A small island with a huge legacy, ancestral homeland for millions of Americans and an atypical destination choice for a WOW! Travel Club adventure . . .

Our destination was Ireland – an oft-visited place. My challenge? Crafting an experience that was unlike anything on the market. I focused on its greatest treasure – the Irish people, and set about to create an itinerary that offered a wealth of interactions – both orchestrated and spontaneous – with the warm, witty and wonderful Irish people. And I would rely on my decades-long industry relationships to recommend delightful, intimate, behind-the-scenes places that travelers would never find on their own, or that would never be included on an “ordinary” itinerary. After all, that’s what “WOW” is all about . . . !

By the Numbers: We were a very merry band of a dozen fun-loving, like-minded folk, including our driver-guide, Joe, who was part of the family from the moment we met. We didn’t quite circumnavigate the entire island, but we covered a lot of territory in our 12-day journey. We traversed 16 of Ireland’s 32 counties, staying three nights in each of three wonderful properties.

I’ll break my blog into three parts – since I have enough stories and photographs to rival James Joyce’s 260,000-word Ulysses! (In fact, from the weight of all my photos and videos, my beloved MacBook Pro has crashed!)

The first 3 Days:

On Day 1, my group of 11 had arrived on different days and different flights, so we convened for a welcome breakfast in the west of Ireland, in Bunratty, where we met our new best friend, our driver-guide, Joe, who would regale us with stories, legends, history, jokes and songs for the next 12 days. Our first stop was to see the iconic Cliffs of Moher which are often shrouded with coastal fog. But – as would be the case throughout our journey – we were blessed with good weather.

I’ve seen the Cliffs of Moher many times – and they still take my breath away!

The “Wild Atlantic Way” is a campaign by Irish Tourism to promote the hauntingly beautiful west of the country where much of the traditional Irish language and culture is intact. It’s a land of thatched cottages, black-faced sheep with bouncing baby lambs, emerald green fields divided by low stone walls and colorful postcard-worthy villages, most of which were festooned with green and orange flags. We’d arrived two days after the 100-year anniversary of the Easter Sunday rebellion of 1916 – a pivotal event in Ireland’s fight for independence. We would learn much about this complicated struggle which influences Irish politics and affairs to this day.

I captured this photo of Jill Stoliker enjoying a classic “wow” moment!

We enjoyed a delicious seafood lunch, as my group resigned themselves to the inevitable food feast that would enhance our journey and expand our waistlines. [In my defense, I should state that almost all our meals were a-la-carte – so there can be no blaming the organizer!] Our home for the first three nights was Glenlo Abbey, a palatial estate on 138 acres just outside the delightful town of Galway.

We ate (and drank) our way around Ireland – with much merriment (and mischief) at every turn!

Day 2 featured a visit to a family-owned sheep farm that has been in the same family for 200 years. The iconic whitewashed, thatched-roof cottage with flower boxes and ivy could have been part of a movie set. Farmer Fintan showed us a variety of sheep breeds on his 80-acre farm, Ted the sheepdog demonstrated his instinctive herding skills, and several of us had an opportunity to bottle-feed some of the lambs. Meanwhile, back in the cottage, Frances had baked a big batch of scones which we slathered with homemade strawberry-rhubarb jam and dollops of clotted cream. We explored rooms in the cozy cottage and sat for awhile next to the peat fire in the parlor. At the back door, a very large dog sat expectantly, waiting to be let in the house. Frances explained that it wasn’t their dog – but belonged to a neighbor down the road. The dog had the right idea – it was a delightful place to hang out!

From left: Making friends at the hurling match, fresh-baked scones, curious sheep, hungry lambs, the neighbor’s dog, music session in a thatched-roof cottage

Even though we were stuffed with scones, we couldn’t resist the steamy seafood chowder and mountains of fresh mussels at Paddy Burke’s Pub, named for the man who first introduced and sold oysters in the area. And then we were off to another thatched cottage – a pink one this time. Here in this ancient cottage, Tommy and Annette make beautiful music together. Annette showed us her tiny little concertina which was given to her by her father when she was 9 years old – keeping the family’s musical tradition alive. Tommy showed us the Uilleann pipes – the Irish instrument which differs substantially from the Scottish version. [In an interesting bit of trivia about the movie Braveheart, Tommy explained that it was the Uilleann playing in that dramatic scene of a Highland bagpiper in silhouette on a hilltop.]

Tommy and Annette wave goodbye from their pink thatched-roof cottage.

We enjoyed some free time to stroll the lovely grounds of Glenlo Abbey before heading into town for some Galway nightlife. On the pedestrian Shop Street, crowds were entertained by a free-form group of a dozen musicians – three of which played guitar as they balanced precariously above the crowd on pipes that jutted from the sidewalk. Such talent these Irish possess!

On Day 3 we headed out to the Connemara countryside. We learned about the peat bogs – endangered (like so many other natural resources on our planet).

We learned the story of Kylemore Castle: Connemara was the honeymoon destination for a British couple who were so enchanted by the landscape that they dreamed to live there one day. In the late 1860s Mitchell Henry used his inheritance to buy a hunting lodge and 13,000 acres of land, on which he built a magnificent lakefront castle and reclaimed the bogland to become a model farm. Here, he and his beloved wife, Margaret, raised nine children and implemented many innovations – both technical (he generated his own hydro-electricity) and social (he set up a school to educate the children of his Irish tenants). In 1920, the property was purchased by Benedictine nuns who had fled here from Belgium after their abbey was destroyed in World War I. Now one of Ireland’s most photographed attractions, Kylemore is home to nine retired nuns who live on the second floor of the castle.

Magnificent Kylemore Castle, later to become an Abbey for Benedictine nuns from Belgium

The beautiful view enjoyed by residents (now nuns) of Kylemore

On our final night in the west, we enjoyed a fine meal in a beautifully restored carriage of the fabled Orient Express. This particular car was used in the filming of the Agatha Christie film “Murder on the Orient Express.” Its final run was in 1965 when it carried Sir Winston Churchill’s remains and funeral cortége to his final resting place.

Fortunately, we experienced no murder or mourning – only merriment and mirth on this wonderful evening!

Watch this space for Part II of our magical adventure in Ireland!

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