Mrs. Teabody & Friends Lose Sight of the Shore

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

From Dublin to Wicklow to Carlow, Wexford and Kilkenny; from Waterford to Tipperary to Munster and Kerry; from Limerick to Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Mayo and Connaught, I traveled south and western Ireland with five of the best traveling companions and the best "Fearless Leader" in Philip Jones as guide/driver/ host/trip planner anyone could ask for. If you would like additional information regarding Philip Jones,  please feel free to message me.

Diane, Kathy, Herself, Linda, Chris, "Siobhan"

We were met at the airport by our handsome, affable guide and his meticulous and creative planning gave us all a trip to remember.  By the second day, our faces hurt from laughing - - mostly at ourselves as we conquered electrical outlets, got lost on the way to our rooms, wrestled with the knowledge that retail therapy had its direct consequences as added baggage weight and tried and tried and tried to unlock doors, sometimes falling to the floor in absurd frustration over our own ineptitude.

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide


By Philip's estimate,  we rode 2300 km staying in everything from the homey Lawn View B&B in SaltHill to a working castle at Castletownshend to a five-star hotel in Dublin to Faithlegg golf resort, we slept blissfully after each full day with every accommodation having some unique charm as well as "the best brown bread ever." (quotes mine). Irish breakfasts are bliss.
Homemade bread with three homemade jams made by hostess Anne at Lawn View

Ashville Country House Conservatory breakfast room left us speechless.
If the gizmo on my phone can be believed, we climbed 75 floors, walked almost 30 miles /66,676 steps. There is no gizmo on my phone measuring the intake of Irish butter and scones with jam or, for that matter, the amount of spirits so those factoids will remain a profound mystery.


We toured a Guinness brewery and the Jameson whiskey distillery complete with samplings. We walked inside and lit candles and said prayers in no fewer than six churches/abbeys/cathedrals. For entertainment we saw The Celtic Steps, "The Man of La Mancha" and an opera by Handel accompanied by the incredible Irish Chamber Orchestra . We visited a famine cottage, the Blasket Islands' visitors center and through it all we gazed and gazed and laughed and laughed and grew into as loving and caring group as anyone could hope for. None of these experiences would have been possible without the planning of our guide.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain.

In the van yesterday as we rolled the more than two hours from Salt Hill, Galway to Dublin Airport, the mood was pensive, the lively group quiet. Our holiday with its variety of experiences, views and growth was coming to an end and we were forever changed in a very positive way. I will never forget these nine days carved out of this spring of 2017 when we six American women led by one true son of Ireland entered some sort of  idyllic parallel universe and through the experience were made somehow more compassionate, more loving and more aware than ever of the blessings of our lives.


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