The Plan for this Blog

Well, for those of you who are visiting this blog in hopes of following me on my trip to Ireland... WELCOME!!! I am really hoping that I will be able to update this blog on a regular basis from the Emerald Isle but that will all be dependent on me finding the time and affordable internet access while I am over there. I will not likely be posting pictures until I get back but I am truly hoping that they will be worth the wait. For those of you who don't know much about my trip, well, let me fill you in on the details. I am travelling on a coach tour with Trafalgar Tours. I am going over there alone but will meet up with a group of people who I will travel the Republic of Ireland with. I don't know who they are, how many there will be or where they are from. Chances are most of them will be a bit older than me (40-60ish), and many of them will probably be from countries other than the US. I do know that they will all be English speaking as the tours are all conducted in English. I am actually looking forward to meeting new people from all over the world. We will only be travelling in the Republic of Ireland (not Northern Ireland), starting the journey in Dublin. I will arrive in Dublin on Sunday morning October 5th after an overnight flight with a layover in Chicago. I will hit the bricks right away to hopefully fight off the inevitable jet-lag as much as possible. We will have a city sightseeing tour around Dublin later that afternoon as well as a gathering with the group that evening. Starting the next day, and over the next 5 days, we will travel to Kildare, Kilkenny, Waterford, Youghal, Cork, Blarney (yes that is where you kiss the Blarney Stone), Macroom, Kenmare, the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty, Limerick, Ennis, Galway and back to Dublin. If I am unable to post on a regular basis, I will update my blog when I return with entries from my travel journal as well as the many photos I am sure I will be taking. So for those of you who are interested, come along and join me as I Daydream my way through Ireland!!!

1 week to go...

Well, I leave one week from tomorrow. That means I have just 1 week to get ready. I think I will be okay but I am a little worried that I am going to forget SOMETHING. Yeah, most stuff I could just pick up when I get there, but let's face it, it is a bit unnerving to think of being at home, without your favorite shampoo or toothpaste. I know it sounds petty but being that far from home, who wouldn't want to have those little comforts. I am planning on packing up everything I can, this weekend, that way I can actually get a good nights sleep next Friday so I am nice and refreshed before my flight on Saturday.

Documents are here!!!

I just received a call from my travel agent and my tour documents are here! I am headed over there on my lunch break to pick them up. I can't believe it is soo close! I leave in 18 days!!

36 Days to go...

Well, I am under the 40 day mark. Just 36 days left, not including today. I am soooo ready for it! I am hoping to take the 3 day holiday weekend to make sure everything will fit in my suitcase and possibly trim the packing list but a little bit. I was starting to feel a bit like a cold bug was trying to bite me. I started on Zicam (an immunity booster) to help ward whatever it is off. Getting closer every day!!!

43 days to go

Well, I am slowly ticking the days off till my trip. I started with over 200 to go and here I am under 50! I can't believe how close it is. I want to do a trial packing run to see if everything will fit size and weight wise. I don't want to be scrambling at the last minute trying to get everything situated. I want to be full prepared. So I am hoping maybe this weekend, I can get the first trial run out of the way. We will see...

I'm Going to Ireland!!!

Anyone who really knows me, knows that I love to travel. I go as often as I can, and sometimes, it is just a few days. One dream I have had for some time is to make it to Europe and it always just seemed a bit out of reach for me. Until now. I finally decided that I was going to do what I had to do to get there. I had talked to my travel agent some time ago about my VERY tentative plans and she highly suggested that since it was my first time, I would be traveling solo, and I may possibly choose a country where I didn't speak the language, to consider an escorted coach tour. I started to do some research and I had settled on Trafalgar. Now I had to narrow down my choices and choose a tour. I was hoping to be able to do a 2 week tour on the mainland but cost prohibited that. I finally narrowed it down to a couple of Ireland tours, one of Northern Ireland and the other The Republic of Ireland. When it came down to it, I chose The Republic of Ireland. I am leaving October 4th and returning on October 11th. I am gradually collecting all the things I am going to take with me. I even got a newer, smaller suitcase to take with me to help with weight control. I may not blog much between now and then but it may become more frequent when it gets closer. I would like to be able to blog daily while I am on my trip but it all depends on how easy it is to find a computer to blog from. I will keep you all updated.