I took this tour in September, 2004. I was equally comfortable walking around the various cities and villages we visited in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. I found the Republic to be warmer than Northern Ireland. While there were two large groups amongst the group; I spent time with everyone. This was also the only tour I have ever taken where it rained EVERYDAY for at least part of the time. Its lengthy; so you may want to print it out. Read it in the loo- that's where my family and friends read these epics. You could skip right to the actual tour start in Dublin. SECOND 23 September installment.

Wednesday 22, September 2004

After working a full day, I arrived at JFK for my departing flight. Standing on line to check in; I spoke with a young German couple (in their early 20’s), they made me think of my great grandparents that had emigrated in 1893 at a similar age. Afterwards in the gate area waiting room, I had the opportunity to talk with a young couple from the UK who were visiting the USA for the first time.

Once again I flew with British Airways via Heathrow before landing in Dublin. I was fortunate to have the seat next to me vacant - plenty of room to stretch out and sleep during the flight. The plane was somewhat warm; since I was in the middle section (aisle seat) I could not rest my head against the window for cooling purposes.

Thursday, 23 September 2004

Now THE FUN BEGINS- Trafalgar had booked me with a connection that was very tight for the distance it is from terminal 4 to terminal 1. I ran the entire way including the on the "moving sidewalk" since once shuttle bus drops you off and you make your way thru customs my gate was 45 minutes away and I wound up with only 20 minutes to do so.
TO MY HORROR there was no one at the desk or in the waiting area except for one person who thought flight had already been loaded. OH NO! I walked back 4 GATES to where there was an AER LINGUS agent- I inquired with him on the status of my flight to Dublin- he said - NOT ONLT HAVING YOU NOT MISSED THE FLIGHT- WE HAVE NO IDEA when it will be departing- go back to the gate and listen for an announcement.
My plane had been scheduled to depart Heathrow at 10:40 am landing in Dublin at 12 pm (noon). . At 11 am the announcement was made that my flight would depart at approximately 12 noon; plane was just leaving Dublin for Heathrow with a immediate return flight once cleaning & refueling was completed (in fact they started loading plane while refueling was done but I waited - did not want to inhale jet fuel nor trip over hose- elderly, children & people requiring assistance were not permitted to load so I had company.
When announcement was made regarding departure time; I immediately attempted to call Gresham Hotel to have them notify Tour Director that I was coming but would be delayed until an approx. arrival time of 1:30pm. Hotel reception had NO IDEA who Tour Director was.
So I called the London office and asked them to relay my message. They (corporate) was their usual difficult self - more hung up on reiterating that since I missed group transfer I would need to make my way to hotel EVEN THOUGHT I HAD BOOKED LAND /AIR PACKAGE with them directly. I emphasized my main concern was the sightseeing tour and would deal with getting to my hotel upon arrival to Dublin.

On the flight to Dublin I sat next to two young Irish boys-8 & 11 who were traveling home from holidaying in Australia along with their sister, mother and grandmother who had seats on the other side of the aisle (originally the little girl was sitting in my seat and I told her she could stay there but her mother insisted I take the seat airline had assigned me. It was a bumpy ride TONS OF "ROCKIN & ROLLIN) when they were not somewhat distressed by the movement they spent the entire time discussing the educational system of Ireland from the age of 4- 18, the fact that music & the arts were not offered in regular schools but they were all accomplished musicians (playing several instruments each) by attending music academies after school & on Saturday. They also played sports and explained the scoring system. The older boy was not very fluent in Irish he therefore attended a different school from his siblings that was geared to change that - even if you receive perfect grades in all of your other subjects (faculties) you could not graduate -you would have failed your course of study- it is even a University subject and all politicians and government official are required to be fluent in Irish (Gaelic). . They were IMPRESSED about my knowledge of none other than HARRY POTTER and marveled that I had not only read all the books but had attended the movie each time on OPENING DAY. The older boy said he was going to have to write a paper on and give a presentation in IRISH on his trip to compensate for missing the first 3 weeks of school. NOT GOOD. He explained that his father was a Solicitor and their mother was a Barrister. Since they are only off August & September that is why they had been away for that past 6 weeks.
Now to Dublin- after retrieving my luggage I decided to check out the arrival area before arranging for a taxi to take me to hotel per phone call to London office. To my surprise there was a Trafalgar driver with a placard standing there. I inquired as to what tour he was picking up- instead of answering me he responded with - Who would you be? I gave him my name and he replied -"Well you are the person I was sent to pick up ". . As a matter of fact while waiting for me two other couples on my tour had approached him and would be coming with us. After getting us all together, we walked to mini van and placed our suitcases on board. Once inside I asked him if he knew who the Tour Director would be and if were would arrive in time for the sightseeing tour. While he did not know the Tour Director's name, he said that she was holding tour at 2 pm. It was now 1:45pm. The phone rang. He told him I was onboard along with four additional surprise arrivals (they had just assumed, since they also paid The land & Air Package- someone would simply SHOW UP eventually). . He was told they would wait for us to arrive. At 1:57 pm we were 2 blocks away but STUCK in traffic- he rang bus driver back and since we were so close they would wait until we arrived, but we would have to hop straight on the coach.

