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BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland
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Subject: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: ChanteyLass Date: 21 Sep 12 - 09:34 PM On Thursday evening, Sept. 27, this Rhode Islander will fly from Boston to Dublin, arriving on Friday the 28th at very wee hour of the morning. I will be on an escorted motorcoach tour for two weeks in Ireland--most in the Republic but some in Northern Ireland. I'll be on an organized tour, and I have never taken one as structured as this. I think every day we'll hear "Get on the bus. Get off the bus. See this and that, take photos, visit the gift shop, and get back on the bus by such-and-such a time." Because I have never been there and will not be able to go again, I chose a tour which lets me see as many sights as possible, but I am afraid there will be no time to meet people. I have a friend who goes to Ireland almost every year and rents a house and car in a different place each time. She said my way is no way to see Ireland. I said that if I could go as often as she does, I would be happy to do what she does, but I can't. Day One of the tour is Sept. 28. If anyone wants to see where I'll be, a link to the itinerary is below. I can't seem to be able to get a direct link to the itinerary, but this takes you to the Tour Highlights page. If you click on Itinerary, that should come up. I would be quite content with less expensive hotels, but these are included in the tour. Now that my pension has been reformed, I may never be able to travel far from home again. In fact, I threw caution to the winds when I booked this, telling myself that I'd been saving for it for years and I wasn't going to give it up because of the pension reform! http://www.cietours.com/us/escorted_tour/2012/jewels_of_ireland_14d/ |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 21 Sep 12 - 10:55 PM I've been to Ireland, and there is beauty almost everywhere. I'm sure you will enjoy your trip, even if there is a fixed schedule. You'll be in your hotels by evening, right? Ask at the hotel desk if there is any 'traditional' in town that evening, and you may get to go to sessions or dancing. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Crowhugger Date: 21 Sep 12 - 10:57 PM I'm envious!! It's on my bucket list, haven't got there yet though. What a journey that'll be. That kind of tour can be exhausting, but who cares when you're seeing a ton of sights, places where history was made? As for your friend's remark: Some people just don't realize that other people choose to live within their means. Fact is, the way to see Ireland is ANY WAY YOU CAN. I'm betting you will have a whale of a time and you will meet people. If you reach a point of overload or fatigue, there is no law against asking "what time does the bus leave?" and going for lunch in a local instead of touring another castle or church. You're fairly likely to meet one or more like-minded folks on the tour who'll do it with you. If you can, it might be good to take notes about the gist of all that is said by tour guides and others. Keep a photo list, not every single photo, but maybe every 5th or 10th photo and others you want to jot about; it'll help you put any forgotten things into sequence & context when you get home. I didn't do that for a fast-paced tour we did of London & Paris. (As in: "What the heck is this and why did I take a picture of it?") I learned from that and did keep an outline list for St. Petersburg, and it made me able to organize photos and historical info in brochures quite efficiently. Well, more efficiently. S'gonna be great! Have a lovely time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Charley Noble Date: 21 Sep 12 - 11:27 PM We expect a full report with photos. Have a great time! Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Beer Date: 22 Sep 12 - 02:04 AM Have a great great time. I've spoken to me wife before on Ireland and she has said,: "Why don't you go"!. And my answer has always been; ' I would want a one way ticket." So I will never go. Adrien |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: billybob Date: 22 Sep 12 - 05:43 AM Oh you will love Ireland we had 3 weeks years ago, do write a diary, I did and it is a wonderful reminder of quite the best holiday we have ever taken, if you go to Cobh the visitor centre is a must !! The West coast it beautiful, wonderful beaches, mountains and views. The advice to go out and find some music in the evening is a great idea, that way you will see and hear the real Ireland. Have a wonderful trip and treasure the memories! Wendy |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: MartinRyan Date: 22 Sep 12 - 11:21 AM You'll have a great time! You can wave to me as you pass through Kinvara on your way from Ballyvaughan (lovely village) to Galway (lovely, small city). Depending on timing,Dingle and Galway may be your best bet for music. Once things settle down at the start of the trip, it would be worth having a quiet word with the driver and telling him what you're interested in. He/she may well be able to point you in the right direction. Don't do it in front of everybody or he'll try to please everybody! If he knows you have a particular interest he'l be more careful where he sends you... Regards p.s. GUESTleenia: in case you come back to this thread - you might check out the posting by GUESTKevin in THIS THREAD |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 22 Sep 12 - 11:38 AM 'Depending on timing,Dingle and Galway may be your best bet for music.' Probably although the hotel choice for Clare is Bunratty or the Templegate in Ennis. Hope for the latter, Ennis will have music and is generally nicer than tourist trap Bunratty. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: MartinRyan Date: 22 Sep 12 - 12:24 PM Agreed, Peter -I hadn't registered the Ennis details on a quick scan of the itinerary. Regards |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Bev and Jerry Date: 22 Sep 12 - 04:51 PM We've been there three times and always went on our own. In fact, we've never gone anywhere on an organized tour. It's just not our thing. We like the adventure of getting lost by ourselves. Once when we were in Ireland we met up with some friends who spent part of their trip on an organized folk music tour and part on their own and they said that there were advantages to both ways and neither was better than the other. It must be nice to be able to go down what passes for a country road in Ireland and take in the beautiful scenery without having to watch for hay wagons, cows, sheep and other obstructions which may be lurking around the next curve! In any event, do your best to converse with the Irish - the friendliest people on earth. Bev and Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Les from Hull Date: 22 Sep 12 - 06:41 PM In Donegal town try the Reel Inn (in the centre). We found good music and good people there. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: kendall Date: 22 Sep 12 - 07:22 PM Jacqui and I went on a short trip to Ireland. We flew from Midland via Ryan airlines into Dublin. Never again; I would swim before I'd fly Ryan again! Ireland is beautiful, the Guinness is unbeatable and the people are friendly. (At least, to Americans) hehehe One of the things that was on my "Bucket list" was to stand on a beach in Dingle and sing Song for Ireland. I did that, but I was the only one who could hear it. I'll never be able to fulfill another desire on that list, to stand on top of Ben Nevis and sing Flower of Scotland. I get teary thinking about that. I have to settle for the time I sang it at the Black Bitch in Linlithgow back in 1990.It was hard to do so soon after Roy Williamson died. Anyway, go and enjoy one of the best things you will ever do for yourself. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: ChanteyLass Date: 22 Sep 12 - 11:18 PM Thank you, everyone, for all of your wonderful suggestions! Keep them coming! I already have a blank book for my travel journal. I usually write about what I do each day where you'd expect, starting at the front of the book. When I take photos I turn to the back of the book and write what I've photographed and the date. With digital cameras--mine will just be my phone's camera--it is easy to be sure I've got a good photo right away. I used to buy post cards of the most important places in case my photos didn't come out well. I will probably put them up on Facebook. I will plan to make my privacy settings more restrictive before I leave (no sense letting people know I am away from home), but I will loosen them up again when I return. Day 2 ends with trad music, songs, and step-dancing at Taylor's Three Rock Pub, and Day 12 ends with more step-dancing. I will certainly ask the concierge or other people at the hotels where I can hear music on other nights if I have energy to go out. On a previous long tour a guide told us how to do our laundry. Throw our clothes in the tub. Take a shower. Clothes are washed and rinsed while we shower. If there is time I try to do that when we get to the hotels before we have dinner. Then I wear the next day's clothes to dinner that night! That gives the clothes more time to dry. Of course in addition to wringing them out I would roll them in towels and, if needed, use the hair dryer on them. In my bag I've already put some plastic hangers and clothespins that can be hung from shower rods. Mostly I'll wash clothes wherever we stay for two nights. On another trip the guide asked us if there was anything special we wanted to photograph. I told him Quonset huts (usually to be found wherever the US had military bases and designed at Quonset Naval Air Station in Rhode Island) or Nissen huts (the UK's version which inspired Quonset huts). We drove past many but never stopped for my photos although we did stop for photo opportunities for other people's requests. On the last day, the guide told me, "We'll give you a chance to take photos today." Alas, it was not to be. We would have had to park illegally on a narrow street, and behind us was a police car. My friend who rents houses in Ireland says we should drive by a house she rented which was many years previously occupied by a family who left during the famine. I don't know that I'll suggest that we stop for a photo of that, though. I should ask if she photographed it. Martin, I'll be happy to wave if I haven't fallen asleep on the bus! I have a travel guide book, but I'd like to pick up a good map so I will have an idea what town is next. so that I'll be ready to wave at the right moment. Guest Peter Laban, I have the printed Itinerary specific to our tour dates from CIE Tours and will in fact be staying at the Temple Gate.in Ennis. I had no preference but thanks to you I am delighted by this! Kendall, I am flying Aer Lingus, thank goodness. I don't know if I'll have an opportunity to stand on a beach in Dingle, but if I do I could try to sing Song for Ireland--if I could remember the words. I don't know if I'll have