Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Z Michelson Travel Podcast, where
every journey is a story waitingto be told.
I'm your host, z Michelson, andI'm so excited to take you on a
ride through the world's mostincredible destinations, hidden
gems and unforgettableexperiences.
Whether you're a seasonedtraveler or just starting to
(00:22):
plan your next getaway, you'rein the right place.
You're a seasoned traveler orjust starting to plan your next
getaway, you're in the rightplace.
Each episode, we'll be divinginto everything from must-see
landmarks to off-the-beaten-pathtreasures, speaking with locals
and travel experts and sharingstories that will inspire your
next adventure.
So sit back, relax and let'swander the world together, one
(00:45):
destination at a time.
Are you ready?
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, hi, I am here again with Diana of Celtic Tours
, and now we are on day four ofher trip to Ireland.
She was in Cork last night andthey're leaving from Cork today
and I hear we're going to go toBlarney Castle and we're going
to go to Filarney, and so muchwar.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So much war.
What a whirlwind trip.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So tell me, apparently you had told me the
other day that you know yourdriver, Mickey I believe his
name is Mickey you put the bagsoutside your door, he picks them
up while you're havingbreakfast, he throws them on the
bus, everybody's ready to go.
And then you get on the bus andgo and he's full of stories and
jokes and gets you on the roadand moving.
(01:36):
So from where you are in Corkyou had a little bit of a drive.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, it was about an hour and a half.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, that's not too bad yeah, and everybody's
probably chatting and sharingtheir stories.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Some people are sleeping.
Some people are sleeping.
Was Mickey chatting and tellingstories?
He was, he was chatting, andwhen he wasn't chatting, he was
also putting on Irish music,which was really nice, getting
you in the mood.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yes, he had some authentic Irish music, so yeah,
so some things that we justtouched a little bit about is
the food that you've been eatingon the trip.
Now most people think, oh, it'sIreland, it's only going to be
meat and potatoes.
But you're showing me picturesof delicious looking meals.
You know fish and other things.
Tell me, Tell me some of themeals that people have been
(02:26):
eating.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yeah, I'm really a big fish person.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I love fish Me too.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And because Ireland is an island, I mean they bring
in their own fresh fish from allover Fresh fish, and so I had a
lot of fish.
One of the dishes that I showedyou, which was absolutely
spectacular, that was a cod, andit was a thick cod.
It's not a cod like we see here.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Right Small pieces of cod.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
This was a thick piece of cod and they made a
wonderful sauce with vegetableson the side, making my mouth
water.
Yeah, yeah, and this was allpart of our dinners, because you
can choose what you wanted.
One of the most favorite mealsthere was a Guinness stew.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
There was Guinness stew, almost everywhere I've
heard about Guinness stew.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
So there's so much to choose from.
And chicken if you're a chickenperson, and they even have if
you need special restrictions,if you have special needs,
gluten-free, anything like that.
All we need to know is just letus know ahead of time and
they'll make sure that you getexactly what you need, so you
can let Celtic Curries know thatyou need to be gluten-free or
(03:32):
something else.
Yeah, we actually had one ladywho was gluten-free and places
we went, they had a meal setaside for her and one place even
had it with her name on it.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
They had a little snack for her, a scone snack for
her, with her name on it.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
That was gluten-free, yeah it was gluten-free for her
, so she was just very, veryimpressed with how accommodating
they were with her dietaryrestrictions.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It's good to know that if you're not a meat eater,
you're not going to necessarilyhave to have meat every day
that you're in Ireland.
So that's really good to know,Because a lot of people say, oh,
you know, Ireland, it's beingdetained.
It's being detained.
No, it's not really.
There are really good chefsthere over in Ireland.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, I think I mentioned in one of the podcasts
that we did.
There was a Michelin chef youdid.
Yeah, one of the locations thatwe went to- so they are out
there.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So now you're on the bus and you're driving nicely
and you're enjoying the sceneryand you're heading to Blarney
Castle.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Blarney Castle so.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
I'm sure everybody got off at Blarney Castle.
Now I got to ask did you kissthe Blarney Stone?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I kissed it previously the last time I was
there.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Okay so.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I don't think I need to kiss it again because I'm a
talkative person.
