Before our Journey--some history

In 1997 our family (minus son Richard)  made our first trans-Atlantic flight to Ireland.  We were attending our nephew Brian's wedding to a beautiful Irish colleen, Deirdre Megan.  We always say she looks like Nicole Kidman.  The entire affair, a high-tea at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, wedding in Howth with reception and after-party at a castle was of a celebrity caliber.  Lovely. The food was wonderful and plentiful.  Wedding festivities last a long time in Ireland we discovered.  I remember my sister Linda didn't want to be the first person to leave her son and daughter-in-law's wedding but luckily someone else left at 3 a.m. so we finally got to leave before falling asleep. Brian's groomsmen, all boyhood friends from Plymouth Meeting PA looked dashing in their top hats and waist coats.  It was magical. 

As a family of four we continued our first magical tour of Ireland.  We rented a car and drove to Waterford where we developed two outstanding memories.  The first was the tour of the Waterford factory and the smashing of the crystal.  If a piece of crystal wasn't perfect and trust me you needed a magnifying glass to see the defect, the piece was thrown into an open cage.  The accompanying gasp from the wandering visitors upon hearing the smash was almost as audible as the crystal breaking into small pieces. The second memory was Hot Nuts.  During the early evening we stopped at a pub to try the Guiness and asked for some snak food to eat with our drink  We still do not know what Hot Nuts are but we ate so many cups of these addictive nuts that we almost couldn't afford dinner that evening.  Addicitive, pricey and wonderful.  As you can see it doesn't take too much to strike our fancy.

We continued our tour of Ireland-- Adare,Tralee, Galway, Cliffs of Moher, Connomorra, and the Dingle Peninsula. All wonderful but especially Dingle. While we were there we stayed at a bed and breakfast on Connor Pass.  The view of Dingle city and the harbour with the stone fences framing the narrow roads, protecting the sheep and emphasizing the green grass was breath taking.  We fell in love with the Dingle Peninsula. 

In 2005, during a bus tour of Ireland we retuned ever so briefly to Dingle.  The day was brillant.  Even our bus driver Paddy (no kidding) said it was an exceptional day.  We reluctantly retuned to the bus at the appointed time and promised ourselves we would return to Dingle someday without any time restrictions.

So in one week Bill and I will fly to Shannon then drive to Ventry,Ireland on the Dingle Peninsula. We will be staying at http://www.garveysholidaycottage.com/.  A three bedroom cottage, modern (by Irish standards) with central heat, a peet fireplace and WIFI a driveway away from us.  We will be within walking distance to a beach, a pub (surprise, surprise), a shop and many archaeological sites. We are driving distance from Dingle town--6 miles away. We hope to immerse ourslves in the activities and culture.  One more week to D Day.  Dingle, Dingle, Dingle.