scotland & ireland

Two years ago, I started leading adult travelers on educational tours with #ACIS. We started with a trip to Italy that was one of the best experiences I have ever had traveling! This summer we took off for the British Isles and the fun times didn’t stop until we landed back at Dulles Airport…

We took off at dusk from Dulles and chased the sunset on our way to Glasgow, arriving as the sun was rising over the Highlands. So beautiful. We quickly got our luggage and found our Tour Manager Stan Pretty waiting for us outside of baggage claim. By did we luck out with him!! He lead us to our bus and got us on our way to our first stop. Coffee.

Stan took us to the Kelvingrove Art Museum as our first stop. It was off of our itinerary, but was the perfect place to start. Options for people to walk around and see some beautiful things and places to sit and rest a bit and a nice little cafe that happened to have live chamber music that day. We got all checked in at our hotel and had everyone had a chance to rest. I met with Stan and we went over the itinerary and he added some additional options for us. We spent two nights in Glasgow visiting Stirling Castle, the scene of one of William Wallace’s most famous victories.

Our next stop was Edinburgh, which a friend shared with me is her favorite city in all of Europe, and it didn’t disappoint! Our hotel was right on the Royal Mile, which is a great shopping area on the mile between Edinburgh Castle and the town of Edinburgh. We had a fabulous local guide who took us on a bus tour or the area and walked us through the Castle. As you may know, the Scots are known for their somehow genetically predisposition for storytelling, and Mark was true to his heritage. He regaled us with stories of Scottish history and somehow also intertwined his own story. He shared with us a story about a loch of legendary depth and mystical power… He proposed to his wife at that loch. And when they got divorced, that is where she threw her wedding ring! Truth or fiction, it doesn’t matter as it gave everyone a chuckle and was delivered in a perfect Scottish brogue.

We continued on from Edinburgh towards Dublin. On our way we spent one night is the quaint little town of Grasmere. A stop at William Wordsworth’s Dove cottage gave us a glimpse at the literary history of the area. Grasmere would be a great spot for a return trip! Great hiking and walking trails everywhere. A small group went on a walk around a lake near the hotel and the rest of us wandered around in town and bought some souvenirs. Grasmere is known for their Gingerbread, and as my father is a bit of a connoisseur, we picked some up! Stan also shared with us a peppermint candy that they are known for as it is a prerequisite for going on a hike, just in case you need a little energy. It tasted like a harder version of the inside of a peppermint patty! This was the only rainy day on our trip! But even wet, it was the sweetest little town. We stayed at the Red Lion Inn and I had the best lamb chops with root vegetables for dinner in the hotel restaurant. We left Grasmere early the next morning to make the Ferry to Dublin at Holyhead. On our entire journey through Scotland and England, our touring Bus Driver Javid, was an integral part of our tour. He joined us for dinners and pints most evenings and went above and beyond to show us every knock any cranny he could fit the bus into! We were sad to say goodbye to him as we boarded the Ferry to Dublin. 😦

We boarded the Ferry to Dublin and enjoyed the ride across the Irish Sea. When we arrived, we headed to get checked into our hotel and took a short break, then met up to start discovering a new city. Most of Dublin was walkable from our hotel. We had a group entrance to Trinity College to the the Book of Kells, one of the most famous illuminated manuscripts ever. The next day we had a guided tour of Dublin by a young scholar. he lead us through St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I enjoyed soaking in the smells, textures and imagery of this old church. This afternoon we went on a Guinness Tour and enjoyed the views from the top with the best pint of the trip!! the next day we took a trip out to Blarney Castle where many of our group hung upside down to kiss the Blarney stone. Of course, my sister (the germaphobe) and I. walked the grounds a bit and then hit the Blarney Woolen Mills for some shopping and lunch. From here we headed back to Dublin for an evening of Irish Music and Dancing where we learned traditional Irish songs… and we sang “No, nay never (clap, clap, clap, clap) no nay never no more (clap)…” all the way home!

I thought that I would love the scenery on this trip, but I had no idea how richly beautiful it really is. We left Dublin and headed to Killarney stopping in Cobh on the way. Cobh was the last European port of the Titanic before it set sail for America. We had a much more successful departure from there 😉 and continued to our destination. We stayed in a cute little hotel in Killarney found a place to get some dinner and had some time to walk around town and see where we could get into some shenanigans later. The next day we headed out to drive the Ring of Kerry.  the weather seemed to cooperate, we drove in and out of fog and every once in a while we caught glimpses as we approached. Before we got to the top, we stopped at a little shop to get a coffee and use the restroom and were able to get a shepherding demonstration from a local shepherd. It was so amazing to see how they train their dogs to collect and manage the sheep. And amazing to learn how well dogs can actually hear. So when I am yelling at Lucy on the other side of the couch it is NOT that she can’t hear me! Truly amazing! We continued on to a little place near the top for lunch and our timing was perfect. After lunch we continued up and the fog had completely cleared. What a beautiful sight!

Our flight home departed early so we were up at 4am for a quick breakfast. There was a wedding at the hotel where we were staying the night before, and as we all filed in for breakfast, the wedding arty was just saying their goodbyes! We headed off to Shannon for our return flight and said our goodbyes to Stan. He was the most amazing Tour Manager. He learned the needs of the group and made sure that everyone was comfortable and was able to enjoy every facet of the trip. His commentary as we traveled through the country side was insightful and entertaining. He took the time to get to know group members and point out things on the tour that met their interests.

It was a truly remarkable trip!! Our next chapter: Greece in 2016! Opa!

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