A man from Boston, one with plenty of Irish ancestry in his blood, should NOT be taking his first trip to Ireland in his early 50’s! I don’t have any reasonable explanation. I spent a semester in college ‘studying’ in London; a quick and inexpensive flight I was told. Plenty of my schoolmates took weekend jaunts to Dublin or Galway. I heard all the brilliant stories…but never ended up booking that trip. I have regretted that decision of YEARS!

30+ years later…I am finally taking that trip…likely with fewer pub crawls and earlier bed times however. To say I am excited is a proper understatement. It will be great to visit the homeland, but more importantly the catalyst for, what I hope will be, more traveling.

“We have always found the Irish a bit odd.
They refuse to be English.”

-Winston Churchill

I will be traveling alone this trip, but at no point do I anticipate being alone. I am looking at this trip as a gift from my father, Terry, who passed last December. He would be absolutely tickled that I am taking this trip and would want to hear about every last detail on this 8-night visit. The special hotels I am staying in, the views from the Cliffs of Moher (above), the pubs, the pints, the people. I only wish he were going on this trip with me…but he will be with me every step I take!

I thought I would publish this blog to share my experiences with my friends and family. I want to share the sights, the sounds, the people, the food and the pints. I have planned a trip that is going to be a nice introduction to Ireland for me. I am not trying to see EVERYTHING! I see this trip as just the appetizer for future trips to Ireland!

I will be departing Boston next Wednesday, September 18th and flying into Shannon. I will be spending 3 nights in Galway before heading south to visit some smaller cities and towns. My plan is to write a blog everyday during the trip…to share the sites, the sounds, the food and new friends that I meet along the way. I do have a return flight on Friday the 27th of September. I am planning on being on that flight, but plenty of people of told me that I may just want to stay! My weekend golf buddies may need to find a 4th for that last weekend of September…but I am sure they will understand my absence!