January 18, 2026 • 43 mins
eDreaming of Ireland but not sure where to start? We sit down with Lynne Nieman from Wander Your Way to map a smarter route: skip the bottlenecks, use Shannon as your launchpad, and find the coastal corners where the country’s character runs deepest. We talk through the big calls travelers face—Dublin for a day or two, or straight to the west; Ring of Kerry by bus, or quieter peninsulas that pack more into fewer miles; Blarney Stone bragging rights, or ancient stone circles without the lines.
Lynne helps us build an itinerary that actually breathes. Kenmare replaces Killarney as a balanced base for lakes and high peaks in Ireland’s oldest national park. West Cork adds softer shorelines, Mizen Head’s lighthouse walks, and food that proves Ireland’s kitchen is thriving. We spotlight Kinsale’s Charles Fort, colorful small towns, and the kind of pub nights where fiddles trade leads while your Guinness settles. Then we head north to Donegal—wild, remote, and wildly underrated—for dune-backed beaches, cliffy headlands, and hikes in Glenveagh’s stark beauty.
We also keep it practical: weather you can count on changing, layers you’ll be glad you packed, and honest advice on driving the left side or hiring a driver-guide for stories and peace of mind. We touch on border realities post-Brexit, easy crossings into Northern Ireland, and where to chase waves, from beginner-friendly Lahinch to Sligo’s surf scene. Along the way, we dismantle the “bad food” myth with fresh seafood, local lamb, and dairy that tastes like the fields it came from.
If this guide helps you plan your route, follow the show, leave a quick rating, and share it with a friend who keeps saying Ireland is on their list. Your support helps more travelers find their way.
You can also find Lynne at her website Wander Your Way.
Her podcast is Wander Your Way.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:14):
Hi, welcome to our podcast, Where Next.
Travel with Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol.
And we're two long-term friendswith a passion for travel and
adventure.
SPEAKER_03 (00:26):
Each episode, we interview people around the
globe to help us decide where togo next.
Hello, everyone.
In today's episode, we aremeeting again with Lynn Neiman
from the Wander Your Waypodcast.
Back in our episode number 82,we talked with Lynn about
Scotland.
And today we talk about what sheloves about Ireland.
(00:48):
We cover whether Dublin deservesa spot on your itinerary, if
kissing the Blarney Stone isactually worth it, where to find
Ireland's most surprisingbeaches, and what Brexit really
means for travelers today.
Enjoy.
All right.
Well, welcome back, Lynn Neiman.
And you've been on our podcastbefore talking about Scotland.
(01:10):
And so now we're going to diveinto Ireland, but let's just
first uh kind of catch up onyour travel plans.
What have you been, what haveyou been up to?
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
Yeah.
So I was in England.
I led my first small group tourin the Dolomites of Italy in
September.
And so it was great.
It was wonderful.
I had a small group, but awonderful small group.
Everybody got along great.
We had a great guide.
It was lots of fun.
It snowed a little bit.
Even in the mountains.
So it was great.
(01:37):
And then I spent some time inparts of France that I've never
been into.
Um, because really I've onlybeen mostly in Paris.
So I got to spend some time inNormandy and the Loire Valley,
which I fell in love with both.
So so I just keep, you know,exploring more of Europe or
exploring deeper in parts thatI've been to before.
SPEAKER_04 (01:52):
So that sounds fantastic.
I actually um this is funny, uhhit cycle workout and it's um 45
minutes and it's climbing thedolomites.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Oh, really?
Yeah, I think I've heard someother people say that they
they've got some things thattake place in the dolomites.
I'm like, well, you need to goover and actually like be there.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (02:11):
So that's that is the plan.
That is the plan.
But in the meantime, it gets megood workout uh between my day.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
Yeah, awesome.
SPEAKER_04 (02:19):
So uh so Ireland, and I'm kind of excited about
talking be about this becauseI'm flying out tomorrow morning
to see my folks, and my stepmomis Irish, goes to Ireland, loves
Ireland.
Um yeah, it's so cute.
I just uh came from the storeand uh got her a Christmas gift,
which this will come out after,so it's not like a spoiling or
(02:40):
anything, but I got her she's abaker and a in the kitchen, and
so I got these dish towels, andone of them says um something
like coffee, you're on thebench, alcohol sued up.
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (02:57):
That's stereotype real.
Yep.
She's a she I remember growingup uh and in college, um, she
was a big uh she loved makingmargaritas, and that's still
like my go-to drink is amargarita.
And so um, and then there's asign, you know, that's it's 5
p.m.
somewhere or whatever, you know,drinking size.
(03:18):
So neither one of you have been.
SPEAKER_03 (03:20):
Um, not yet.
Okay.
Where should we go?
Dublin or Dublin?
SPEAKER_01 (03:25):
Well, that's so what I always tell people is that
while I think Dublin's a nicecity, it's like I would pick
there would be other cities.
I'm not as much of a city personanyway.
I mean, full disclosure, I lovethe small towns and the
villages.
Yeah, you know, it like to me,it's like I feel I mean, it's
kind of the same when you cometo the States, right?
(03:46):
It's like, you know, you getoutside of the the big cities
and you get out into like whereyou actually are meeting like
the real people.
I mean, I'm not saying thatpeople aren't real, but you know
what I mean.
You know, it's like you kind offeel like you kind of connect
more with the with sort of likethe typical people.
So, you know, for me, it's like,yes, I mean, you know, you can
go into Dublin and and that'sgonna be like one of your main
(04:10):
gateways, but a lot of peoplelike to go out like to the west
coast because that's where kindof like the scenery is like, you
know, kind of turned up a notch.
The nice thing is that now thereare more flights that fly into
Shannon.
So, and that's kind of along theRiver Shannon.
And I'm I'm always likeconfused.
(04:30):
Like I can never remember ifit's in County Clare or County
Limerick, because everything'sbroken down into counties when
it comes to Ireland.
But there are regular flights toShannon.
So it's SNN is the is theairport code.
Okay.
And I actually flew, I think onthe I think on my last trip,
that's what I did.
I flew into Shannon.
It's a much smaller airport.
Uh-huh.
Um, so it's kind of easier tonavigate.
(04:51):
And if you just want to do theWest Coast, that's a good
gateway.
And that way you don't have tokind of drive across the
country.
Now, some people want to becausethey want to spend some time in
Dublin.
And, you know, I wouldn't saydon't do it, but because like
for first-timers, they mightwant to do Dublin.
But, you know, if it's maybe asecond time, you're like, okay,
well, I've done Dublin, I'veseen it, spent a couple days
(05:11):
there.
You know, it's probably onlyworth really a couple days, you
know, maybe doing somethinglike, you know, going to the
Guinness storehouse or seeingTrinity College and the Book of
Kells, which is really kind of aunique kind of thing to see.
It's like this old kind ofmanuscript from what is it?
I don't even know about this.
The the Book of Kells,K-E-L-L-S.
(05:32):
It's in Trinity College and it'slike this old um kind of monk
written manuscript, but it'slike really beautiful and
everything.
I mean, you can bear you, theyonly like display like, you
know, so many pages, or theythey change kind of the book and
and that.
And it's definitely worth goingto see.
But if you're kind of after alittle bit more what I might
call that quintessential kind ofIrish kind of experience, like
(05:56):
the small towns and the pubs andthe traditional music with like
the fiddle, then you know,you're better off being outside
of Dublin.
And that's where I think, youknow, a lot of people then kind
of go out to the West Coast.
Although there are some placesalong even like outside of
Dublin that are worthy of sometime.
SPEAKER_05 (06:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:12):
So you can fly into Shannon.
So that's kind of just somethingthat I would like to point out
to people because there are nowregular flights.
I don't know if they fly, like Idon't know if they do it more
seasonally.
So that's kind of something thatyou might have to check.
But um but usually like more inthe season, they will definitely
have flights between, you know,a lot of your East Coast cities
and Shannon.
SPEAKER_04 (06:32):
Okay, so I have to ask, what are the why why would
I want to go and see the Book ofKells and look at these um monk
written uh manuscripts?
What's in them?
SPEAKER_01 (06:40):
You know, it's historic.
They're really beautiful, youknow, so they're like
illustrated and everything.
So it would be for people thatlike that part of history and
like to see maybe some reallybeautiful old manuscripts.
I mean, like anytime if I'm inum in a museum, it's like
anything that's likehandwritten.
I mean, it's like going to theNational Archives in the States.
It's like you go and you lookand you see like the Declaration
(07:02):
of Independence, you're like,wow.
You know, okay.
Well, this stuff's like evenolder.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Oh, that's really cool.
I mean, it just depends.
And then like Trinity College isactually really pretty.
And actually, like you also getto see what they call the long
library, and there's like oldwood and all these books and
everything.
I mean, you can't go up andtouch everything, but you can
see it.
And it's really looking at it,it looks very Harry Potter-ish.
(07:24):
Yes, yes, very much so.
Um, so if you like that kind ofthing, um, and I mean Dublin
does have kind of a nice buzzabout it, um, with like Grafton
Street with all the buskers andthings like that.
And I mean, there's there's funthings to do.
But like I said, I mean, I feellike there's so much more beyond
that.
And I feel like you get kind ofmore an idea of what Ireland's
(07:45):
truly like when you get outsideof Dublin.
SPEAKER_03 (07:47):
So I have a question about that their accent.
So is it easier to understandand more British in like Dublin?
Or is and then it gets more, Idon't know, Gaelic.
SPEAKER_01 (07:57):
No, I no, it it's just it's all Irish.
And the thing of it is is likecounties will have varying
things.
So one of the places that Iwould bring up that a lot of
people like to go to is CountyCary.
And a lot of people are familiarwith the Ring of Cary and then
Killarney National Park.
Now, I think the Ring of Carrie,there's there's, if you look at
(08:17):
the at a map of like thesouthwestern part of Ireland,
there's like these fivepeninsulas that stick out there.
The most northern one is theDingle Peninsula, then you have
the Ring of Carrie, then youhave the Sheep's Head, then you
have, wait a minute, did it?
No, then you have Barra, thenyou have Sheep's Head, and then
you have Mizin.
So the Ring of Carey is the mostfamous.
So the motor coach tours willwill leave Killarney town and
(08:40):
they'll go around like in a day.
And it's a pretty long drive.
SPEAKER_04 (08:43):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:44):
Yeah.
I personally don't think it'sthe most beautiful out of the
peninsulas, at least not thecoastal drive.
Inland, I think, is prettier.
But you know, something like theDingle Peninsula is shorter.
It probably packs a little bitmore bang for your buck.
Um, so that's kind of a nice oneto do.
Is an is kind of doesn't get asmany people.
Sheep's Head, a lot of localslike Sheep's Head the best
(09:07):
because nobody goes there.
I like Mizenhead, the mostsouthern one.
Um, I think that one's the best.
But County Carey is is like thatsort of like one of the areas.
So you have the Ring of Carrieand you have Kalarney National
Park.
That accent, talking aboutaccents, is the hardest to
(09:28):
understand.
Oh okay.
So just beware when you're therewhen it comes to that.
SPEAKER_03 (09:34):
So even like can you write it down for me, please?
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (09:37):
Oh, I I had a conversation.
I was in the the the town ofKenmare, uh, which is one of my
favorite places to stay.
I love this little town.
