Hello dear friends,
the weeks have flown by since my last post.
At last I have a few spare minutes to spare
to update you on our travels!
We left New Zealand on the 4th June
on board the Emirates A380 Airbus
(I've wanted to travel on this aircraft for such a long time...)!
It met all my expectations, great service, food, etcet
I can highly recommend it.
I can now tick that one off my bucket list!
Any way we are now in France with our family
(more on that later)
but first I want to tell you a little about our tour of
Ireland!
I'm sure I have mentioned before
my darling father was born in Limerick, Ireland
and consequently I'm half Irish.
I have wanted to make this journey for a long, long time.
We joined 49 others on our seven day tour,
there were Americans from North Carolina, Idaho,
Maine, New York, and Chicago.
Canadians from Vancouver Island
A Mexican family of four
six Australians and four other Kiwis.
All lovely people.
Not everyone on our tour
kissed the Blarney Stone
but we did!
We thought one can't travel
half way across the world
and not do it!
I must fly and get the washing off the line!
I'll be back soon with more on Ireland.
A special thank you to my friends who
have been emailing to see what has happened to me,
I appreciate your thoughtfulness
and send special love to each one of you!!!
I'm joining Judith for Mosaic Monday
and send special love to each one of you!!!
I'm joining Judith for Mosaic Monday
Take care and
be kind to one another
Merci à bientôt
Shane
I thought maybe you were away. How nice to spend time in the land of your roots. Someday we also hope to. Soak up all this time with your sweet family.
ReplyDeleteShane, in the days when we were able to travel, we always chose Emirates. They were a super airline.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your holiday!
Oh you lucky person, Ireland and then a visit with your family. Have a wonderful time and be safe. Great photos. Have a blessed day. Madeline
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Dearest Shane, I am simply thrilled to be visiting with you today...and to hear you are presently in France! What a delight...:)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful you were able to visit Ireland...it is on my bucket list!
I am looking forward to your next post...I must see to supper now:)
Sending much love and hugs to you...hope you have a beautiful weekend!
Kelly-Anne
Bonjour Shane, Wow you are cramming in such a lot in your trip. I know how time flies, and the stay in France with your daughter and your grandchildren is so precious. Enjoy every minute, have a wonderful time. I know it won't be long enough, and you will hate to leave.
ReplyDeletea bientot. love Barbara
Safe travels; thanks for checking in with your readers. That is one HUGE airplane! And those soaring castle towers; I would love to see a time-lapse video of those being built, oh, so many years ago.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your stay. Love to see more of it, groetjes, Hetty
ReplyDeleteOh Ireland too!!! How wonderful. Yes, you must kiss the Blarney Stone if visiting it. Enjoy your holiday!
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful for you! Looks and sounds like you had a great time. Superb photos too.
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear that you had a grand tour of Ireland! My great grandfather was born in Limerick as well and it was the first place we went after we landed at Shannon. The countryside is so beautiful and your photos are great. I grew up on Vancouver Island so was glad to hear you met some other islanders. Looking forward to reading the rest of your travel story.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful trip, we did that several years ago and I was back there in 2013 with my daughter. I love that you can get to see so much in such a little amount of time. Have fun with family and travel safely back home.
ReplyDeleteDearest Shane,
ReplyDeleteHappy for your safe travel and exactly the way you wanted!
Also a blessing for finally making it back to your Father's roots in Ireland. A very meaningful trip indeed.
Enjoy your precious time with your French family.
Hugs and blessings.
Mariette
I thought you were away on a trip, too. So glad to hear that you enjoyed your tour of Ireland (with someone from our little Island!). Enjoy every minute with your darling French family. Your heart must be full and packing in the memories!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had a wonderful time in Ireland, I hope that France is even better!! xx
ReplyDeleteOh, now I know where you have been! I mentioned you on my blog, basically blamed you for my purchase of a stack of old Victoria magazines, LOL!! Have a wonderful trip, looking forward to seeing more of your Irish adventures.
ReplyDeleteSafe and happy travels Shane.How wonderful to visit Ireland then to be in France with your family.I enjoyed your pictures . Shirley
ReplyDeleteI am so very happy for you to make these very special trips Shane. I have a special affinity to Ireland (still wondering why) and I so wish I was a Pennsylvania person on tour with you and your group. One day I'll get there...and of course I will be thinking of you while you are with your beloved family in France... and wishing I was there too:):)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing photos and hearing all about it soon. In the meantime, I am getting ready to tour France via the Tour De France on TV !
How wonderful Shane! I'm so happy for you, as Ireland must be gorgeous this time of year. Safe travels my sweet friend. We all cannot wait to hear all about France!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tour! How nice to travel to the land where your father was born. It's so interesting to me how much we learn to appreciate about others' countries and even our own and ourselves when we travel. Glad you kissed the Blarney Stone! Enjoy your time in France with family. Don't you love a 32G camera card! :-))
ReplyDeleteDear Shane,
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see a blog post from you - have been wondering how your trip is going. Must have been great visiting Ireland and where your Father was born. You will be happy to be away from the wet, windy wild weather we are having today.
