Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life-and travel-leaves marks on you.
In a post from my Life in a Small Town blog, I urged readers not to take a tour. My tune has changed. Vagabond Tours of Ireland is definitely the way to go. That is if you're looking for a stress-free time where all of the details are taken care of. You get a taste of Irish culture and history from the "Vagaguides" and plenty of time to meander around on your own and discover some off-the-beaten-path places. The small group is an added plus, and the value for the money is bar-none.
I wouldn't call myself a "seasoned traveler" at this point, but I'm learning things as I go. I'm a light packer; I wear pants a couple of times before washing and I make sure what I wear dries quickly. On this trip, I wore leggings and tunics that were made out of quick-drying material. I washed once when we were at the same hotel for 2 nights. The laundry sheets are fantastic for quick washing in the hotel sink/bathtub. Rolling the clothes in a towel to remove the excess water helps, too. And, those lovely heated towel racks helped speed the drying process along!
The Essentials
This was all the luggage I took with me on this trip for 2 weeks: A carry-on and a smallish (14") backpack. How did I do it?
These compression packing cubes helped organize and fit everything in my carry-on. First I purchased the set, and then I bought a couple additional cubes. They are so much easier than the initial bags I had (that were like giant ziplock bags): you put clothes in the cube, zip to compress it, and then zip the 2nd zipper to close. The set comes with a "laundry bag" so you can separate out your dirty clothes...compressing them as you close the bag.
I used these see-through bags for my medications and liquids; they fit perfectly into my backpack.
Inside the liquids bag, I had several silicone jars for things like my facial cleanser, moisturizer, etc. They were the perfect size for 2 weeks of travel.
For shampoo, lotion, and hair gel, these tubes were fantastic. Although I didn't need the shampoo (or really the lotion either), those won't be brought along for the next trip.
The Best
Best Hotel: While we stayed in some hotels that were much larger than I expected, I would have to say the nicest one we stayed in was in Derry. But the room with the best view was in Kinsale.
Best Pub: This one is tough because we went to some fantastic pubs, but I'd have to say there were 2 in Waterford that take the cake.
Off the main road, Katty Barrys was a find for Trad Music and supposedly the best Guinness in town (according to the barman).
J&K Walsh is the oldest pub in operation in Waterford (or it was when I was there). It was quite the find!
Best Town: This is another hard one because there were so many places we went that were absolutely wonderful, but if I had to pick just one, I would pick Donegal as my overall favorite. This is definitely someplace I'd like to return and spend more time. Kilkenny would have to be a close second.
Donegal
Kilkenny
Best Cliffs: Without a doubt, Slieve League is it! We're just thankful we didn't end up at the bottom because of the heavy winds!
Photo courtesy of Tomás
Best Irish Coffee: I drank a lot of Irish Coffee this trip since the weather was cold, damp, and windy. There's nothing like a good Irish Coffee to warm you up! Without a doubt, the best one I had was at Jameson Distillery in Midleton.
Best Monument: I was able to see several monuments, but my favorite was Kindred Spirits in Midleton, County Cork. This monument was to commemorate the money the Choctaw Indians in the USA sent to Ireland during the famine. While $170 may not seem like much, in today's money (as opposed to 1847) it would be equivalent to thousands of dollars. It is a beautiful monument and definitely worth a stop.
Best Natural Phenomena: Again, this is a tough one. The bog protecting Corlea Trackway was definitely amazing, along with Giant's Causeway, Benvoy Beach, and Mahon Falls (with the Magic Road as a plus), but I'm going to have to go with the backward waterfall we experienced while at Slieve League. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to experience that again.
Best Music: This is going to come as a surprise because it actually did to me. When I started thinking about this category, I was thinking about live trad music in the pubs. But actually, the best music was when Tomás turned on his playlist as we were driving around Northern Ireland. He shared some music from Irish bands (mostly although we also heard "The Boss" and maybe some Johnny Cash!) and was able to provide the background from the song that turned out to perfectly summarize my trip and how different it was from the last one. To top it off, the musician is a friend of his so that made it extra personal.Best Cemetery: This may seem a little morbid, but you have to visit cemeteries to see High Crosses. Even so, while Monasterboice had the most amazing High Crosses, my favorite cemetery was at St. Columbas in Drumcliffe. Yeats' grave was so peaceful, with the beautiful Benbulben in the background.
Best revisited place: I had a difficult time deciding between the Hook Peninsula or Glendalough. I have emotional ties to both places from my last visit. But...I'm going to have to say it's actually a car park! Denise just happened to stop at the same car park where Robert & I spent our last night with the campervan in the Wicklow Mountains. The views are beautiful and I was able to take a few minutes to think about him and our trip together.