And it and it's convenient to togo to Killarney National Park,
which is Ireland's oldestnational park.
It's really beautiful.
There's like a this old manorhome you can you can tour.
(09:57):
Uh, there's a castle there youcan tour.
There's some lakes you can walkaround.
There's kind of a little bit ofthere's a little something for
everyone.
What's the town that you like somuch?
Ken Mare.
K-E-N-M-A-R-E.
Okay, Ken Mayor.
SPEAKER_05 (10:10):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (10:10):
And I had a conversation.
I was I was in this pub slashrestaurant, slash, they had they
have rooms above too.
And this older gentleman saidsomething to me, and I said, I
just, and finally I just shookmy head because I have no idea
what he said.
He told me the same thing likefive or six times, and I just,
and then I just sort of like,uh-huh.
I did one of those because Ihave no idea what he said.
(10:32):
And I have a friend who uh livesin Dublin.
Uh, she grew up county calledCounty Roscom, and not one of
the places most people go to.
And she's like, I can'tunderstand the Kerry accents.
So I'm like, if she's Irish andshe can't understand it, then
yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (10:46):
Like exactly.
I'm looking at the cute littletown and the it pictures are
great, and the town looks veryum uh uh Dutch or what is it?
Like just all these differentcolored buildings and yeah,
that's something else.
SPEAKER_01 (10:58):
That's typical in Ireland.
You see a lot of a lot ofcolorful things just because
yeah, I think people do thatbecause it tends to be gray
there, you know, they don't seethe sun as much.
So so I so I feel like a lot ofthe towns you go into, um, the
buildings are very colorful.
SPEAKER_04 (11:13):
Um smart.
SPEAKER_01 (11:15):
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, Kenmere is a great, agreat little town.
Um, I always say, like a lot ofpeople who want to explore
County Cary, a lot of peoplewant to stay in Killarney town,
which is also like it's thenational park, is there?
Like, I think the town mightactually technically be within
the park boundaries or just onthe outskirts.
And I think that is like theworst town.
(11:38):
I just feel like it's tootouristy.
There's tons of motor coaches,there's so many group tours that
come through there.
It's just a little, it's toomuch.
And I always feel like Ken Mayoris a nice alternative because
it's just kind of throughKillarney National Park, kind of
over this pass.
And even though it still has afair amount of tourism, and you
(11:59):
will see plenty of tourists,it's just this, I feel like it's
this perfect blend of touristsand locals.
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_03 (12:08):
Okay, and how far is it from that Shannon airport?
SPEAKER_01 (12:11):
Pretty far.
I mean, I in fact, the last timeI was there, it's like I landed
and that's where I drove, and itwas a bit of a drive.
So it would be higher.
SPEAKER_03 (12:18):
It's still probably better than driving across the
whole country.
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
Yes, it would be better than coming from Dublin,
that is for sure.
SPEAKER_03 (12:24):
Oh, because it's up by Limerick, right?
Limerick is the big town upnorth, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:28):
Yeah, yeah.
What about this Cork?
Is that pretty interesting?
Cork.
Okay, so yes.
So count so I haven't been intothe city, but the whole county,
and that's or and that county isthat's the southwestern piece of
Ireland, and that's kind of oneof the bigger, bigger counties.
And I actually just uh hadsomebody on my podcast talking
(12:48):
about, we were talking aboutWest Cork, so kind of the
western part of the county.
It's one of my favorite places.
It's got first of all, yeah.
So there's all kinds of likethere's a lot of craggy coasts.
Well, I'd say there's a lot ofcraggy coastline in general
throughout Ireland, but there'sdefinitely a lot here.
I'd say that um the coastline,like on that southern part, is a
(13:10):
little softer than what youwould see, like along Carey or
kind of up the coast of likeClare and in Galway as you get
further north.
But it's got like this beautifulkind of rolling green hills in
the interior.
You've got Cork City, supposedto be great.
It's the second, it's the secondlargest city in um in Ireland.
(13:33):
I've not been, but it's supposedto be really nice.
Kinsale is really popular.
It's a nice little harbor townthat kind of sits just south of
Cork.
I think it's maybe only maybelike a 30-minute drive or
something south of Cork City.
It's got a really great fortthere called Charles Fort.
Um, that's it's a great tour forhistory lovers.
(13:54):
The Irish people would say,yeah, Cork's got some of the
best food.
There's some beautiful beaches,there's some islands off there.
That's where Mizenhead Peninsulais, which is kind of one of my
favorite places.
You walk, you drive, you candrive like all the way out to
this thing they call theMizenhead experience, and you
can walk along these trails andyou walk out to this old
lighthouse, and you're like,there's cliffs all around, and
(14:16):
it's just beautiful.
It's got this sort of like endof the world sort of feel to it.
Uh, there's a little town calledSkull where I stayed, um, which
you can, which is part way out,kind of going out the Mizenhead
Peninsula.
It's just beautiful.
I mean, there's so many, there'sso many great places uh in Cork.
I I really like Cork.
It's got a little bit of ofsomething for everyone.
SPEAKER_03 (14:37):
And what about this uh Blarney Castle and Gardens?
Touristy, or is it like it'sdefinitely worth it?
It's very touristy, and I'venever been to one.
SPEAKER_01 (14:46):
Oh, okay.
As a result, it's kind of one ofthose things I've heard because
everybody goes and that's whereyou're like kiss the Blarney
stone, and then you're supposedto get the gift of gab.
Oh now, who would want to kisssomething that all these other
lips have been on, first of all?
SPEAKER_04 (15:01):
I guess people who want to the gift of gab.
I guess it's that's the uh yeah,I won't say anything else.
SPEAKER_01 (15:09):
Yeah, now I've heard I've heard some people say, but
the castle, like in the gardensand the grounds are are all very
nice.
There's probably some othercastles that you could go to
that would be just as nice.
SPEAKER_04 (15:19):
So that's every every uh county or whatever
city, whatever that you've toldme that I've looked up, I've
seen one.
Yeah.
Some sort of church castlelooking thing.
Yeah, they're everywhere, whichthey're beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
There would be.
I really like stone circles.
So I uh there's one in Corkcalled Drombeg, D-R-O-M-B-E-G.
Yeah, it's really cool, kind ofsits up.
You can kind of like see the Cand everything.
It's it's a pretty cool uh sitefor people that that like stone
circles, you know, or thoseancient sites.
(15:55):
I love those ancient sites.
Cork and Carrie are great.
And, you know, I would say toofor people that maybe have
limited time.
Sometimes it's good to maybejust like try to hit like a
couple of the counties if youwill.
Like, like in like maybe like anine or 10-day trip, you could
hit those two places and youwould see uh you would be able
to see a lot, you'd have somevariety, you know, you'd be able
(16:17):
to see some ancient sites, you'dbe, and then some maybe just
other sort of historical sitesthat maybe aren't as ancient,
that are more, you know, 1700sor whatever, and then be able to
be in some great little townsalong the sea, inland mountains,
you know, like Klarney NationalPark, County Carey, that's where
the highest peaks in in Irelandare.
(16:39):
So that's kind of a a good placeto be for that kind of scenery.
So those are kind of two reallysuper popular spots.
SPEAKER_04 (16:47):
When did you go and what was the weather like?
SPEAKER_01 (16:49):
Okay, so I've been to both multiple times.
So, um, and in different timesof the year.
So I think the last time I wasin Cork was 2018, and I was
there in the latter part ofApril, maybe into early May.
Okay.
It's Ireland, it's never warm.
The British Isles just, youknow, it's a rare thing for it
(17:12):
to get to, you know, like 80degrees.
It does happen every now andagain, um, especially now.
But I would say that, you know,it's you always are prepared for
rain and wind because you'realong the coast and you're along
the west coast, so it'sdefinitely very windy there.
So be prepared for that.
And, you know, be prepared for50 degrees, 60 degree weather
(17:34):
outside of winter.
I mean, like if you're in therein winter, it's gonna be colder.
SPEAKER_03 (17:38):
And what if you're like at that national park where
it's inland a little bit, stillwindy or always?
SPEAKER_01 (17:43):
Um, yeah, you know, I kind of feel like it's just
you know, certainly it getsmaybe less windy when you get
away from the coast, but it'sstill it's still pretty windy.
Okay, yeah.
Um, you know, it's part of it.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (17:58):
So I was just thinking, because we just went
to California and it's like, ohmy gosh, the days were so short,
you know.
So like going places whereyou're gonna be outside
exploring a lot, no, going inthe summer, not, you know, even
if the weather is not great, doyou just get so much more
daylight?
I feel like even spring when youwent April, it's much bright
lighter in the evening thanThanksgiving time, for example.
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
Right, right.
And that's something that youwant to consider, like,
depending on what you want todo, is like the time of year,
you know, obviously in summer,like I think I was in my parents
went with me back in 2010.
And we were there in summer.
In fact, we were there thelongest over the longest day.
And it was like, you know, itwas staying light until like,
you know, 11 30 at night, andthen it was like getting it was
(18:41):
getting light again at like 3 30or 4.
And I was like, oh my God.
So they must be the same.
Yeah.
No, no.
That's further like a sweetenedbeef, much further north.
I mean, it would be worse.
You know, that was, I think,when we were kind of at the
furthest northern point that wewere, which was up in County
Mayo, which is further up theWest Coast.
(19:02):
Another place I would recommendgoing.
But yeah, it it was just, I waslike, oh my God, that's right.
I didn't even think about likehow light it would be.
And I found it hard to go tosleep.
SPEAKER_04 (19:13):
And then like I'm waking up early because the the
roosters were like, And I'mlike, I was in Sweden and that
that's uh I'm Swedish, I'm firstgeneration, and so I went to go
stay with family.
And I ended up reading a book,and I I was so into it, it was 3
a.m.
and it was light outside again.
And I was like, oh no, wait, didI read all night?
(19:34):
And then realize it's 3 a.m.
I'm like, okay, I'm going tobed.
SPEAKER_00 (19:38):
Oh my goodness.
Graduated college.
SPEAKER_04 (19:40):
But yeah, and their seasons are they're the same as
uh our seasons.
SPEAKER_01 (19:45):
Yeah, exactly.
And they do, and they do havethey do have distinct seasons,
even though I would say, like,in some ways, I feel like, you
know, for me in the Midwest, Ihave four distinct seasons.
There's absolutely no doubtabout it.
There's snow on the ground outthere right now as we're
recording this.
Oh gosh.
But I feel like sometimesthey're they're a little bit
subtle, like spring going intosummer.
(20:05):
Sometimes, you know, yes, it'syou know, it's summer, but it
may not necessarily be that muchwarmer than it is in sp in
spring.
Definitely have have the sameseasons and and that as us.
unknown (20:15):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (20:15):
So yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (20:16):
And lots of rain.
And are there rain during allthose four seasons, even the
summertime?
SPEAKER_01 (20:21):
Yeah, you know, it you I say you always prepare for
rain.
And I feel like that they, youknow, it's so hard to say
anymore because of of the wholeclimate change thing that
sometimes I feel like they theyhave had dry times.
Like actually, I was justtalking about being there in
2010 with my parents, and wewere there in the summer, and
(20:44):
they had kind of had a littlebit of a dry season.
And I and I noticed it rightaway because I because some of
the places that I went to, I'vebeen to a couple of times
before.
And I, and I remember kind ofsaying something to to my
friend.