You can't imagine what it was like when arriving at the hotel, pulling alongside the bus and who was standing inside the front of the bus –Jill O’ Keeffe. Once again I had the pleasure of traveling with her. The driver was different. His name was Jimmy Murray. WELL when Jill saw me out of the corner of her eye from her vantage point - SHE RAN DOWN THE STEPS OF THE BUS - put her arms around me, giving a great big hug and said "Welcome home Liz " When Jill received my message from London - she sent driver . . NOW EVERYONE KNOWS MY NAME!

After bringing in our luggage into the reception area; the bus took off and were on our way. So now I had my extremely grateful foursome for a ride to hotel and making the sightseeing/orientation tour along with about two thirds of the tour onboard knowing that Jill and I had traveled together previously.
This was a crazy tour in the sense that about 1/3 missed the entire first day due to booking (flight) arrangements made by Trafalgar and in fact One American couple missed two entire days of the tour due to a missed connection in Dulles. They had started in Chicago -sat at Dulles for 2 days- NOT HAPPY. This couple did not arrive until 8pm -in Belfast. In addition one man went on wrong tour and decided to remain on that tour instead-Jill spent the better part of 3 days trying to find him. They were running another Irish Experience tour in REVERSE.

This tour consisted of:
28- Americans- broken down as follows:
5 fraternity brothers along with their wives - the men had graduated from Univ. Of Virginia- CLASS OF 1956 they must have been wild back in the day- pretty funny now.
a father & son, 3 FAMILY MEMBERS - Tracey & her parents-,2 young girls, 2 cousins- women- 3 separate couples, a 91- year old gentleman and his neighbor who came to help him and finally myself
6 – Australians- 3 couples
5- New Zealanders- 1- gentleman's wife was in London at a conference
6- Canadians – Neighbors for 25 years.

The Americans & Canadians wore tank tops & shorts while the rest were bundled up - jackets, hats and gloves. I slept with window open.


Thursday, 23 September 2004

In Dublin the guided sightseeing/orientation of the Republic’s bustling, vibrant capital is not to be missed. Some of the sites and areas covered were the Georgian section, Victorian section, Trinity College where the Book of Kells is on exhibition, Dublin Castle, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Phoenix Park and Guinness Brewery. We were also shown the shopping areas on Nassau and Grafton Streets, various memorials and statues of important people in Irish history. Included are statues of Daniel O’Connell- the Emancipator of the Catholics who had been denied both religious and economic freedom for hundreds of years under British rule, Molly Malone who is reputed to have sold more than just the wares on her push cart, leaders of the various struggles for independence – 1916 Easter Rising and the War of Independence, well known writers- Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde and modern day leaders that have brought Ireland to the present. The locations of the American and Canadian Embassies, the residence of the President of the Republic, the government buildings and the home of the Mayor of Dublin were included also.

After the tour we were on our own for the rest of the day. Upon returning to the Gresham we were given maps to wonder the city at leisure. I (and the foursome) had to go into reception to get our room assignments. Concierge took care of having bags sent to our respective room. We were free to enjoy our at leisure time.

This being my fourth time in Dublin itself; I took off for the Temple Bar district- imagine - the LEFT Bank in Paris- street performers, open markets, artists and of course PUBS catering to all types of people. It is also where you can hear the true Dublin accent in its purest form. Being an observer of people and their interesting lifestyle is why this district appeals to me. I also got to ride the brand new tram system- Luas?

The Welcome Drink was postponed until we could all attend- ON THE 3 RD DAY in Ireland at the Everglades Hotel in Londonderry/Derry.

Gresham Hotel- on O’Connell Street in the city centre.


Friday, 24 September 2004

Bags & Breakfast- 8 am, Departure 9 am. Dinner at hotel - 7 pm.

Leaving Dublin this morning, we were off to Belfast - enjoying the beautiful countryside and coastline into Northern Ireland. Jill had included rest stops and photo stops into our itinerary. Her informative and entertaining narratives kept us spellbound and never bored. We also listened to tapes periodically to give her a break. Her knowledge of Ireland- past & present were extraordinary- detailing our surroundings and its place in the past, present and future.

Daily we learned common expressions in English and Irish, common surnames of the various counties, the Irish name for the places we drove past or visited, nicknames of the cities/towns/villages and the way we could tell its beginnings as Viking or British occupied land. Tidbits offered connections that explained the names of places such as Valentia Islands - a corruption of the Gaelic word others found difficult to wrap their tongue around.

This would be the longest day we would spend on the coach. Jill of had scheduled stops along the way- photo stops, a guided tour at Down Patrick- where St. Patrick and St. Bridget are buried and a lunch stop in Warrenpoint ( at 1 pm) – first village in Northern Ireland- anyone who needed to obtain pound sterling (Euro is currency of Republic) was advised to do so there. We needed a different phone card (if purchased locally) and stamps for any postcards. Driving along the coastline and the countryside including the Boyne Valley where the Battle of the Boyne was fought; Jill was detailing our surroundings and its place in Irish history. The defeat of James II (Catholic) by William of Orange (Protestant) set the stage for the Flight of the Kings to France (many Irish surnames are found in current day France) and the Marching Season during the month of July each year. These parades have been the scene of violent clashes between the Catholic and Protestant residents of Belfast and Londonderry/Derry. In recent years, much has changed since the peace process began and the Good Friday Agreementâ€

Lisv,

Thank you very much for the long review. It has helped me. I'm about to take my first Trafalgar tour and I'm very excited about it.

Patel