Yeah, you got to get to them.
Yeah, you got it.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Now, just to let people know, Blarney Castle is a
lot of walking, it is Okay, andthe Blarney Stone you have to
climb up to and then you have tobasically hang upside down to
kiss the stone.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah, you do.
You have to lie down, hold onto these rods, you know.
Basically there is somebody whohelps you, right, and then you
have to ascend as far as youpossibly can, because the
Blarney Stone is actuallytowards the bottom, the very
bottom.
Why they put it there, I don'tknow, it's part of the castle,
but, yes, in order to kiss theBlarney Stone.
(05:21):
It is a little bit of achallenge and the stairs up and
down can be a little bitchallenging as well, but you can
take your time going up.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh yeah, yeah, because a lot of times the
people bending down to gettinginto position to kiss the stone
will take a little bit of time.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Yes, they will, yes, they will.
So, yeah, tell me more aboutBlarney Castle.
Well, I mean, this is abeautiful medieval castle and it
was built nearly 600 years ago.
Wow, this beautiful place toexplore the gardens and the
history of the castle itself.
It's a towered castle.
It was actually a towered house.
(05:56):
So there's a lot of stairsgoing up and down not just to go
kiss a Blarney stone.
But if you're going to explorethe castle, you actually do have
to go up and down a lot ofstairs because it's very
medieval.
Right and then, below thelookout tower, there's actually
a dungeon.
Whoa so for those who want to gocheck out a dungeon you do have
(06:16):
again, there's stairs down morestairs but the castle itself is
just really remarkable to go inand just see.
And it has.
It tells you all about thelocations of things, from the
family room to the kitchen.
And it was a family castle,correct, it was a family castle.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
That makes you wonder , this medieval castle and all
the stairs, and you think toyourself, boy, these people must
have been in good shape, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
And can you imagine wearing those dresses back then?
No, no, I can't either.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
And you know all the things that they do.
But I mean, it's an amazing,amazing trip.
And now you're saying thiscastle is over 600 years old,
over 600 years.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, and there's so many stories about the castle,
including the Blarney Stoneitself.
There's several differentstories.
Okay, we're not exactly surewhich is true, but there's so
many stories.
One of these folktales is thatthe stone was actually used by
Jacob as a pillow when hedreamed of the ladder, extended
(07:14):
it up to the heavens where theangels could ascend and descend
on it, and that it was broughtfrom the Holy Land after the
Crusade.
So it actually came from theHoly Land, right.
And then a further legend tellsabout Cormac McCarthy, who
rescued an old woman.
He was the owner of the castleand he rescued an old woman from
drowning in a nearby river, andshe turned out to be a witch,
(07:38):
and in gratitude, she told himof a certain stone that was
already in the castle.
Right, she gave him I thoughtshe actually gifted him the
stone but, it was already in thecastle, oh wow, and that it had
magical properties and that hecould benefit by kissing it.
That's probably where the giftagain came from, Basically
(07:59):
meaning yes, it will give himthe eloqu gift of gab came from
Basically meaning yes, it willgive him the eloquence of
chatting, right?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yeah, I always think so.
Eloquence, yes, correct.
So, and this is now.
How did you learn these stories?
Is there a guide bringing youaround?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Yes, there are guides there.
I did not personally have aguide.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
There are also things like historical little signs
and things like that that youcan read.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So you can do your own thing.
You don't necessarily have tohave a tour.
You can wander the castle byyourself, the castle and the
gardens, and the grounds.
Now is this castle still inoperation?
Well, no, I mean just tourist.
It's just a tourist, but thegardens must be.
Yeah, well, the gardens arebeautiful.
They keep them up.
They keep them up, they try tokeep them beautiful.
You have to go to BlarneyCastle at least once just to
(08:49):
view it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Right Because it's there.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, it's just a beautiful, beautiful castle.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So how long did you spend at Blarney Castle?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Well, I stayed at Blarney because where they
actually drop you off, you haveto walk to Blarney Castle, so
they don't drop you off right atthe castle.
They actually drop you off indowntown, kind of that area,
that Blarney area.
And so, yeah, I was thereprobably about an hour, which
was sufficient.