I'm like, okay, you guys haven'thad rain, have you?
She's like, no, because I couldtell like some of the lakes and
things were down a little bit.
And I remember like it wasbright blue, sunshine skies.
(21:04):
And I kept going to my parents,it's not gonna stay like this.
Yes, we are gonna get rain.
And we did eventually.
I mean, and they needed it.
So um, but yeah, it's you know,it it could, it could be rainy.
You know, I remember the firstyear that I went over, and I was
living in Colorado at the time,and my friends like they had a
beautiful spring, and then, youknow, all of a sudden, I think
(21:26):
the the summer got really rainy,and I was going in September.
She goes, Oh my God, we've had ahorrible, horrible summer.
It's been raining after a greatspring.
And I was living in Colorado atthe time when we were having
like drought times where it waslike so hot, and I'm like, I
don't care.
I don't care if it's cool andrainy, I will take it because I
was so tired of the heat.
So I always say you just have tobe prepared for anything when
(21:46):
you go to that part of theworld.
SPEAKER_04 (21:48):
Yeah, totally.
Isn't it sad?
You can't just be like, hey,Cloud, go over here.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
I know.
SPEAKER_04 (21:53):
We need it over there.
SPEAKER_01 (21:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (21:55):
That's what it is.
So what kind of foods?
What was the um, you know, Ialways think just potatoes and
um I'd like meats and things.
Yeah, sausage.
SPEAKER_01 (22:05):
Um, actually, so I would say if you go in certain
seasons, and I would sayprobably this sounds terrible,
but probably more towards maybelike June, July, the lamb would
be fresh.
Uh-huh.
Um, so they definitely do lamband beef.
And I would say both of thoseare really good, you know,
(22:26):
because it's like everything'skind of, you know, farmed to
table a little bit more, youknow, a little bit more sort of
organic.
The gamey, is it gamey?
I don't eat meat, but I do eatthe fish.
Now there's a lot of fresh fishand seafood.
You can get, you can get thingslike mussels and scallops and
all kinds of really good whitefish.
Um, so a lot of my, you know,mild fish.
(22:48):
So it's all really good ifthat's your thing.
Yes, they definitely dopotatoes.
You'll you will get potatoeswith all of your meals.
You'll get a lot of cabbage aswell.
I always feel like so, but likeyou get like a, you know, sides,
you know, with your with yourmeal.
You'll you can get those.
I feel like that they do cabbageactually really well.
They just, you know, it's it'ssort of married.
(23:08):
They every place kind of doessomething a little bit different
and maybe sort sort of some ofthe the herbs and spices that
they might put it and how theycook it and everything.
But I've had some some good uhcabbage and again, potatoes, you
can get those a lot of differentways.
It's it's kind of something thatI don't necessarily eat, but
yeah, I mean, it's it it isdefinitely something.
(23:30):
I mean, fish and chips, justlike over over in, you know,
England and Scotland, you canget some because they get good
fresh fish.
So a lot of times the fish andchips are really can be really
good.
Um, so you'll see a lot of that.
So I love getting good fish andchips when I'm in Ireland.
SPEAKER_04 (23:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:46):
You know, and a lot of good cheeses as well, because
because they do have their areaswhere, you know, they've got
cows grazing.
So a lot of their dairyproducts.
Like, have you ever seen carrygold butter?
SPEAKER_03 (23:57):
Goodness.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, we have that at Costcohere.
You know, we're gonna go back tothe box.
SPEAKER_04 (24:01):
That's Irish that makes sense because it's carry
right at Carrie Gary.
It's counted there.
Um my my stepmom is she, I justlaugh because she goes to Costco
and bulks buys, and she has awhole freezer filled with carry
butter in the garage, and itcracked me up because we went to
go in it to like get some.
(24:21):
And I was like, Oh, I thinkthere's so much butter, yeah.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (24:26):
So you'll get good dairy, you know.
That means you know, youryogurts and your cheese and and
and things like your milk.
So um, that stuff's all good.
In fact, you know, definitelytry some of the local, local
cheeses.
SPEAKER_04 (24:37):
Oh, that's what's a traditional um well, I won't, I
won't steal the breakfast oneuntil because Carol talked about
desserts and things and likefruits or vegetables, like, you
know, just because it's sodifferent there.
I don't know if they import likewe import also here in the US.
SPEAKER_01 (24:53):
You know, they do.
I would say, um trying to think.
They might have if they doberries the way because of just
where they are.
I think you would probably stillget some some local berries and
maybe apples and that too, butprobably a little bit less
there.
They might import some of thatstuff from the UK.
Their their food's better thanyou think it's gonna be.
(25:15):
Let's just put it on.
Okay, yeah.
And you know, it like uh, youknow, I feel like all of the
British Isles have such a badreputation for bad food.
Right.
And the food is far better thanyou think.
And it's just it's I think it'sprogressively gotten better as
maybe they bring in chefs ortheir their young people maybe
even go over to like France orItaly and they kind of study a
(25:38):
little bit of culinary, theythen bring it back, but then
they put their twists on itusing kind of local ingredients.
So um I would say that there'sthere's definitely been a good,
I'd say probably over the last20 years.
I mean, because I've been goingto Ireland since 2007.
So, you know, close to 20 years,like the food, like that's kind
of been a progression as thefood is has gotten better and
(25:59):
they are really kind ofembracing that that sort of
using their local ingredientsand really making the most of
it.
I mean, sure, there's stillgonna be stuff that they have to
import, but yeah, food's betterthan you think.
SPEAKER_04 (26:10):
Yeah.
And then I I was curious, like Iknow I'm I got uh hooked um on
persimmons.
Those are pretty hardy and um uhpomegranate, I wondered, but
probably maybe not there.
I don't know.
No, no, yeah, that's all stuffthat they would import.
SPEAKER_03 (26:24):
Yeah, exactly.
unknown (26:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (26:25):
And Lynn, do you like you said you do some tours,
just so our audience knows,like, where would we find like
what tours you got coming upnext?
What's your website again orInstagram?
SPEAKER_01 (26:35):
Or what's the best way to so the the Wonder Your
Way, W-A-N-D-E-R, Wonder YourWay is the kind of the home
website.
Um, but then Wonder Your WayAdventures is where the small
group tours live.
Now you can get back and forth.
There are links between the twowebsites.
Um so the small group tourswould be under Wonder Your Way
Adventures.
(26:56):
So that's where if you wouldwant to join a small group tour,
that's where you go.
If you just want travelplanning, you can go to Wonder
Your Way.
So yeah.
Do you plan to do anything inIreland anytime soon?
Right now, no, but that isalways subject to change.
Um, I because as we're recordingthis at the end of 2025, I have
to start thinking about 2027.
(27:17):
All right.
And I'm giving some thoughtbecause there's a really good
company that I'm working withthat's doing the two Scotland
tours for 2026.
SPEAKER_03 (27:25):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01 (27:25):
And they do Ireland as well.
They do Ireland, they doEngland, well, they do all of
the British Isles.
Uh, so they do Wales.
You know, I'm kind of like, oh,maybe I should do an Ireland
one.
So so it's possible that therecould be one for 2027.
So all I'd say is stay tuned.
I haven't decided yet.
SPEAKER_03 (27:40):
So how many do you typically do in a year?
SPEAKER_01 (27:42):
Well, this is something new.
So the the goal is to keepbuilding.
So I was hoping to do aboutthree of them in 2025, but only
had one get enough people to go.
Um, so I have three for uh outthere for booking for 2026.
And so I'm hoping that all threeof those will happen, uh,
(28:02):
fingers crossed.
And um, then the idea is to keepmaybe a building.
I mean, I'd like to be able todo, you know, I'd probably do
six or eight of them a year.
SPEAKER_03 (28:11):
Okay.
And so the like what is aballpark for a trip like that?
I mean, do most people have tolike book their own flights?
And then once they get there,then they they pay for the tour,
or is it all inclusive flightsincluding?
SPEAKER_01 (28:24):
So when it comes to the small group tours, that's
the the package pricing is is onthe website and and it'll tell
you what it includes.
It never includes flightsbecause of the fact that people
are coming from different placesand and all that, and some
people want to come in early,stay, you know, stay longer,
whatever.
So all of that is there, but allthe things that are included,
(28:46):
and usually you're getting, youknow, two meals a day and all
the transportation and youraccommodation and tubers and
experiences and all that kind ofstuff.
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
Yeah, we'll have to think of anything.
Right, right, right.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:59):
You know, I wanted to bring up another place in
Ireland just really quick.
Um because it's a place thatthat I feel like it gets
overlooked, and that's CountyDonegal.
And that's way, way up in thenorthwest corner of Ireland.
It kind of connects, like if youlook to the east from there, it
would be where then the countryof Northern Ireland is.
(29:20):
And this is an area.
If people are looking forsomething like truly different,
go to Donegal.
It's a smell it, I can't findit.
C-O-N-E-G-A-L.
So there is a Donegal town, butthen the whole county is kind of
that northwestern piece.
And it is beautiful.
(29:41):
It's wild, remote, rugged, allkinds of coastline, cute little
towns.
Glen Bay National Park is there.
The most northerly peak on theisland of Ireland is there.
I was there in 2017, so it'sbeen a while since I've been
there, spent a couple weeksthere, and I just loved it.
It's high on my list to go back.
So for people that maybe havebeen to Ireland before, but are
(30:04):
looking for something maybe thatthey haven't done.
I think just because it's alittle further away, it takes a
little bit more effort maybe toget there.
I think a lot of people don't gothere.
But gosh, I've walked on somebeautiful beaches there.
I look beautiful.
They look tropical.
Yeah, there's some stunningbeaches there.
There's one outside of towncalled uh Dunfanahi, and the
(30:28):
beach is called Tremor, whichT-R-A with an accent is beach in
Irish Gaelic.
So it and that it literallymeans big beach.
And the and you have to likewalk through like some sand
dunes to get to it.
So you can't like pull up to aparking lot and just be there.
So you kind of you can park inan area and then you kind of
walk through some sand dunes,which is really kind of fun.
(30:49):
And then you come to thiscrescent beach that's about
three miles, no, two miles long,three kilometers, two miles
long, and it is a beautifulbeach, and it's just protected.
So, you know, because it takes alittle bit more effort to get
there.
It's near a town called DunFanahi, which is
D-U-N-F-A-N-A-G-H-Y.
I had to think about that.
(31:10):
How to spell it?
And Dunfanahee is a littlevillage way up in the northern
part of Donegal.
There's Fanned Head Lighthouse,there's the Maylin Head, which
is the most northerly point onthe Ineshowan Peninsula, way up
there.
It's a beautiful, beautifularea.
If you really kind of if youwant to go somewhere that's a
(31:31):
little different and where youcan really like be immersed to
in nature, you know, and bothlike Mount Aragal is there and
Muckish Mountain.
There's, you know, some nicepeaks there.
If you want to kind of do somesome hiking, beautiful beaches,
towns that are just little dotsof villages.
It's it's a great spot to go.
(31:52):
I I would recommend.
I went to a one of my favoritestone circles is kind of down
near a little village calledRafa, R-A-P-H-O-E.
It's called Beltani,B-E-L-T-A-N-Y.
Nobody goes to this stonecircle.
I was there all by myself.
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (32:09):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (32:09):
Up on this like hill, the sheep are grazing
around.