Enjoy your time away with your dear family and look forward to hearing about your trip and seeing photos.
Take care
Sending hugs
Carolyn
It's lovely to hear from you and to know that you had a wonderful time in Ireland and got to kiss the Blarney Stone when you were there! Looking forward to hearing more of your special time away in France.
ReplyDeleteDear Shane, how wonderful to see your post, and the delightful pictures of Ireland. I have to know where all these places are, as we are definitely going over there in 2016. The engagement of our son has been announced, and a wedding in Dublin is on the agenda. We are so thrilled. I absolutely have to kiss the Blarney Stone too! I know you are having the best of all times in France; enjoy every sweet moment with your cute grandies. Bonsoir my dear friend. XXX P.
ReplyDeleteIreland is a beautiful country isn't it? Galway and Kerry are the counties I've visited and I love it. Hope you are enjoying your stay in France as well.
ReplyDeleteOh what a fabulous trip you're on! I'm so happy for you that you got to visit the land of your father's birth and are now in France visiting your family. Enjoy every moment. My husband's nephew flies for Emirates Air from Dubai. And, our daughter and her family flew Emirates when they went to Australia this year and love it. Have a wonderful vacation! Hugs.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful time with your family, Shane :-)
ReplyDeletexx
Sounds like you are having a dreamy holiday. I am part Irish too and even the origin of my name is Irish. Bless your time with your beautiful grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteI returned yesterday after a quick trip to Dublin for a wedding. I love Ireland and have been dozens of times. It's like a different world.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to read your post and so happy for you! Glad you enjoyed your time in Ireland. My family lives in West Cork and the Blarney Castle is not too far away. The gift of gab has never been an issue with any of us. :)
ReplyDeleteSo nice to hear you had lovely travel companions. That really makes a difference on a trip and tour. Enjoy your time in France with your family.
All the best,
Nora
Oh, Shane, so wonderful, to be in Ireland! Wihsing you a great and happy time!
ReplyDeleteLove and hugs, claudia
How I would love to visit Ireland, so it was a treat to see your pictures! I've been to England and to Scotland (very fleeting trips, alas) and Ireland and Wales couldn't be fitted into the itinerary.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to get to see your photos tonight. We have a family member leaving for Ireland in a few days. What an amazing country to visit! I'm so glad you had a good time. Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your holiday.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sayings about your travel.
http://www.srikri.com/
What wonderful sights and image shares, my daughter needs to see this post ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, great memories for me Shane as I was in Ireland this time last year. I look forward to seeing more of your trip.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to Mosaic Monday.
Coming to you from Mosaic Monday. Your travel to Ireland attracted me. I wanted to relive my own Irish adeventure. We did not go to Blarney castle, but so many other wonderful places. I spent 18 days there traveling on a tour bus with a group of universtiy students studying to become English teachers, so our tour had a theme: the literary geography of Ireland with the purpose ot visit the places where the great Irish writers lived and wrote. My favorite was Yeats Country where William Butler Yeats lived and wrote his wonderful poetry in County Sligo. Didn't you find the Irish to be wonderful people? Did it rain a lot? Did you drink Guinese? No, I didn't. Loved your post.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous trip to the Emerald Isle! Trafalgar does a great job of their tours in Europe.
ReplyDeleteRJP.... I didn't know you were travelling with a large group. I'm looking forward to more photos. Love to MLP and co.
ReplyDeleteLove R.
What a fun adventure!!! Glad all is well with you!
ReplyDeletehughugs
How green and gorgeous it looks! Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Delighted that you had a wonderful time in Ireland Shane - I too have kissed the Blarney Stone.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing your images of France, I think that you must have been there at the same time as me.
It is just marvelous that you got to visit beautiful Ireland! Have you ever seen such beautiful green colors? I recognized most of the locations in your photographs. And no, I didn't kiss the stone. LOL, I have a phobia with cooties. Who knows how many lips have touched that stone!
ReplyDeleteSo glad I checked in with you today dear Shane.
ReplyDeleteI do not know where the time goes.
Lucky you getting to travel and enjoy new places.
When I saw your Ireland photos I thought how familiar some of them looked and then I saw your Trafalgar tour bus! That is who we traveled with on our UK tour a couple of years ago and that also explains why some of your photos rung a bell with me. I took the same photo of the thatched tea cottage from a jaunting cart.
Enjoy * Enjoy your time away.
Happy July oxo
What a lovely trip! Just the sight of a Trafalgar bus, and I'm ready to pack my bag and grab my hat. Don't they just have the best service and wonderful folks to take you. Our family has quite the Irish history, as well.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more of your adventures,
rachel
What a great trip that must have been. I am grinning to think of people from my corner on the journey with you. My three times great grandfather was Irish so I have a wee bit of yearning for the Emerald Isle. I can see how you would very much want to visit. Looking forward to seeing more of your journey.
ReplyDeleteIreland and then France. Sounds like a wonderful trip! Would love to visit both those places, too.
ReplyDelete