It was enough because, again,that was my second time there.
So, I have to go to Blarneyevery time I'm there.
(09:17):
And I'm sure some of the peoplethat were on the tour wanted to
stay yeah.
And they did, they did.
But it was again the time framethat I went, it was low season.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Oh, so it wasn't crowded.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
So it wasn't that crowded so it was very easy to
go up there and there was nolong line and sometimes if you
go in particular time framesthere's really long lines, just
to kiss the Blarney stone.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
So there we have a little travel tip.
If you're going to go toIreland, go a little off season.
It might be a little bit chilly, but it won't be so crowded,
right?
So that's a nice little tip.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
So after I left the castle I went ahead and went to
the little downtown area therewhere they have the woolen mills
.
Oh, and the woolen mills isactually a wool factory where
they take the wool from thesheep Right and they of course
clean it and all and then theycreate the wool clothes Right
and it is.
If you go upstairs in the millarea, it actually has a machine
(10:11):
that is creating some of theclothes and some of the items
that are there From the sheep,from the sheep From our local
sheep.
Yeah, that's kind of nice.
Yeah, very nice, yeah very nice, yeah, very nice.
And so did you get a tartan, Ia tartan.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
No, no, no, but maybe your husband?
Speaker 1 (10:31):
No, no, no no, no, no no.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, no, no tartan.
And I mean the sweaters are sobeautiful and the scarves, and I
actually did buy my mom a pairof slippers.
Oh, slippers, go figure.
It's Florida, right, but she alot of them.
They're so comfortable and sosoft and warm, you know, for the
(10:54):
winter months here, right so,but the sweaters there are just
beautiful.
And you could wear them acouple days here in Florida, but
they're great for overseas whenyou're traveling.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, those are nice.
And sweaters I still have asweater of my father's from
Ireland, and it is warm.
Yeah, you wouldn't think it is,but it's very warm and the
problem is it's pure wool andthey're beautiful.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Yeah, I mean, they're absolutely beautiful.
So there's also a little eaterydown there, cool so cafe, where
you can go and sit and getsomething to eat.
If you'd like Watch people, gowatch people.
Of course they have a littleporcelain store.
You know where you can get someIrish porcelain, for example
Balik.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You Balik porcelain they.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Porcelain for example Balik you Balik porcelain they
have all kinds of porcelain.
They also have a differentcrystal besides Waterford
because there are a couple othercrystal stores in Ireland so
you can do some shopping there.
Chocolates I bought somechocolates for everybody Some
real, authentic Irish chocolatesfor everybody.
So I would share that.
Oh and fudge.
I also want some fudge.
(12:00):
Oh, that would be so good.
If you've been to the castlebefore and you don't want to go
to the castle again, you canactually just take the time to
explore the little village thereoutside of the castle the
Blarney village.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yeah, that's kind of nice.
You know the little tinyvillages.
Sometimes just doing thatlittle bit of exploring is what
travel is all about and peoplejust love to do that sometimes.
I mean, I did that with myhusband when I was overseas.
We just stopped and justwandered through the town and
just enjoyed a cup of coffee andtalked with the people.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, talked with the locals and again, as you
mentioned, the locals are sofriendly and just welcoming.
They really want you to bethere.
They don't feel like you'd beoff-putting, you know because
you were there.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
So it's just very welcoming, very, very welcoming.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
And, of course, there's always a pub around the
corners, A pub in Maryland, it'sthe same.
No, I don't believe it.
You know it's 11 o'clock in themorning, you know, Of course.
You know it's 5 o'clocksomewhere, Right, exactly, yeah,
so you can always have abeverage.
It was really.
It's just really really a niceplace to explore.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Right.
So when you got back on the busyou were going to Killarney,
correct.
Now you said that this is theroad which is the Ring of Kerry.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Killarney is actually where the Ring of Kerry starts
and ends, because the Ring ofKerry is actually a scenic drive
.
It's a loop.
Yeah, it's a loop.
It takes a little bit of time.
Unfortunately, we didn't get tosee it on this particular trip.
We didn't get to see it on thisparticular trip, but Mickey,
who is absolutely wonderful andour driver, he did go ahead and
stop at a beautiful scenicoutlook.