Oh.
SPEAKER_03 (32:13):
And and what's the deal with Northern Ireland?
Is that not part of the UK?
SPEAKER_01 (32:17):
That's still like totally different.
No, it's part of the UK.
So it's it's part of the UnitedKingdom.
And there's just those sixcounties that are there.
So I mean, it's it's a weirdthing because Northern Ireland,
you know, a lot of people stillconsider themselves Irish, but
it it's just, it's always goingto be a weird thing.
And who knows if it will, ifIreland would ever fully unite
(32:40):
with the whole Brexit thing thathappened, there was kind of, you
know, they people were sort oftalking like maybe it would, but
there's still there's stillthose divisions.
But I mean, you can cross overlike very easily.
Oh, okay.
It's not like a lot ofanimosity.
SPEAKER_03 (32:54):
So no Ireland.
Okay.
So normal Ireland is not part ofthe UK, only Northern Ireland
is.
Correct.
Okay.
And is Ireland part of theEuropean Union?
Yes.
Oh, they are.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (33:05):
Yeah.
And and and it would be theRepublic of Ireland.
I mean, like it if you seeRepublic of Ireland, that's the
Ireland that we kind of thinkof.
And Northern Ireland is thosesix counties that belong to the
UK technically under thegovernment.
But I assume you still have tolike show your passport and
stuff to get over because it isa different country than the
Northern Ireland, or well, Idon't know because like since
(33:28):
Brexit, I mean, technically youshould, but there are there are
literally roads that like crossover, could go back and forth
between the Republic of Irelandand Northern Ireland.
And that's why the whole likethe whole Brexit thing was such
a mess, because the NorthernIreland people are going, hey,
we can't do what you're doingbecause we have we literally
(33:50):
have roads that go back andforth.
And if there's gonna have to besome sort of like border check
all the time, that'd be soexpensive.
SPEAKER_00 (33:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (33:58):
How how do how do you do that?
And well, is it even possible?
And and I think that they alsoit's like, you know, we finally
don't have all this fightingbetween us anymore.
We don't want to rock the boat.
When I was there in 2017, it wasright when Brexit happened, or
when they voted on it, um, orright after they voted for it,
excuse me.
And so nothing had been in placeyet.
(34:20):
So I actually did go to NorthernIreland when I was up in County
Donegal.
Then I went over to NorthernIreland and spent a few days.
But I don't know what it's likenow.
From what I understand, I thinkthat they still have things
pretty open because that waspart of it.
That that that Northern Ireland,you know, said, you know, we
need to not have this bedifficult because, you know, it
(34:41):
it's it's a land border.
Whereas really the rest of, youknow, you look at the the island
of Great Britain, which is, youknow, Scotland, England, and
Wales, that's all like, youknow, the UK as well.
And it's all surrounded bywater.
So like, you know, they don'thave to worry about a land
border that's that's a problem,whereas Northern Ireland does.
You know, so all their liketheir, you know, when it comes
(35:02):
to like commerce and all thatkind of stuff, all that stuff's
coming in, like, you know, viaplanes or or boats, and you
know, so yeah.
So anyway.
Right, it's total madness.
All right.
SPEAKER_03 (35:12):
Okay, well, we're coming up on our time here.
I'd love to go into the rapidfire questions.
Yes.
So, what is uh a popular holidaytradition there?
SPEAKER_01 (35:21):
Oh.
SPEAKER_03 (35:22):
Do they actually celebrate?
SPEAKER_01 (35:23):
Oh, yeah, they celebrate all this very I mean,
it used to be a very Catholiccountry, um probably less so
now.
Um, so we'll still stillcelebrate all that stuff.
You know, I would say you maynot know this, but Halloween has
its origins in Ireland.
What?
Oh I'm shocked.
Shaman or salmon, S-A-M-H-A-I-N,or something like that is how
(35:45):
it's pronounced.
So it was kind of the idea oflike this is where the the the
veil is the thinnest between thethe living and the non-living.
Oh, that's awesome.
I love it.
It's really cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I so I would say that they dosome celebrations like around
that Halloween, the salmon.
SPEAKER_03 (36:02):
Oh, very, very nice.
SPEAKER_01 (36:03):
However it's pronounced.
SPEAKER_03 (36:04):
So if you're gonna have one meal, uh, what would be
your favorite meal in Ireland?
Oh, fish and chips and a pint ofGuinness.
SPEAKER_01 (36:11):
Okay.
Or a weed ram of one of the goodwhiskies.
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03 (36:18):
Very good.
Uh all right.
And then how about breakfast?
What's a typical breakfastthere?
SPEAKER_01 (36:23):
They would call it porridge.
I mean, they do like a full kindof Irish breakfast, which is
kind of similar to the fullEnglish breakfast.
Uh, but they're always big onporridge as well, which is
oatmeal.
Oh, is it oh, is it actuallyoats?
SPEAKER_03 (36:35):
Porridge?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (36:36):
So it's it's basically what we call oatmeal.
SPEAKER_03 (36:39):
Oh, okay.
Interesting.
Cool.
Um and the music we kind oftalked about a little bit.
Is there any favorite musiciansor type of music that you enjoy
listening to out there?
SPEAKER_01 (36:49):
No, I just I like to listen to good traditional Irish
music.
It's nice to see the youngerpeople kind of like embracing it
and playing it and in the pubsand everything.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (36:58):
And do you see like the Irish dancers?
I I feel like that's verypopular here.
Like a lot of girls do Irishdancing.
SPEAKER_01 (37:04):
Yeah, you know, interestingly, uh, when I was in
Westport and County Mayo in2024, there were two guys
playing some stuff, and somegirl got up and started doing
Irish dancing.
I have a video of her.
It was great.
She just got up and starteddoing it in the middle of the
pub.
I love it.
SPEAKER_03 (37:21):
That's Ireland.
Yeah, like I don't need apartner.
Yeah, for sure.
Okay, one thing we did talkabout is that the best way to
get around um driving, hiringtrains.
SPEAKER_01 (37:32):
Yeah, I would say the the train system is not
extensive in Ireland.
So I would not rely on trains.
They do have buses.
I would say the buses probablyare not, you know, they're okay.
I would drive, or if you're notcomfortable, because it is
driving on the other side of theroad from what we do, so it'd be
driving on the left side of theroad.
(37:53):
You may want to hire a driver.
And and, you know, that's kindof one thing as a travel
advisor.
You know, I I've got somecompanies that I've worked with,
and they your driver is your isyour guide, and they have the
Irish gift of gabs.
So you're not only like gettinga driver, you're getting a lot
of stories and all that kind ofstuff.
(38:13):
So if you're not comfortable,it's yes, it may cost you a
little bit more, but it might beworth it.
Peace of mind, plus you'regetting like that extra level of
of guiding and stories.
And, you know, the people thatdo that for a living, they they
love to talk about Ireland.
SPEAKER_03 (38:29):
So Oh, yeah, that's awesome.
Right.
Versus yourself, you know,yelling at your friends because
you're getting lost and exactlyscreaming at each other.
Yeah.
All right.
And then how about the money?
Is I assume it's is it the eurothen?
It is the euro.
They are in the euro.
Yep.
So the closest place to surf istheir surfing culture.
And I watched 100% weave andthere are that.
SPEAKER_01 (38:52):
I would say County Sligo is probably one of the big
places that that you would wantto go.
Um, and I think just not far outof Sligo town, that's kind of
one of the areas I know becauseI know that because my friend
who lives over there, sheactually tried it once.
Um, but I think like herbrother-in-law and his wife, I
think they used to do it a lottoo.
SPEAKER_03 (39:12):
So is that S-L-I-G-O?
Correct.
Okay.
Oh, and it's a little sheltered,so it's not like probably crazy
big waves.
Okay.
unknown (39:21):
Nice.
SPEAKER_04 (39:22):
They have some really big crazy waves because
there was that documentary ofthe um the largest waves in the
world in Portugal that they'relike a hundred feet.
And one of the guys on thedocumentary is, I thought he's
from Ireland.
SPEAKER_03 (39:35):
Yeah, he's Irish.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:37):
I think, I think for like smaller, like for
beginners, if you go down inCounty Clare, like around La
Hinch, there's a really nicebeach there.
And that's just kind of south ofwhere the cliff, the famous
cliffs of Moore are.
That's maybe a good likebeginner place for people that
maybe just want to get into it.
Um, I think Sligo gets it gets alittle bit more.
There, I'm sure there's otherplaces too, but I just know that
that's kind of one of the morepopular some big, thick wetsuits
(39:59):
out.
SPEAKER_00 (40:00):
There.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (40:01):
He had uh like booties and everything.
Yeah.
I think everything.
Um but it's interesting.
Sla Sligo is pronounceddifferently than it's spelled
S-L-I-G-O, it says.
Yeah, that's why I said Sligo.
Oh, okay, yeah.
Sligo.
Sligo I'm sorry.
And I kept tapping tappingS-L-A-G-O, but it wasn't Sligo.
SPEAKER_01 (40:25):
It might be my Midwestern accent.
SPEAKER_04 (40:26):
No, no, I think you're right.
Who knows?
It's all good.
Yeah.
So what would you say if if youuh had one thing um that was
your like just stood out as likea wow?
Like, you know, I remember beingin Costa Rica and seeing the
volcano erupt and hearing thesound of the volcano sounding
like it was breathing.
And then when it was erupting,it sounded like it was gurgling,
(40:48):
like it was so whole uh valleylit up with fireflies.
And it's just this vividpicture.
I have several like that, butwas there anything when you were
in Ireland that was just like awow, like it's cemented in mind?
SPEAKER_01 (41:01):
Wow, I've been there seven times, so it's really
wonderful.
Maybe it's a big pick one.
You know, you know, probablyprobably my first beach, and
that was in the southern part ofCounty Mayo.
And I remember, so I was with myfriend.
This is the so the first time Iwas there, and we were driving
(41:22):
along these, you know, ruralroads, and she's like, Oh,
there's a beach down here,there's a beach down here.
And she kept going, no, no, andI saw one off of this, no, no,
no, that's not the one.
And you know, the sun wasstarting to kind of sink a
little bit low.
This is September, and we'rekind of going along this road,
this like a little rollercoaster ride, it's like one lane
ride.
And and we come down to the end,and the road kind of ends in
(41:44):
this parking lot.
There was a couple walking inoff the beach, and they left
there was like one set offootprints.
And so we walk out on thisbeach, and I'm like looking at
this beach, thinking, This isIreland, you know, because it
was my first time there.
And I always refer to it asAdeen's Beach.
Um, it's actually called SilverStrand, but but but I always
(42:06):
refer to that.
I have like a picture of herlike walking down the beach, the
sun is kind of sinking lowbecause you know, we're on the
West Coast.
And it was just, it wasdefinitely one of those moments.
And of course, it's it's amoment with a friend, you know,
she was a new friend at thatpoint.
You know, it was just, I thinkit was that realization.
There's mountains kind of allaround.
So it kind of to me epitomizeslike I think what what Ireland
is like is like you can havethese beautiful beaches, you
(42:28):
know, you can have, you know,off kind of like up the coast
was just a little bit more likethe more craggy coastline, and
then you have like thesemountains.
Like there was this onemountain, I think it's called
Milria or something like it'sgot some strange name.
This kind of right there.
And it's just beautiful.
