Cead Mile Failte (a hundred thousand welcomes)
A brief overview of this digital scrapbook:
This was our first Rick Steves tour, but will NOT be the last. It was very well organized, executed, and provided amazing accommodations, group events, time on our own, great tips about where to party, shop, and sights to see! It was such a benefit to be able to get the "local" view from our various "special guest" tour guides. We gained so much more than we would have on our own! What you read on our site and the photos shared will be just a snapshot of our actual experience. And (to give credit to the appropriate source) we often used the descriptions and information from The Rick Steves Ireland 2016 book because, well, it just provided the best dang descriptive information-far superior to these two Texas gals! So before you launch into the daily journal and photos, a word about traveling with a tour - we had misgivings and hesitations, we will admit- BUT- we will never hesitate to take another Rick Steves tour (actually, we are already both planning our next one!). The group was small- 28 of us- lending itself to opportunities for us to get to know each other- and, folks who travel on a RS trip seem to have a spirit of adventure and fun! We found them to be kindred spirits, and we made some great new friends. We share emails and even have our own private Facebook page to share pictures of our continuing lives back in the USA! Our guide, Pascal Fitzpatrick, assistant guide, Cynthia Ballard from the RS home office and our coach driver, Alan Malone, were marvelous, helpful, and fun! SLAINTE! (Cheers!) |
Meet the Authors...errr...the travelers
Two widows seeking to move forward and write new chapters researched best strategies to travel- more than one travel blog indicated that the Rick Steves European Tours offered just what we wanted...smaller tours with adventure and activity. No grumps allowed! Both of us forced into journeys we did not want to take, determined to take some journeys we did choose....so in pursuit of our new motto- CARPE DIEM- we selected our tour, dusted off passports, read all of Rick's tips on how and what to pack, ordered our trusty Guide to Ireland books, studied the map, and viewed Rick's videos on Ireland! |