(13:46):
You know where the ring startsso we can take pictures.
He really took us places anddid things with us that I'm
going to share with you thatweren't part of our tour.
Oh, wow, yeah, he just he saysyou know what?
I've got a surprise for you.
I'm going to stop someplacehere and I'm going to do this.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Bad Vectors are nice.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
So, if we have the time, he does like to
incorporate other things.
Right, he knows his country,right.
So, it was very, very nice andhe enjoys what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
He does.
If he you wouldn't be doing it.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Yep, yeah, so yeah, it's very nice.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
That's kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Yeah, and also if clients don't want to include
Blarney in their tour, you knowthat's something that they can
do and they can purchase itseparate.
It doesn't have to be included,but it can be included.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Right, there are different things that you can do
when you go to Ireland.
There are so many differentthings that you can do when you
go to Ireland.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
There are so many different things you can do over
in Ireland.
You can customize almostanything for anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Right, because your name Celtic Tours.
Yeah, it's Celtic, that's whowe are, that's where we started.
You know, a lot of times, likeI said, people will call their
travel advisors and say you know, I want to go to Ireland, I
want to see this.
I Well, they travel advisorsand say you know, I want to go
to Ireland, I want to see this,I want to see this, but I don't
want to see that.
And you guys can actually do atour that will incorporate what
they want to see and more thanlikely, you have tours that are
(15:08):
already doing this, because youhave many, many different styles
of tours.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Yes, yeah, yes, we do .
We have tours from five nightsin Ireland all the way to nine
nights in Ireland.
That travels the entire island,where you get to see the giant
causeway up north.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Oh the giant.
Come on, it's right there, thegiant, or go to.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Derry, where the Derry girls are, or a lot of
people aren't aware, but we haveanother cliff the size of
Cliffs of Moher.
We have the Sleath Leaguecliffs that are just as
beautiful.
They're smaller but just asbeautiful, and those are further
up north as well.
So there's just so much to seein Ireland.
(15:50):
Sometimes I don't think thateven nine nights is enough.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I had a friend call me the other day and went
there's mountains in Ireland andI went yeah, so I thought it
was flat because it's an island.
And I went oh, Not at all, Notat all.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
So she was excited to find out, there were mountains,
and that's one of the things.
As we were exploring and Mickeywas taking us from place to
place, he would point outdifferent things like that, like
look over there, these are thecertain mountains.
It was just really aneducational part of the tour as
well, because he's reallysharing all of those things with
you.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
That's nice, that's very nice.
So now everybody was back onthe bus and you're all heading
over to Kilkenny, killarney,sorry about that, killarney.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Killarney, you were already in.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Kilkenny the night before, so now you're going to
Killarney.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Now, when you got I'll tell you, by the time we
got to Killarney and we checkedinto our hotel, because that's
where we stayed the night.
We stayed at the Artibus Hotel,okay, and just a very, very
nice hotel, and of course we allhad to get ready for dinner,
right?
So some of us took naps, we hada little nap it was a busy day
(17:05):
in Killarney and then some of usactually just went and wandered
the hotel and we took a look atthe hotel, because, again, this
is something that we want totalk about with all of our
clients.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
And now you said you went to the hotel, you kind of
relaxed a little bit beforemeeting for dinner.
Are there dress codes?
Speaker 3 (17:23):
People are going to ask that that is a great
question and I tell everybody no, no, there's no dress code.
We want you to be comfortable,we want you to enjoy.
The thing that I tell peoplethe most is the layer yes,
because of the weather layer.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yes, well, it's the bit they're layering clothing.
But you know, sometimes peoplethink, well, do I have to woman
with syndrome have a skirt todinner, or things like that.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
No, not at all.
Very, very casual.
All of the locations are verycasual.
The Irish aren't known fortheir style.
Wear whatever makes you feelcomfortable.
I, honestly, I wore jeans everyday.
Oh, okay, I wore jeans.
That's nice.
And, of course, like I said, Ilayered.
So I had most of my shirts werelong sleeve, because it was
(18:11):
cool enough for long sleeve, andthen I wore jackets over it.