You know what?
This beautiful sandy beach.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Thank you for sharing.
(42:49):
No, no problem.
I love Ireland.
SPEAKER_03 (42:51):
Yes, you're very passionate about it.
Okay.
Absolutely.
Well, thank you.
Okay, maybe I'll have you onagain to the dolomites.
SPEAKER_01 (43:00):
I was oh boy, I'd love to talk about the
dolomites.
Awesome.
One of my favorite.
SPEAKER_03 (43:05):
Thanks, Lynn.
All right.
Take care, you guys.
Happy holidays.
Bye.
Same to you.
Bye.
Thanks.
Bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app.
And if you have a minute, wewould really appreciate a
review.
Following and rating is the bestway to support us.
(43:26):
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
We're at Where Next Podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (43:31):
Thanks again.
Hi, welcome to our podcast, Where Next.
Travel with Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen and I am Carol.
And we're two long-term friendswith a passion for travel and
adventure.
SPEAKER_03 (00:26):
Each episode, we interview people around the
globe to help us decide where togo next.
Hello, everyone.
In today's episode, we aremeeting again with Lynn Neiman
from the Wander Your Waypodcast.
Back in our episode number 82,we talked with Lynn about
Scotland.
And today we talk about what sheloves about Ireland.
(00:48):
We cover whether Dublin deservesa spot on your itinerary, if
kissing the Blarney Stone isactually worth it, where to find
Ireland's most surprisingbeaches, and what Brexit really
means for travelers today.
Enjoy.
All right.
Well, welcome back, Lynn Neiman.
And you've been on our podcastbefore talking about Scotland.
(01:10):
And so now we're going to diveinto Ireland, but let's just
first uh kind of catch up onyour travel plans.
What have you been, what haveyou been up to?
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
Yeah.
So I was in England.
I led my first small group tourin the Dolomites of Italy in
September.
And so it was great.
It was wonderful.
I had a small group, but awonderful small group.
Everybody got along great.
We had a great guide.
It was lots of fun.
It snowed a little bit.
Even in the mountains.
So it was great.
(01:37):
And then I spent some time inparts of France that I've never
been into.
Um, because really I've onlybeen mostly in Paris.
So I got to spend some time inNormandy and the Loire Valley,
which I fell in love with both.
So so I just keep, you know,exploring more of Europe or
exploring deeper in parts thatI've been to before.
SPEAKER_04 (01:52):
So that sounds fantastic.
I actually um this is funny, uhhit cycle workout and it's um 45
minutes and it's climbing thedolomites.
SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Oh, really?
Yeah, I think I've heard someother people say that they
they've got some things thattake place in the dolomites.
I'm like, well, you need to goover and actually like be there.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (02:11):
So that's that is the plan.
That is the plan.
But in the meantime, it gets megood workout uh between my day.
SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
Yeah, awesome.
SPEAKER_04 (02:19):
So uh so Ireland, and I'm kind of excited about
talking be about this becauseI'm flying out tomorrow morning
to see my folks, and my stepmomis Irish, goes to Ireland, loves
Ireland.
Um yeah, it's so cute.
I just uh came from the storeand uh got her a Christmas gift,
which this will come out after,so it's not like a spoiling or
(02:40):
anything, but I got her she's abaker and a in the kitchen, and
so I got these dish towels, andone of them says um something
like coffee, you're on thebench, alcohol sued up.
SPEAKER_01 (02:55):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (02:57):
That's stereotype real.
Yep.
She's a she I remember growingup uh and in college, um, she
was a big uh she loved makingmargaritas, and that's still
like my go-to drink is amargarita.
And so um, and then there's asign, you know, that's it's 5
p.m.
somewhere or whatever, you know,drinking size.
(03:18):
So neither one of you have been.
SPEAKER_03 (03:20):
Um, not yet.
Okay.
Where should we go?
Dublin or Dublin?
SPEAKER_01 (03:25):
Well, that's so what I always tell people is that
while I think Dublin's a nicecity, it's like I would pick
there would be other cities.
I'm not as much of a city personanyway.
I mean, full disclosure, I lovethe small towns and the
villages.
Yeah, you know, it like to me,it's like I feel I mean, it's
kind of the same when you cometo the States, right?
(03:46):
It's like, you know, you getoutside of the the big cities
and you get out into like whereyou actually are meeting like
the real people.
I mean, I'm not saying thatpeople aren't real, but you know
what I mean.
You know, it's like you kind offeel like you kind of connect
more with the with sort of likethe typical people.
So, you know, for me, it's like,yes, I mean, you know, you can
go into Dublin and and that'sgonna be like one of your main
(04:10):
gateways, but a lot of peoplelike to go out like to the west
coast because that's where kindof like the scenery is like, you
know, kind of turned up a notch.
The nice thing is that now thereare more flights that fly into
Shannon.
So, and that's kind of along theRiver Shannon.
And I'm I'm always likeconfused.
(04:30):
Like I can never remember ifit's in County Clare or County
Limerick, because everything'sbroken down into counties when
it comes to Ireland.
But there are regular flights toShannon.
So it's SNN is the is theairport code.
Okay.
And I actually flew, I think onthe I think on my last trip,
that's what I did.
I flew into Shannon.
It's a much smaller airport.
Uh-huh.
Um, so it's kind of easier tonavigate.
(04:51):
And if you just want to do theWest Coast, that's a good
gateway.
And that way you don't have tokind of drive across the
country.
Now, some people want to becausethey want to spend some time in
Dublin.
And, you know, I wouldn't saydon't do it, but because like
for first-timers, they mightwant to do Dublin.
But, you know, if it's maybe asecond time, you're like, okay,
well, I've done Dublin, I'veseen it, spent a couple days
(05:11):
there.
You know, it's probably onlyworth really a couple days, you
know, maybe doing somethinglike, you know, going to the
Guinness storehouse or seeingTrinity College and the Book of
Kells, which is really kind of aunique kind of thing to see.
It's like this old kind ofmanuscript from what is it?
I don't even know about this.
The the Book of Kells,K-E-L-L-S.
(05:32):
It's in Trinity College and it'slike this old um kind of monk
written manuscript, but it'slike really beautiful and
everything.
I mean, you can bear you, theyonly like display like, you
know, so many pages, or theythey change kind of the book and
and that.
And it's definitely worth goingto see.
But if you're kind of after alittle bit more what I might
call that quintessential kind ofIrish kind of experience, like
(05:56):
the small towns and the pubs andthe traditional music with like
the fiddle, then you know,you're better off being outside
of Dublin.
And that's where I think, youknow, a lot of people then kind
of go out to the West Coast.
Although there are some placesalong even like outside of
Dublin that are worthy of sometime.
SPEAKER_05 (06:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:12):
So you can fly into Shannon.
So that's kind of just somethingthat I would like to point out
to people because there are nowregular flights.
I don't know if they fly, like Idon't know if they do it more
seasonally.
So that's kind of something thatyou might have to check.
But um but usually like more inthe season, they will definitely
have flights between, you know,a lot of your East Coast cities
and Shannon.
SPEAKER_04 (06:32):
Okay, so I have to ask, what are the why why would
I want to go and see the Book ofKells and look at these um monk
written uh manuscripts?
What's in them?
SPEAKER_01 (06:40):
You know, it's historic.
They're really beautiful, youknow, so they're like
illustrated and everything.
So it would be for people thatlike that part of history and
like to see maybe some reallybeautiful old manuscripts.
I mean, like anytime if I'm inum in a museum, it's like
anything that's likehandwritten.
I mean, it's like going to theNational Archives in the States.
It's like you go and you lookand you see like the Declaration
(07:02):
of Independence, you're like,wow.
You know, okay.
Well, this stuff's like evenolder.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Oh, that's really cool.
I mean, it just depends.
And then like Trinity College isactually really pretty.
And actually, like you also getto see what they call the long
library, and there's like oldwood and all these books and
everything.
I mean, you can't go up andtouch everything, but you can
see it.
And it's really looking at it,it looks very Harry Potter-ish.
(07:24):
Yes, yes, very much so.
Um, so if you like that kind ofthing, um, and I mean Dublin
does have kind of a nice buzzabout it, um, with like Grafton
Street with all the buskers andthings like that.
And I mean, there's there's funthings to do.
But like I said, I mean, I feellike there's so much more beyond
that.
And I feel like you get kind ofmore an idea of what Ireland's
(07:45):
truly like when you get outsideof Dublin.
SPEAKER_03 (07:47):
So I have a question about that their accent.
So is it easier to understandand more British in like Dublin?
Or is and then it gets more, Idon't know, Gaelic.
SPEAKER_01 (07:57):
No, I no, it it's just it's all Irish.
And the thing of it is is likecounties will have varying
things.
So one of the places that Iwould bring up that a lot of
people like to go to is CountyCary.
And a lot of people are familiarwith the Ring of Cary and then
Killarney National Park.
Now, I think the Ring of Carrie,there's there's, if you look at
(08:17):
the at a map of like thesouthwestern part of Ireland,
there's like these fivepeninsulas that stick out there.
The most northern one is theDingle Peninsula, then you have
the Ring of Carrie, then youhave the Sheep's Head, then you
have, wait a minute, did it?
No, then you have Barra, thenyou have Sheep's Head, and then
you have Mizin.
So the Ring of Carey is the mostfamous.
So the motor coach tours willwill leave Killarney town and
(08:40):
they'll go around like in a day.
And it's a pretty long drive.
SPEAKER_04 (08:43):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:44):
Yeah.
I personally don't think it'sthe most beautiful out of the
peninsulas, at least not thecoastal drive.
Inland, I think, is prettier.
But you know, something like theDingle Peninsula is shorter.
It probably packs a little bitmore bang for your buck.
Um, so that's kind of a nice oneto do.
Is an is kind of doesn't get asmany people.
Sheep's Head, a lot of localslike Sheep's Head the best
(09:07):
because nobody goes there.
I like Mizenhead, the mostsouthern one.
Um, I think that one's the best.
But County Carey is is like thatsort of like one of the areas.
So you have the Ring of Carrieand you have Kalarney National
Park.
That accent, talking aboutaccents, is the hardest to
(09:28):
understand.
Oh okay.
So just beware when you're therewhen it comes to that.
SPEAKER_03 (09:34):
So even like can you write it down for me, please?
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (09:37):
Oh, I I had a conversation.
I was in the the the town ofKenmare, uh, which is one of my
favorite places to stay.
I love this little town.
And it and it's convenient to togo to Killarney National Park,
which is Ireland's oldestnational park.
It's really beautiful.
There's like a this old manorhome you can you can tour.
(09:57):
Uh, there's a castle there youcan tour.
There's some lakes you can walkaround.
There's kind of a little bit ofthere's a little something for
everyone.
What's the town that you like somuch?
Ken Mare.
K-E-N-M-A-R-E.
Okay, Ken Mayor.
SPEAKER_05 (10:10):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (10:10):
And I had a conversation.
I was I was in this pub slashrestaurant, slash, they had they
have rooms above too.
And this older gentleman saidsomething to me, and I said, I
just, and finally I just shookmy head because I have no idea
what he said.
He told me the same thing likefive or six times, and I just,
and then I just sort of like,uh-huh.
I did one of those because Ihave no idea what he said.
(10:32):
And I have a friend who uh livesin Dublin.
