"Travel Agents have been replaced by Travel "Experts". So many times we get asked "Do Travel Agents still exist??" What !!!! Yes they do and they are better than ever. The era of cookie cutter vacations is well past. Online booking engines are not as popular now as people have become frustrated and disappointed. These days, the new breed of Travel professionals are "Specialists" in their niche. If you are planning a trip of a lifetime, you want to [...]
I'm sure you've heard of "Camino de Santiago", also known in english as "The way of St.James" which is one of the most important Christian Pilgrimages during the middle ages. The route ends at the Cathedral of Santiago in Spain where St. James' remains are buried. Today, hundreds of thousands of Christian pilgrims and others, make the pilgrimage by foot or bike each year. There are many different routes throughout Europe. Ireland has it's own version called "The Kerry Camino" [...]
Belfast N.Ireland has been home to The Titanic Museum for many years now. link here Now the much anticipated Titanic Hotel has finally opened. Reported to have cost £28 million ($37.9 million), the hotel is housed inside the Harland & Wolff headquarters and historic Drawing Offices—where the Titanic was originally built in the early 20th century. The property was designed to be “the world's most authentic Titanic-themed hotel.” The Titanic Hotel showcases Belfast’s shipbuilding heritage, and the project carefully preserved original details (like moldings, [...]
Every year from early November through Christmas Eve, cities in Austria, Germany, and nearby countries (France, England, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium), light up their ancient town squares for the holidays and set up festive stalls. Many markets start on the Friday before Advent, which is four Sundays before Christmas Eve; most end on December 24, especially in Germanic countries, where Christmas Eve is set aside for trimming the tree at home. Others keep [...]
Did you know that the Game of Thrones series filming sites are located in Europe, from Spain to Iceland, Morocco, Scotland, Malta, Croatia and Northern Ireland. When you want to tap into your inner Khaleesi, visit Itzurun Beach in Spain, and walk in the “footsteps of Daenerys Targaryen as she retakes her first steps into the Seven Kingdoms.” House Tyrell's home of Highgarden and the Water Gardens of the Palace of Dorne are also located in Seville, Spain. You can [...]
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Europe. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 131 World Heritage Sites in Western Europe. These sites are located in 9 countries (also called "state parties"); France and Germany are home to the most with 37, while Liechtenstein and Monaco have no sites. There are ten sites which are shared between state parties both in and out of Western Europe. The first site from the region to be included on the [...]
St .Patrick’s day is known all over the world and celebrated on March 17th in observance of the death of St. Patrick who brought Christianity to Ireland and died in the Fifth Century. What began as a religious feast day in the 17th century has evolved into a variety of festivals across the globe celebrating Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, and a whole lot of green. Traditionally in Ireland, we would go to Catholic Mass in the [...]
Tourism Ireland – what’s new?? As we all know, March is Ireland’s famous month – St.Patricks Day is celebrated on March 17th. Everybody loves to celebrate and we’re all a little bit Irish for the day. In honor of “our” month, Tourism Ireland visits the US in March each year to promote tourism, bringing some of the top Irish accommodations, attractions, and tour suppliers over to present their latest and greatest. Ireland enjoyed a record year in 2016 and now [...]
Do you know what Dark Tourism is ?? Dark tourism (also referred to as black tourism or grief tourism) has been defined as tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy. ... The main attraction to dark locations is their historical value rather than their associations with death and suffering. Dark Tourism is a becoming increasingly popular as a niche in the travel industry. There are many sites in Ireland, both North and South. Here are a few of the more famous: REBUBLIC OF [...]
Cead Mile Failte !!! - Welcome - When we first moved to the US from Ireland, we thought that the fact that we spoke English was going to make “fitting in” a breeze. Boy were we in for a treat. Even though we speak the same language, a lot of our phrases and sayings literally get lost in translation. Here’s a few of our favorites: The Irish LOVE to have the “Craic” (pronounced crack) so you can imagine how that [...]