So, yeah, but definitely,definitely just layer, that's
good to know.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yes, people are going to say I don't know what to
pack and you know, should I packthis, should I pack that?
Okay, we need to pack forlayers, layers, layers.
There we go, layers.
Now, what kind of dinner didyou have in Killarney?
Speaker 3 (18:32):
So again I had fish.
Good, I had another sea bass.
Oh, sea bass, that's very tasty.
Yeah, because the first night Ibelieve it was I had a sea bass
with risotto.
Right, yeah, this time I had asea bass.
That was actually.
It had a coating on it.
Oh, best, that was actually.
(18:52):
It had a coating on it.
Oh, okay, like a little coatingon it, and they flash fried it
and it was so good, so good.
Another delicious meal.
And again it's included.
Yes, it's included and thedesserts.
I had dessert every night I'mnot a dessert girl I'm not a
dessert person, but I did havedessert every night.
What, what kind of desserts didyou have?
Oh goodness, I had.
Of course, they had the sconeswith the cream, you know that
(19:15):
you could have a dessert.
Then I had macaroons.
They had macaroons, oh wow.
And a chocolate cake that I hadone evening it was just to die
for, but they had severaldifferent desserts that you can
get um that and that they offer.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
So of course you know whatever it is so is dinner
included every night on the tour?
Speaker 3 (19:38):
so on our particular tour it was okay now it's not
always right included, but onour on this one, it is okay.
Now most of our tours.
If you you go online and youtake a look at our tours, some
of them have six meals, some ofthem have four meals, some have
three meals, but again, we cancustomize anything for you.
So if you want all of yourmeals included, we could do that
(20:00):
for you.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
That's nice, yeah because sometimes you don't want
to have to worry about it and alot of times when people are
out and they're overseas, theydon't know where to eat and what
to eat.
So when you're with a grouplike this and you're all going
to the same restaurant, you cansay oh, what are you having?
What are you having?
Yeah, yeah, and that makes itnice, of course, I like that
yeah.
So in Kilkenny, did you doanything special in Kilkenny?
(20:21):
Not that evening.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Not that evening, not that evening.
Kilkenny, and it's Kilarney?
Yep, it is Kilarney, but I willtell you I did do something the
next day.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
So that's going to be day five.
So, coming up on day five,we're going to learn all about
and I'm going to say it rightthis time Kilarney Well,
fabulous.
Thank you again for sharing.
I know a lot of people outthere starting to plan their
Ireland trips, and Ireland isopen 24-7 year-round.
It's not like a cruise linewhere they say, oh, we're not
(20:58):
sailing in February or we're notsailing in December.
You can go to Ireland any timeof the year.
You can go to Ireland any timeof the year.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
You know, I do tell a lot of people the last two
weeks of December.
It is a very, very CatholicRight.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
So it's very holiday.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
So a lot of things do close down, a lot of businesses
will shut down, just like theolden days, exactly, and it's
also very, very cold.
In the last couple of weeks ofDecember into January the
temperature does drop a littlebit.
Does it get nippy?
It does get nippy.
Now they don't get any snow.
There's no snow, but it's nippy.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Well, Diana, thank you again for sharing day four
of your Celtic Tours Irelandtrip.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Thank you, I appreciate you having me.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Well, that's it for today's episode of the Z
Michelson Travel Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed our journeyand found some new inspiration
for your next adventure.
Remember, the world is full ofstories and sometimes all it
takes is a plane ticket to startyour own adventure.
If you loved today's episode,be sure to tune in every week
(22:06):
and don't forget to share yourfavorite travel moments with me
on social media.
I'd really love to hear aboutwhere you're headed to next.
So, until next time, keepexploring, keep discovering and,
as always, keep traveling withyour heart wide open.
I'm Zee Michelson and I'll seeyou on the next adventure.
Welcome to the Z Michelson Travel Podcast, where
every journey is a story waitingto be told.
I'm your host, z Michelson, andI'm so excited to take you on a
ride through the world's mostincredible destinations, hidden
gems and unforgettableexperiences.
Whether you're a seasonedtraveler or just starting to
(00:22):
plan your next getaway, you'rein the right place.
You're a seasoned traveler orjust starting to plan your next
getaway, you're in the rightplace.