Uh, she grew up county calledCounty Roscom, and not one of
the places most people go to.
And she's like, I can'tunderstand the Kerry accents.
So I'm like, if she's Irish andshe can't understand it, then
yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (10:46):
Like exactly.
I'm looking at the cute littletown and the it pictures are
great, and the town looks veryum uh uh Dutch or what is it?
Like just all these differentcolored buildings and yeah,
that's something else.
SPEAKER_01 (10:58):
That's typical in Ireland.
You see a lot of a lot ofcolorful things just because
yeah, I think people do thatbecause it tends to be gray
there, you know, they don't seethe sun as much.
So so I so I feel like a lot ofthe towns you go into, um, the
buildings are very colorful.
SPEAKER_04 (11:13):
Um smart.
SPEAKER_01 (11:15):
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, Kenmere is a great, agreat little town.
Um, I always say, like a lot ofpeople who want to explore
County Cary, a lot of peoplewant to stay in Killarney town,
which is also like it's thenational park, is there?
Like, I think the town mightactually technically be within
the park boundaries or just onthe outskirts.
And I think that is like theworst town.
(11:38):
I just feel like it's tootouristy.
There's tons of motor coaches,there's so many group tours that
come through there.
It's just a little, it's toomuch.
And I always feel like Ken Mayoris a nice alternative because
it's just kind of throughKillarney National Park, kind of
over this pass.
And even though it still has afair amount of tourism, and you
(11:59):
will see plenty of tourists,it's just this, I feel like it's
this perfect blend of touristsand locals.
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_03 (12:08):
Okay, and how far is it from that Shannon airport?
SPEAKER_01 (12:11):
Pretty far.
I mean, I in fact, the last timeI was there, it's like I landed
and that's where I drove, and itwas a bit of a drive.
So it would be higher.
SPEAKER_03 (12:18):
It's still probably better than driving across the
whole country.
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
Yes, it would be better than coming from Dublin,
that is for sure.
SPEAKER_03 (12:24):
Oh, because it's up by Limerick, right?
Limerick is the big town upnorth, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (12:28):
Yeah, yeah.
What about this Cork?
Is that pretty interesting?
Cork.
Okay, so yes.
So count so I haven't been intothe city, but the whole county,
and that's or and that county isthat's the southwestern piece of
Ireland, and that's kind of oneof the bigger, bigger counties.
And I actually just uh hadsomebody on my podcast talking
(12:48):
about, we were talking aboutWest Cork, so kind of the
western part of the county.
It's one of my favorite places.
It's got first of all, yeah.
So there's all kinds of likethere's a lot of craggy coasts.
Well, I'd say there's a lot ofcraggy coastline in general
throughout Ireland, but there'sdefinitely a lot here.
I'd say that um the coastline,like on that southern part, is a
(13:10):
little softer than what youwould see, like along Carey or
kind of up the coast of likeClare and in Galway as you get
further north.
But it's got like this beautifulkind of rolling green hills in
the interior.
You've got Cork City, supposedto be great.
It's the second, it's the secondlargest city in um in Ireland.
(13:33):
I've not been, but it's supposedto be really nice.
Kinsale is really popular.
It's a nice little harbor townthat kind of sits just south of
Cork.
I think it's maybe only maybelike a 30-minute drive or
something south of Cork City.
It's got a really great fortthere called Charles Fort.
Um, that's it's a great tour forhistory lovers.
(13:54):
The Irish people would say,yeah, Cork's got some of the
best food.
There's some beautiful beaches,there's some islands off there.
That's where Mizenhead Peninsulais, which is kind of one of my
favorite places.
You walk, you drive, you candrive like all the way out to
this thing they call theMizenhead experience, and you
can walk along these trails andyou walk out to this old
lighthouse, and you're like,there's cliffs all around, and
(14:16):
it's just beautiful.
It's got this sort of like endof the world sort of feel to it.
Uh, there's a little town calledSkull where I stayed, um, which
you can, which is part way out,kind of going out the Mizenhead
Peninsula.
It's just beautiful.
I mean, there's so many, there'sso many great places uh in Cork.
I I really like Cork.
It's got a little bit of ofsomething for everyone.
SPEAKER_03 (14:37):
And what about this uh Blarney Castle and Gardens?
Touristy, or is it like it'sdefinitely worth it?
It's very touristy, and I'venever been to one.
SPEAKER_01 (14:46):
Oh, okay.
As a result, it's kind of one ofthose things I've heard because
everybody goes and that's whereyou're like kiss the Blarney
stone, and then you're supposedto get the gift of gab.
Oh now, who would want to kisssomething that all these other
lips have been on, first of all?
SPEAKER_04 (15:01):
I guess people who want to the gift of gab.
I guess it's that's the uh yeah,I won't say anything else.
SPEAKER_01 (15:09):
Yeah, now I've heard I've heard some people say, but
the castle, like in the gardensand the grounds are are all very
nice.
There's probably some othercastles that you could go to
that would be just as nice.
SPEAKER_04 (15:19):
So that's every every uh county or whatever
city, whatever that you've toldme that I've looked up, I've
seen one.
Yeah.
Some sort of church castlelooking thing.
Yeah, they're everywhere, whichthey're beautiful.
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
There would be.
I really like stone circles.
So I uh there's one in Corkcalled Drombeg, D-R-O-M-B-E-G.
Yeah, it's really cool, kind ofsits up.
You can kind of like see the Cand everything.
It's it's a pretty cool uh sitefor people that that like stone
circles, you know, or thoseancient sites.
(15:55):
I love those ancient sites.
Cork and Carrie are great.
And, you know, I would say toofor people that maybe have
limited time.
Sometimes it's good to maybejust like try to hit like a
couple of the counties if youwill.
Like, like in like maybe like anine or 10-day trip, you could
hit those two places and youwould see uh you would be able
to see a lot, you'd have somevariety, you know, you'd be able
(16:17):
to see some ancient sites, you'dbe, and then some maybe just
other sort of historical sitesthat maybe aren't as ancient,
that are more, you know, 1700sor whatever, and then be able to
be in some great little townsalong the sea, inland mountains,
you know, like Klarney NationalPark, County Carey, that's where
the highest peaks in in Irelandare.
(16:39):
So that's kind of a a good placeto be for that kind of scenery.
So those are kind of two reallysuper popular spots.
SPEAKER_04 (16:47):
When did you go and what was the weather like?
SPEAKER_01 (16:49):
Okay, so I've been to both multiple times.
So, um, and in different timesof the year.
So I think the last time I wasin Cork was 2018, and I was
there in the latter part ofApril, maybe into early May.
Okay.
It's Ireland, it's never warm.
The British Isles just, youknow, it's a rare thing for it
(17:12):
to get to, you know, like 80degrees.
It does happen every now andagain, um, especially now.
But I would say that, you know,it's you always are prepared for
rain and wind because you'realong the coast and you're along
the west coast, so it'sdefinitely very windy there.
So be prepared for that.
And, you know, be prepared for50 degrees, 60 degree weather
(17:34):
outside of winter.
I mean, like if you're in therein winter, it's gonna be colder.
SPEAKER_03 (17:38):
And what if you're like at that national park where
it's inland a little bit, stillwindy or always?
SPEAKER_01 (17:43):
Um, yeah, you know, I kind of feel like it's just
you know, certainly it getsmaybe less windy when you get
away from the coast, but it'sstill it's still pretty windy.
Okay, yeah.
Um, you know, it's part of it.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (17:58):
So I was just thinking, because we just went
to California and it's like, ohmy gosh, the days were so short,
you know.
So like going places whereyou're gonna be outside
exploring a lot, no, going inthe summer, not, you know, even
if the weather is not great, doyou just get so much more
daylight?
I feel like even spring when youwent April, it's much bright
lighter in the evening thanThanksgiving time, for example.
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
Right, right.
And that's something that youwant to consider, like,
depending on what you want todo, is like the time of year,
you know, obviously in summer,like I think I was in my parents
went with me back in 2010.
And we were there in summer.
In fact, we were there thelongest over the longest day.
And it was like, you know, itwas staying light until like,
you know, 11 30 at night, andthen it was like getting it was
(18:41):
getting light again at like 3 30or 4.
And I was like, oh my God.
So they must be the same.
Yeah.
No, no.
That's further like a sweetenedbeef, much further north.
I mean, it would be worse.
You know, that was, I think,when we were kind of at the
furthest northern point that wewere, which was up in County
Mayo, which is further up theWest Coast.
(19:02):
Another place I would recommendgoing.
But yeah, it it was just, I waslike, oh my God, that's right.
I didn't even think about likehow light it would be.
And I found it hard to go tosleep.
SPEAKER_04 (19:13):
And then like I'm waking up early because the the
roosters were like, And I'mlike, I was in Sweden and that
that's uh I'm Swedish, I'm firstgeneration, and so I went to go
stay with family.
And I ended up reading a book,and I I was so into it, it was 3
a.m.
and it was light outside again.
And I was like, oh no, wait, didI read all night?
(19:34):
And then realize it's 3 a.m.
I'm like, okay, I'm going tobed.
SPEAKER_00 (19:38):
Oh my goodness.
Graduated college.
SPEAKER_04 (19:40):
But yeah, and their seasons are they're the same as
uh our seasons.
SPEAKER_01 (19:45):
Yeah, exactly.
And they do, and they do havethey do have distinct seasons,
even though I would say, like,in some ways, I feel like, you
know, for me in the Midwest, Ihave four distinct seasons.
There's absolutely no doubtabout it.
There's snow on the ground outthere right now as we're
recording this.
Oh gosh.
But I feel like sometimesthey're they're a little bit
subtle, like spring going intosummer.
(20:05):
Sometimes, you know, yes, it'syou know, it's summer, but it
may not necessarily be that muchwarmer than it is in sp in
spring.
Definitely have have the sameseasons and and that as us.
unknown (20:15):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (20:15):
So yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (20:16):
And lots of rain.
And are there rain during allthose four seasons, even the
summertime?
SPEAKER_01 (20:21):
Yeah, you know, it you I say you always prepare for
rain.
And I feel like that they, youknow, it's so hard to say
anymore because of of the wholeclimate change thing that
sometimes I feel like they theyhave had dry times.
Like actually, I was justtalking about being there in
2010 with my parents, and wewere there in the summer, and
(20:44):
they had kind of had a littlebit of a dry season.
And I and I noticed it rightaway because I because some of
the places that I went to, I'vebeen to a couple of times
before.
And I, and I remember kind ofsaying something to to my
friend.
I'm like, okay, you guys haven'thad rain, have you?
She's like, no, because I couldtell like some of the lakes and
things were down a little bit.
And I remember like it wasbright blue, sunshine skies.
(21:04):
And I kept going to my parents,it's not gonna stay like this.
Yes, we are gonna get rain.
And we did eventually.
I mean, and they needed it.
So um, but yeah, it's you know,it it could, it could be rainy.
You know, I remember the firstyear that I went over, and I was
living in Colorado at the time,and my friends like they had a
beautiful spring, and then, youknow, all of a sudden, I think
(21:26):
the the summer got really rainy,and I was going in September.
She goes, Oh my God, we've had ahorrible, horrible summer.
It's been raining after a greatspring.
And I was living in Colorado atthe time when we were having
like drought times where it waslike so hot, and I'm like, I
don't care.