Best Historical City: The visited city with the most fascinating history to me was Waterford. This is another place that I would love to go back to and spend more time. Plus, there is a museum that wasn't open the day we were there that I want to see. Strongbow & Aoife's marriage was so instrumental in the history of Ireland. Denise did a wonderful job telling us their story and how they shaped Ireland.
Best Castle: I hesitated to use this category because I chose not to go into some of the castles. But, this one was incredible: Dunluce. Right on the edge of a cliff, the ruins show off just how massive it was. It just takes a little bit of imagination to see how glorious it was in its heyday.
So there you have it. My "best of" for the Great Southern Tour and the Northern Island Tour by Vagabond. I have nothing bad to say about this tour group. I didn't feel like there was any wasted time. I know with many tour groups you "hurry up and wait", but not with Vagabond. As long as everyone is respectful of the other passengers' time, it's not a problem. We were all at the bus at the given time, ready to go. We weren't rushed when we went to points of interest; we had just the right amount of time at each place. I've already booked another tour with them so stay tuned for a recap.
It was the last day of the Northern Island Tour but we didn't slow down. We were a little sad all day knowing it was our last day in Ireland and we would be on an airplane the next day, heading home.
Where We Went
Downpatrick. We visited St. Patrick's Grave (Sts. Columba's and Brigid's remains are also here) and had a lovely talk/tour of the church. There were beautiful replicas of St. Patrick's Cross in front of the cemetery.
Replica of St. Patrick's Cross
Sts. Patrick, Columba, and Brigid were buried right around this marker.
The tile mosaics on the floor were designed after the Book of Kells
I loved the attention to every small detail, like the shamrock on the lamp/candle holder
Replica of the Town Cross. The original is in the Down Museum.
Down Cathedral is part of the Church of Ireland. Parts of the church date back to 1183 and was the site of a Benedictine Monastery. It fell into disrepair following the resolution during King Henry VIII's reign but was restored in the 18th century.
The plan was to take a ferry across Carlingford Lough and stop on the other side, but the ferry wasn't running. It turned out to be perfect; we stopped in Warrenpoint for lunch and a bit of free time.
Memorial commemorating the passage between Warrenpoint and New Brunswick, Canada during the famine on the shores of the lough
We met another friend!
After a quick lunch at a deli, we stopped at another church. This was a Catholic Church and was a bit different than others I had seen.
St. Peter's was finished in 1840; it took 6 years to build.
We took another side trip into the Mourne Mountains to take in the view at Flagstaff Viewpoint. This gave us views of where we had been as well as Newry. The views were breathtaking; it was a great place to stop, reflect, and take some pictures.
View of Warrenpoint
Maritime Memorial
Pictorial Map of what is being viewed on the Point
Slieve Foy
My SIL & I with our amazing Vagaguide, Tomás
Our last stop was Monasterboice, famous for its High Crosses. Muiredeach's Cross is known for being the "finest High Cross" in Ireland, while the West Cross is the tallest High Cross. It was the site of a monastery founded by St. Buite who died in 521 A.D.; however, the oldest building is the round tower and the High Crosses, dating back to the 10th Century.
I believe this is the West Cross since it fits the description of the shaft being more worn than the head.
The North Cross is the oldest and plainest of the 3 High Crosses.
Muireadach's Cross
Where We Stayed
Our tour came to a close, and my SIL & I headed to our hotel for the night. I've stayed at The Maldron before, and the convenience to the airport can't be beat. It was a little hard to get used to the small room after the hotels I stayed in during this trip, but it was only for 1 night so we managed. Our plan was to share the shuttle to the airport the next morning, but her flight departed a couple of hours after her original time so I was on my own. The airport was very easy to navigate, and going through customs before getting onto the airplane has definitely spoiled me.
In Conclusion
Looking back over the Northern Island Tour, I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I experienced Northern Ireland. There are definitely places I would revisit, but some I would not. Even though this group was larger than my tour the week before, by the end of the trip we were all fairly comfortable with each other. Tomás did a great job of spending time with each of our "subgroups". His knowledge of the area and his flexibility to stop when he saw good photo ops really added to the tour. If you're looking to play it safe and go on a tour, Vagabond is definitely the way to go. I felt it was personalized for each person and the groups weren't so big that you felt like you were in a big group and were forgotten about. I liked the tours so much that I booked another one not long after returning home!
