidotes, poems and local history.
Along with the gorgeous natural beauty of Ireland are the
wonderful cities that we visited. We had
a most interesting city tour of Derry/Londonderry. Our charismatic guide Ronan gave some insight
to the ancient and recent history of the city and Northern Ireland as we walked
through the city. The city wall and city
hall are examples of the incredible architecture of this interesting city. Galway is compact and easy to explore on foot
with an opportunity to stop off at its shops, pubs and historic sites. Westport is a coastal resort town that offers
some water and land activities for the active and adventurous. Our last stop was Dublin where we had the
chance to easily explore the city using the hop on hop off pass. Dublin’s ‘Fair City’ is a charming city with the
old world atmosphere of many of its streets and squares, magnificent buildings
and beautiful public parks.
The last night evening we enjoyed a farewell Irish dinner
and some traditional Irish music and dancing.
It was sad to be leaving a country with such lovely people, scrumptious
food and drink, glorious scenery and interesting history.
For more Photos click
here
Along with the gorgeous natural beauty of Ireland are the
wonderful cities that we visited. We had
a most interesting city tour of Derry/Londonderry. Our charismatic guide Ronan gave some insight
to the ancient and recent history of the city and Northern Ireland as we walked
through the city. The city wall and city
hall are examples of the incredible architecture of this interesting city. Galway is compact and easy to explore on foot
with an opportunity to stop off at its shops, pubs and historic sites. Westport is a coastal resort town that offers
some water and land activities for the active and adventurous. Our last stop was Dublin where we had the
chance to easily explore the city using the hop on hop off pass. Dublin’s ‘Fair City’ is a charming city with the
old world atmosphere of many of its streets and squares, magnificent buildings
and beautiful public parks. 
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