I don't care if it's cool andrainy, I will take it because I
was so tired of the heat.
So I always say you just have tobe prepared for anything when
(21:46):
you go to that part of theworld.
SPEAKER_04 (21:48):
Yeah, totally.
Isn't it sad?
You can't just be like, hey,Cloud, go over here.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
I know.
SPEAKER_04 (21:53):
We need it over there.
SPEAKER_01 (21:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (21:55):
That's what it is.
So what kind of foods?
What was the um, you know, Ialways think just potatoes and
um I'd like meats and things.
Yeah, sausage.
SPEAKER_01 (22:05):
Um, actually, so I would say if you go in certain
seasons, and I would sayprobably this sounds terrible,
but probably more towards maybelike June, July, the lamb would
be fresh.
Uh-huh.
Um, so they definitely do lamband beef.
And I would say both of thoseare really good, you know,
(22:26):
because it's like everything'skind of, you know, farmed to
table a little bit more, youknow, a little bit more sort of
organic.
The gamey, is it gamey?
I don't eat meat, but I do eatthe fish.
Now there's a lot of fresh fishand seafood.
You can get, you can get thingslike mussels and scallops and
all kinds of really good whitefish.
Um, so a lot of my, you know,mild fish.
(22:48):
So it's all really good ifthat's your thing.
Yes, they definitely dopotatoes.
You'll you will get potatoeswith all of your meals.
You'll get a lot of cabbage aswell.
I always feel like so, but likeyou get like a, you know, sides,
you know, with your with yourmeal.
You'll you can get those.
I feel like that they do cabbageactually really well.
They just, you know, it's it'ssort of married.
(23:08):
They every place kind of doessomething a little bit different
and maybe sort sort of some ofthe the herbs and spices that
they might put it and how theycook it and everything.
But I've had some some good uhcabbage and again, potatoes, you
can get those a lot of differentways.
It's it's kind of something thatI don't necessarily eat, but
yeah, I mean, it's it it isdefinitely something.
(23:30):
I mean, fish and chips, justlike over over in, you know,
England and Scotland, you canget some because they get good
fresh fish.
So a lot of times the fish andchips are really can be really
good.
Um, so you'll see a lot of that.
So I love getting good fish andchips when I'm in Ireland.
SPEAKER_04 (23:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:46):
You know, and a lot of good cheeses as well, because
because they do have their areaswhere, you know, they've got
cows grazing.
So a lot of their dairyproducts.
Like, have you ever seen carrygold butter?
SPEAKER_03 (23:57):
Goodness.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, we have that at Costcohere.
You know, we're gonna go back tothe box.
SPEAKER_04 (24:01):
That's Irish that makes sense because it's carry
right at Carrie Gary.
It's counted there.
Um my my stepmom is she, I justlaugh because she goes to Costco
and bulks buys, and she has awhole freezer filled with carry
butter in the garage, and itcracked me up because we went to
go in it to like get some.
(24:21):
And I was like, Oh, I thinkthere's so much butter, yeah.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (24:26):
So you'll get good dairy, you know.
That means you know, youryogurts and your cheese and and
and things like your milk.
So um, that stuff's all good.
In fact, you know, definitelytry some of the local, local
cheeses.
SPEAKER_04 (24:37):
Oh, that's what's a traditional um well, I won't, I
won't steal the breakfast oneuntil because Carol talked about
desserts and things and likefruits or vegetables, like, you
know, just because it's sodifferent there.
I don't know if they import likewe import also here in the US.
SPEAKER_01 (24:53):
You know, they do.
I would say, um trying to think.
They might have if they doberries the way because of just
where they are.
I think you would probably stillget some some local berries and
maybe apples and that too, butprobably a little bit less
there.
They might import some of thatstuff from the UK.
Their their food's better thanyou think it's gonna be.
(25:15):
Let's just put it on.
Okay, yeah.
And you know, it like uh, youknow, I feel like all of the
British Isles have such a badreputation for bad food.
Right.
And the food is far better thanyou think.
And it's just it's I think it'sprogressively gotten better as
maybe they bring in chefs ortheir their young people maybe
even go over to like France orItaly and they kind of study a
(25:38):
little bit of culinary, theythen bring it back, but then
they put their twists on itusing kind of local ingredients.
So um I would say that there'sthere's definitely been a good,
I'd say probably over the last20 years.
I mean, because I've been goingto Ireland since 2007.
So, you know, close to 20 years,like the food, like that's kind
of been a progression as thefood is has gotten better and
(25:59):
they are really kind ofembracing that that sort of
using their local ingredientsand really making the most of
it.
I mean, sure, there's stillgonna be stuff that they have to
import, but yeah, food's betterthan you think.
SPEAKER_04 (26:10):
Yeah.
And then I I was curious, like Iknow I'm I got uh hooked um on
persimmons.
Those are pretty hardy and um uhpomegranate, I wondered, but
probably maybe not there.
I don't know.
No, no, yeah, that's all stuffthat they would import.
SPEAKER_03 (26:24):
Yeah, exactly.
unknown (26:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (26:25):
And Lynn, do you like you said you do some tours,
just so our audience knows,like, where would we find like
what tours you got coming upnext?
What's your website again orInstagram?
SPEAKER_01 (26:35):
Or what's the best way to so the the Wonder Your
Way, W-A-N-D-E-R, Wonder YourWay is the kind of the home
website.
Um, but then Wonder Your WayAdventures is where the small
group tours live.
Now you can get back and forth.
There are links between the twowebsites.
Um so the small group tourswould be under Wonder Your Way
Adventures.
(26:56):
So that's where if you wouldwant to join a small group tour,
that's where you go.
If you just want travelplanning, you can go to Wonder
Your Way.
So yeah.
Do you plan to do anything inIreland anytime soon?
Right now, no, but that isalways subject to change.
Um, I because as we're recordingthis at the end of 2025, I have
to start thinking about 2027.
(27:17):
All right.
And I'm giving some thoughtbecause there's a really good
company that I'm working withthat's doing the two Scotland
tours for 2026.
SPEAKER_03 (27:25):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01 (27:25):
And they do Ireland as well.
They do Ireland, they doEngland, well, they do all of
the British Isles.
Uh, so they do Wales.
You know, I'm kind of like, oh,maybe I should do an Ireland
one.
So so it's possible that therecould be one for 2027.
So all I'd say is stay tuned.
I haven't decided yet.
SPEAKER_03 (27:40):
So how many do you typically do in a year?
SPEAKER_01 (27:42):
Well, this is something new.
So the the goal is to keepbuilding.
So I was hoping to do aboutthree of them in 2025, but only
had one get enough people to go.
Um, so I have three for uh outthere for booking for 2026.
And so I'm hoping that all threeof those will happen, uh,
(28:02):
fingers crossed.
And um, then the idea is to keepmaybe a building.
I mean, I'd like to be able todo, you know, I'd probably do
six or eight of them a year.
SPEAKER_03 (28:11):
Okay.
And so the like what is aballpark for a trip like that?
I mean, do most people have tolike book their own flights?
And then once they get there,then they they pay for the tour,
or is it all inclusive flightsincluding?
SPEAKER_01 (28:24):
So when it comes to the small group tours, that's
the the package pricing is is onthe website and and it'll tell
you what it includes.
It never includes flightsbecause of the fact that people
are coming from different placesand and all that, and some
people want to come in early,stay, you know, stay longer,
whatever.
So all of that is there, but allthe things that are included,
(28:46):
and usually you're getting, youknow, two meals a day and all
the transportation and youraccommodation and tubers and
experiences and all that kind ofstuff.
SPEAKER_00 (28:54):
Yeah, we'll have to think of anything.
Right, right, right.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:59):
You know, I wanted to bring up another place in
Ireland just really quick.
Um because it's a place thatthat I feel like it gets
overlooked, and that's CountyDonegal.
And that's way, way up in thenorthwest corner of Ireland.
It kind of connects, like if youlook to the east from there, it
would be where then the countryof Northern Ireland is.
(29:20):
And this is an area.
If people are looking forsomething like truly different,
go to Donegal.
It's a smell it, I can't findit.
C-O-N-E-G-A-L.
So there is a Donegal town, butthen the whole county is kind of
that northwestern piece.
And it is beautiful.
(29:41):
It's wild, remote, rugged, allkinds of coastline, cute little
towns.
Glen Bay National Park is there.
The most northerly peak on theisland of Ireland is there.
I was there in 2017, so it'sbeen a while since I've been
there, spent a couple weeksthere, and I just loved it.
It's high on my list to go back.
So for people that maybe havebeen to Ireland before, but are
(30:04):
looking for something maybe thatthey haven't done.
I think just because it's alittle further away, it takes a
little bit more effort maybe toget there.
I think a lot of people don't gothere.
But gosh, I've walked on somebeautiful beaches there.
I look beautiful.
They look tropical.
Yeah, there's some stunningbeaches there.
There's one outside of towncalled uh Dunfanahi, and the
(30:28):
beach is called Tremor, whichT-R-A with an accent is beach in
Irish Gaelic.
So it and that it literallymeans big beach.
And the and you have to likewalk through like some sand
dunes to get to it.
So you can't like pull up to aparking lot and just be there.
So you kind of you can park inan area and then you kind of
walk through some sand dunes,which is really kind of fun.
(30:49):
And then you come to thiscrescent beach that's about
three miles, no, two miles long,three kilometers, two miles
long, and it is a beautifulbeach, and it's just protected.
So, you know, because it takes alittle bit more effort to get
there.
It's near a town called DunFanahi, which is
D-U-N-F-A-N-A-G-H-Y.
I had to think about that.
(31:10):
How to spell it?
And Dunfanahee is a littlevillage way up in the northern
part of Donegal.
There's Fanned Head Lighthouse,there's the Maylin Head, which
is the most northerly point onthe Ineshowan Peninsula, way up
there.
It's a beautiful, beautifularea.
If you really kind of if youwant to go somewhere that's a
(31:31):
little different and where youcan really like be immersed to
in nature, you know, and bothlike Mount Aragal is there and
Muckish Mountain.
There's, you know, some nicepeaks there.
If you want to kind of do somesome hiking, beautiful beaches,
towns that are just little dotsof villages.
It's it's a great spot to go.
(31:52):
I I would recommend.
I went to a one of my favoritestone circles is kind of down
near a little village calledRafa, R-A-P-H-O-E.
It's called Beltani,B-E-L-T-A-N-Y.
Nobody goes to this stonecircle.
I was there all by myself.
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (32:09):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (32:09):
Up on this like hill, the sheep are grazing
around.
Oh.
SPEAKER_03 (32:13):
And and what's the deal with Northern Ireland?
Is that not part of the UK?
SPEAKER_01 (32:17):
That's still like totally different.
No, it's part of the UK.
So it's it's part of the UnitedKingdom.
And there's just those sixcounties that are there.
So I mean, it's it's a weirdthing because Northern Ireland,
you know, a lot of people stillconsider themselves Irish, but
it it's just, it's always goingto be a weird thing.
And who knows if it will, ifIreland would ever fully unite
(32:40):
with the whole Brexit thing thathappened, there was kind of, you
know, they people were sort oftalking like maybe it would, but
there's still there's stillthose divisions.
But I mean, you can cross overlike very easily.
Oh, okay.
It's not like a lot ofanimosity.
SPEAKER_03 (32:54):
So no Ireland.