time before I leave to go to a library to print them (no home printer) and I can only access them on my phone where I have WiFi. If nobody could hear me, it would be a blessing because I can't carry a tune! I often say that when I was young I wished that I could be beautiful, but now that I am old I wish I could sing well. And please understand that this is not to make light of your situation. I am sure that losing your voice is much harder than not having been able to sing well. And I hope you do get to the top of Ben Nevis and if you can't sing Flower of Scotland (but miracles can happen--I know because I should have died in 2003) at least you can sing it in your head. Bev and Jerry, I never thought I'd want to do an organized tour. But after my divorce, there were places I wanted my son to see. I took him to Boston and New York City on my own, but I kept asking myself, "What if something happened to me on one of these trips?" Of course it would be awful if he got hurt, but I'd be there for him. But if I got hit by a car or something, what would happen to him? That's when I started taking organized tours--to Washington, DC; Williamsburg, Virginia; Montreal and Quebec City. It took the pressure off me because I knew that there would be a guide to make arrangements for him. Now that I am older, I travel on my own to places that are within a 4-hour drive, but for longer distance travel I take a tour. Now that I am older, I worry more about what could happen to me! Guides request a record of medical conditions and medications, of which I have many. Being alone (and I am truly alone with no traveling companion--you are part of a "we", but I am just a "me") a tour is a wonderful way to travel without feeling alone. I usually meet other traveling singles, mostly women, and if not, couples are always kind to me, inviting me to sit with them during the meals that are on our own and inviting me to join them for other activities that are not part of the tour. I often meet couples who have never been on organized tours before but find they love it. It is often the men who are most reluctant to travel that way, and they often consent to do it in a country where people drive on the other side of the road. By the end of the tour, they are usually delighted at how much they saw and how easy it was being able to sit back and relax. Remember, too, that this will be my only trip to Ireland. You are fortunate to have been able to travel there three times. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Bev and Jerry Date: 23 Sep 12 - 01:42 AM Good point, ChanteyLass. We have always traveled together. In fact, we do nearly everything together, especially when it comes to music. We know you'll have a wonderful time. Bev and Jerry |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 23 Sep 12 - 05:39 AM Templegate was part of a site owned by the church and part of the building goes back to those days. Especially the hall, a former chapel, is quite a lovely spot and is used for all sorts of functions from craft fairs to CD launches and concerts. Brogan's, a few hundred yards from the hotel is likely to have music but there will be plenty of other spots with good music, depending on the day. It's probably a good idea to walk into Custy's Music shop, also less than five minutes walk from the hotel, they'll be able to tell you where what is happening on the day. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: ChanteyLass Date: 23 Sep 12 - 06:47 PM Bev and Jerry, I hope you have many more years of happily traveling and enjoying music together. Going to music is another thing I do alone, although I have made friends the venues I go to most often and sometimes see some of them when no music is involved. Guest Peter Laban, I'll keep Brogan's and Crusty's in mind. And I look forward to seeing the hotel. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 24 Sep 12 - 12:24 AM Thanks for the suggestion, Martin Ryan. Kevin and I are working on getting the MIDI to him. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: MartinRyan Date: 24 Sep 12 - 03:26 AM Thanks, GUESTleenia! Regards |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 24 Sep 12 - 03:57 AM Another thing we take for granted but surprising to (some ) visitors: don't expect music early, people here don't go out before ten-ish and you won't generally find music before that time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: GUEST,Beachcomber Date: 24 Sep 12 - 07:25 AM Chantey Lass, the Ireland that you are to visit will welcome you as warmly as ever. However you may have to work a bit harder to find "The Craic", You'll soon understand what that means - nothing to do with illegal substances,( At least not unless you want it to) A few short years ago it would have been possible to find this phenomenon in any public house in any city, town, village or at a country crossroads that you came upon. That's not to say that you will not find music and good company in many places still, especially on a guided tour, so I feel sure that you will have an enjoyable time. Martin is right, do ask the guide for a choice of any such venue that may not be on the official itinary - often pre-ordained by business arrangement. Keeping a journal is a great ideea, I once found a diary of a month's trip to the US made by my Grandad in 1928 . It was amazing to read it in the 1980s, yours will have the same effect on someone sometime in 2080, Come on over here and, beidh chéad míle fáilte romhat. (There will be a hundred thousand welcomes for you) Remembe, in Ireland you need only be alone if you so choose. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: ChanteyLass Date: 24 Sep 12 - 08:45 PM I am normally a night owl so 10 PM shouldn't scare me, but I think we will have to be up early in the mornings. I'm afraid that if I take a nap, I might not wake up to go out around 10. Even if I set an alarm, I might just roll over and turn it off! I grew up with and taught many children of Irish descent, so I recognized the word failte. I had heard the word but didn't know how to spell it until the mother of some of my students came to pick them up in a car with that word on her license plate. And they and a lot of the Irish-American children around here have gone to step-dancing classes.They get excused from school on St. Patrick's Day so that they can perform in a ceremony at RI's state house. I'm guessing that mile means thousand. Thank you for the translation of the rest of the sentence and for the thought! |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Charley Noble Date: 25 Sep 12 - 08:44 PM This should be great fun. I always find it difficult to pace myself when I'm traveling in unknown lands. I never know what some random contact will turn into. Some turn into bland. Others turn into great adventures and precious memories, and it's important to stay alert enough to make the right choices. So it was a dark and stormy night when ChantyLass trudged up to the ruined castle keep... Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: ChanteyLass Date: 25 Sep 12 - 10:31 PM . . . with the rest of the motorcoach passengers, who, unlike her, had neglected to purchase one of these http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/65928?feat=511082-GN2&page=h2off-dx-rain-trench-wool-lined&attrValue_0=Mallard%20Teal and were trying to make do with the thin plastic ones provided by the tour company. Other than that, everything else the tour company gave us is quite nice. (This is the first grown-up real raincoat I've ever bought. I figured I might need it on this trip.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: GUEST,Peter Laban Date: 26 Sep 12 - 03:14 AM Yes you will. |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: Noreen Date: 26 Sep 12 - 05:41 PM You will have such a wonderful time! You'll be packing so much into your trip, as has been said you'll need to keep notes of what you've seen and done to re-live it all when you get back. You'll enjoy Ennis; looking at your itinerary prompted me to look up the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis, scene of many a wonderful music session at Fleadh Nua in years past (it still goes on every year, I've just not been back for many years) *sigh* 'Live' streamed concerts from Fleadh Nua 2012 Tell us all about your trip, please! :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: billybob Date: 26 Sep 12 - 07:28 PM so today(well here in the UK it is) you are off! Have a wonderful adventure!! lots of photos please and in Dingle say hello to the Dolphin for me! Wendy x |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: ChanteyLass Date: 26 Sep 12 - 10:22 PM I'm leaving my home at 10 AM in the morning (Thursday). A friend will drive me to Green Airport, Rhode Island's state airport where I am not catching a plane but a bus which will take me to Boston's Logan Airport. I have an early evening overnight flight to Dublin and will arrive at some ridiculous hour--about 5:20 AM, I think, on Friday, which will be Day One of the trip. The hotel rooms won't be ready until 1 PM, and I won't meet the tour guide at the airport until later in the morning. While I have that wonderful raincoat, I am bringing no boots. I hope my clogs will suffice. My bags are packed; my stomach has butterflies. I doubt that I will get much sleep tonight. By Friday's bedtime in Dublin, I should be about done in! |
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Subject: RE: BS: ChanteyLass Is Going to Ireland From: ChanteyLass Date: 20 Oct 12 - 08:34 PM I'm back! In fact I've been back for a little over a week. I had a wonderful time but the tour was even more exhausting than I expected. Snapping photos was hard--some had to be taken from the bus. Even while walking, I had trouble pausing long enough to get a good shot and still keep up with the group. As a result, many of my photos were blurry and I deleted them. Also, I kept pretty good notes for the first half of the tour. Then exhaustion caught up with me and I could hardly keep my eyes open long enough to make notes! I still hope to get around to posting the photos, but when I got home I needed to catch up on sleep, mail, etc. Most mornings when we were switching locations and hotels our luggage had to be outside our doors at 6:45 with breakfast at 7, and most nights dinners were at 7:30. I was too tired to go out to pubs at 9:30 or 10, but people who did told me that most music they heard was American music! One exception was at the Temple Gate Hotel. Twelve people who started the tour with us in Dublin were doing only that first half and were departing from Shannon Airport. Fifteen others were joining us there. Apparently the Jewels tour that most of us did was a combination of the two shorter tours. The night we stayed at that hotel we all had an included farewell/welcome drink in the pub which was packed with people listening to a trio of men. Their songs were rousing. This group does not usually appear there--they were from Ohio and I think they were leaving for the US the next day. I wish I had asked who they were! |