Okay.
So normal Ireland is not part ofthe UK, only Northern Ireland
is.
Correct.
Okay.
And is Ireland part of theEuropean Union?
Yes.
Oh, they are.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (33:05):
Yeah.
And and and it would be theRepublic of Ireland.
I mean, like it if you seeRepublic of Ireland, that's the
Ireland that we kind of thinkof.
And Northern Ireland is thosesix counties that belong to the
UK technically under thegovernment.
But I assume you still have tolike show your passport and
stuff to get over because it isa different country than the
Northern Ireland, or well, Idon't know because like since
(33:28):
Brexit, I mean, technically youshould, but there are there are
literally roads that like crossover, could go back and forth
between the Republic of Irelandand Northern Ireland.
And that's why the whole likethe whole Brexit thing was such
a mess, because the NorthernIreland people are going, hey,
we can't do what you're doingbecause we have we literally
(33:50):
have roads that go back andforth.
And if there's gonna have to besome sort of like border check
all the time, that'd be soexpensive.
SPEAKER_00 (33:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (33:58):
How how do how do you do that?
And well, is it even possible?
And and I think that they alsoit's like, you know, we finally
don't have all this fightingbetween us anymore.
We don't want to rock the boat.
When I was there in 2017, it wasright when Brexit happened, or
when they voted on it, um, orright after they voted for it,
excuse me.
And so nothing had been in placeyet.
(34:20):
So I actually did go to NorthernIreland when I was up in County
Donegal.
Then I went over to NorthernIreland and spent a few days.
But I don't know what it's likenow.
From what I understand, I thinkthat they still have things
pretty open because that waspart of it.
That that that Northern Ireland,you know, said, you know, we
need to not have this bedifficult because, you know, it
(34:41):
it's it's a land border.
Whereas really the rest of, youknow, you look at the the island
of Great Britain, which is, youknow, Scotland, England, and
Wales, that's all like, youknow, the UK as well.
And it's all surrounded bywater.
So like, you know, they don'thave to worry about a land
border that's that's a problem,whereas Northern Ireland does.
You know, so all their liketheir, you know, when it comes
(35:02):
to like commerce and all thatkind of stuff, all that stuff's
coming in, like, you know, viaplanes or or boats, and you
know, so yeah.
So anyway.
Right, it's total madness.
All right.
SPEAKER_03 (35:12):
Okay, well, we're coming up on our time here.
I'd love to go into the rapidfire questions.
Yes.
So, what is uh a popular holidaytradition there?
SPEAKER_01 (35:21):
Oh.
SPEAKER_03 (35:22):
Do they actually celebrate?
SPEAKER_01 (35:23):
Oh, yeah, they celebrate all this very I mean,
it used to be a very Catholiccountry, um probably less so
now.
Um, so we'll still stillcelebrate all that stuff.
You know, I would say you maynot know this, but Halloween has
its origins in Ireland.
What?
Oh I'm shocked.
Shaman or salmon, S-A-M-H-A-I-N,or something like that is how
(35:45):
it's pronounced.
So it was kind of the idea oflike this is where the the the
veil is the thinnest between thethe living and the non-living.
Oh, that's awesome.
I love it.
It's really cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I so I would say that they dosome celebrations like around
that Halloween, the salmon.
SPEAKER_03 (36:02):
Oh, very, very nice.
SPEAKER_01 (36:03):
However it's pronounced.
SPEAKER_03 (36:04):
So if you're gonna have one meal, uh, what would be
your favorite meal in Ireland?
Oh, fish and chips and a pint ofGuinness.
SPEAKER_01 (36:11):
Okay.
Or a weed ram of one of the goodwhiskies.
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03 (36:18):
Very good.
Uh all right.
And then how about breakfast?
What's a typical breakfastthere?
SPEAKER_01 (36:23):
They would call it porridge.
I mean, they do like a full kindof Irish breakfast, which is
kind of similar to the fullEnglish breakfast.
Uh, but they're always big onporridge as well, which is
oatmeal.
Oh, is it oh, is it actuallyoats?
SPEAKER_03 (36:35):
Porridge?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (36:36):
So it's it's basically what we call oatmeal.
SPEAKER_03 (36:39):
Oh, okay.
Interesting.
Cool.
Um and the music we kind oftalked about a little bit.
Is there any favorite musiciansor type of music that you enjoy
listening to out there?
SPEAKER_01 (36:49):
No, I just I like to listen to good traditional Irish
music.
It's nice to see the youngerpeople kind of like embracing it
and playing it and in the pubsand everything.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (36:58):
And do you see like the Irish dancers?
I I feel like that's verypopular here.
Like a lot of girls do Irishdancing.
SPEAKER_01 (37:04):
Yeah, you know, interestingly, uh, when I was in
Westport and County Mayo in2024, there were two guys
playing some stuff, and somegirl got up and started doing
Irish dancing.
I have a video of her.
It was great.
She just got up and starteddoing it in the middle of the
pub.
I love it.
SPEAKER_03 (37:21):
That's Ireland.
Yeah, like I don't need apartner.
Yeah, for sure.
Okay, one thing we did talkabout is that the best way to
get around um driving, hiringtrains.
SPEAKER_01 (37:32):
Yeah, I would say the the train system is not
extensive in Ireland.
So I would not rely on trains.
They do have buses.
I would say the buses probablyare not, you know, they're okay.
I would drive, or if you're notcomfortable, because it is
driving on the other side of theroad from what we do, so it'd be
driving on the left side of theroad.
(37:53):
You may want to hire a driver.
And and, you know, that's kindof one thing as a travel
advisor.
You know, I I've got somecompanies that I've worked with,
and they your driver is your isyour guide, and they have the
Irish gift of gabs.
So you're not only like gettinga driver, you're getting a lot
of stories and all that kind ofstuff.
(38:13):
So if you're not comfortable,it's yes, it may cost you a
little bit more, but it might beworth it.
Peace of mind, plus you'regetting like that extra level of
of guiding and stories.
And, you know, the people thatdo that for a living, they they
love to talk about Ireland.
SPEAKER_03 (38:29):
So Oh, yeah, that's awesome.
Right.
Versus yourself, you know,yelling at your friends because
you're getting lost and exactlyscreaming at each other.
Yeah.
All right.
And then how about the money?
Is I assume it's is it the eurothen?
It is the euro.
They are in the euro.
Yep.
So the closest place to surf istheir surfing culture.
And I watched 100% weave andthere are that.
SPEAKER_01 (38:52):
I would say County Sligo is probably one of the big
places that that you would wantto go.
Um, and I think just not far outof Sligo town, that's kind of
one of the areas I know becauseI know that because my friend
who lives over there, sheactually tried it once.
Um, but I think like herbrother-in-law and his wife, I
think they used to do it a lottoo.
SPEAKER_03 (39:12):
So is that S-L-I-G-O?
Correct.
Okay.
Oh, and it's a little sheltered,so it's not like probably crazy
big waves.
Okay.
unknown (39:21):
Nice.
SPEAKER_04 (39:22):
They have some really big crazy waves because
there was that documentary ofthe um the largest waves in the
world in Portugal that they'relike a hundred feet.
And one of the guys on thedocumentary is, I thought he's
from Ireland.
SPEAKER_03 (39:35):
Yeah, he's Irish.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (39:37):
I think, I think for like smaller, like for
beginners, if you go down inCounty Clare, like around La
Hinch, there's a really nicebeach there.
And that's just kind of south ofwhere the cliff, the famous
cliffs of Moore are.
That's maybe a good likebeginner place for people that
maybe just want to get into it.
Um, I think Sligo gets it gets alittle bit more.
There, I'm sure there's otherplaces too, but I just know that
that's kind of one of the morepopular some big, thick wetsuits
(39:59):
out.
SPEAKER_00 (40:00):
There.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (40:01):
He had uh like booties and everything.
Yeah.
I think everything.
Um but it's interesting.
Sla Sligo is pronounceddifferently than it's spelled
S-L-I-G-O, it says.
Yeah, that's why I said Sligo.
Oh, okay, yeah.
Sligo.
Sligo I'm sorry.
And I kept tapping tappingS-L-A-G-O, but it wasn't Sligo.
SPEAKER_01 (40:25):
It might be my Midwestern accent.
SPEAKER_04 (40:26):
No, no, I think you're right.
Who knows?
It's all good.
Yeah.
So what would you say if if youuh had one thing um that was
your like just stood out as likea wow?
Like, you know, I remember beingin Costa Rica and seeing the
volcano erupt and hearing thesound of the volcano sounding
like it was breathing.
And then when it was erupting,it sounded like it was gurgling,
(40:48):
like it was so whole uh valleylit up with fireflies.
And it's just this vividpicture.
I have several like that, butwas there anything when you were
in Ireland that was just like awow, like it's cemented in mind?
SPEAKER_01 (41:01):
Wow, I've been there seven times, so it's really
wonderful.
Maybe it's a big pick one.
You know, you know, probablyprobably my first beach, and
that was in the southern part ofCounty Mayo.
And I remember, so I was with myfriend.
This is the so the first time Iwas there, and we were driving
(41:22):
along these, you know, ruralroads, and she's like, Oh,
there's a beach down here,there's a beach down here.
And she kept going, no, no, andI saw one off of this, no, no,
no, that's not the one.
And you know, the sun wasstarting to kind of sink a
little bit low.
This is September, and we'rekind of going along this road,
this like a little rollercoaster ride, it's like one lane
ride.
And and we come down to the end,and the road kind of ends in
(41:44):
this parking lot.
There was a couple walking inoff the beach, and they left
there was like one set offootprints.
And so we walk out on thisbeach, and I'm like looking at
this beach, thinking, This isIreland, you know, because it
was my first time there.
And I always refer to it asAdeen's Beach.
Um, it's actually called SilverStrand, but but but I always
(42:06):
refer to that.
I have like a picture of herlike walking down the beach, the
sun is kind of sinking lowbecause you know, we're on the
West Coast.
And it was just, it wasdefinitely one of those moments.
And of course, it's it's amoment with a friend, you know,
she was a new friend at thatpoint.
You know, it was just, I thinkit was that realization.
There's mountains kind of allaround.
So it kind of to me epitomizeslike I think what what Ireland
is like is like you can havethese beautiful beaches, you
(42:28):
know, you can have, you know,off kind of like up the coast
was just a little bit more likethe more craggy coastline, and
then you have like thesemountains.
Like there was this onemountain, I think it's called
Milria or something like it'sgot some strange name.
This kind of right there.
And it's just beautiful.
You know what?
This beautiful sandy beach.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Thank you for sharing.
(42:49):
No, no problem.
I love Ireland.
SPEAKER_03 (42:51):
Yes, you're very passionate about it.
Okay.
Absolutely.
Well, thank you.
Okay, maybe I'll have you onagain to the dolomites.
SPEAKER_01 (43:00):
I was oh boy, I'd love to talk about the
dolomites.
Awesome.
One of my favorite.
SPEAKER_03 (43:05):
Thanks, Lynn.
All right.
Take care, you guys.
Happy holidays.
Bye.
Same to you.
Bye.
Thanks.
Bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app.
And if you have a minute, wewould really appreciate a
review.
Following and rating is the bestway to support us.
(43:26):
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
We're at Where Next Podcast.
SPEAKER_02 (43:31):
Thanks again.
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