Each episode, we'll be divinginto everything from must-see
landmarks to off-the-beaten-pathtreasures, speaking with locals
and travel experts and sharingstories that will inspire your
next adventure.
So sit back, relax and let'swander the world together, one
(00:45):
destination at a time.
Are you ready?
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, hi, I am here again with Diana of Celtic Tours
, and now we are on day four ofher trip to Ireland.
She was in Cork last night andthey're leaving from Cork today
and I hear we're going to go toBlarney Castle and we're going
to go to Filarney, and so muchwar.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So much war.
What a whirlwind trip.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So tell me, apparently you had told me the
other day that you know yourdriver, Mickey I believe his
name is Mickey you put the bagsoutside your door, he picks them
up while you're havingbreakfast, he throws them on the
bus, everybody's ready to go.
And then you get on the bus andgo and he's full of stories and
jokes and gets you on the roadand moving.
(01:36):
So from where you are in Corkyou had a little bit of a drive.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah, it was about an hour and a half.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, that's not too bad yeah, and everybody's
probably chatting and sharingtheir stories.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Some people are sleeping.
Some people are sleeping.
Was Mickey chatting and tellingstories?
He was, he was chatting, andwhen he wasn't chatting, he was
also putting on Irish music,which was really nice, getting
you in the mood.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yes, he had some authentic Irish music, so yeah,
so some things that we justtouched a little bit about is
the food that you've been eatingon the trip.
Now most people think, oh, it'sIreland, it's only going to be
meat and potatoes.
But you're showing me picturesof delicious looking meals.
You know fish and other things.
Tell me, Tell me some of themeals that people have been
(02:26):
eating.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Yeah, I'm really a big fish person.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
I love fish Me too.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
And because Ireland is an island, I mean they bring
in their own fresh fish from allover Fresh fish, and so I had a
lot of fish.
One of the dishes that I showedyou, which was absolutely
spectacular, that was a cod, andit was a thick cod.
It's not a cod like we see here.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Right Small pieces of cod.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
This was a thick piece of cod and they made a
wonderful sauce with vegetableson the side, making my mouth
water.
Yeah, yeah, and this was allpart of our dinners, because you
can choose what you wanted.
One of the most favorite mealsthere was a Guinness stew.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
There was Guinness stew, almost everywhere I've
heard about Guinness stew.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
So there's so much to choose from.
And chicken if you're a chickenperson, and they even have if
you need special restrictions,if you have special needs,
gluten-free, anything like that.
All we need to know is just letus know ahead of time and
they'll make sure that you getexactly what you need, so you
can let Celtic Curries know thatyou need to be gluten-free or
(03:32):
something else.
Yeah, we actually had one ladywho was gluten-free and places
we went, they had a meal setaside for her and one place even
had it with her name on it.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
They had a little snack for her, a scone snack for
her, with her name on it.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
That was gluten-free, yeah it was gluten-free for her
, so she was just very, veryimpressed with how accommodating
they were with her dietaryrestrictions.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
It's good to know that if you're not a meat eater,
you're not going to necessarilyhave to have meat every day
that you're in Ireland.
So that's really good to know,Because a lot of people say, oh,
you know, Ireland, it's beingdetained.
It's being detained.
No, it's not really.
There are really good chefsthere over in Ireland.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, I think I mentioned in one of the podcasts
that we did.
There was a Michelin chef youdid.
Yeah, one of the locations thatwe went to- so they are out
there.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So now you're on the bus and you're driving nicely
and you're enjoying the sceneryand you're heading to Blarney
Castle.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Blarney Castle so.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
I'm sure everybody got off at Blarney Castle.
Now I got to ask did you kissthe Blarney Stone?
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I kissed it previously the last time I was
there.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Okay so.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
I don't think I need to kiss it again because I'm a
talkative person.
Yeah, you got to get to them.
Yeah, you got it.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Now, just to let people know, Blarney Castle is a
lot of walking, it is Okay, andthe Blarney Stone you have to
climb up to and then you have tobasically hang upside down to
kiss the stone.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Yeah, you do.
You have to lie down, hold onto these rods, you know.
Basically there is somebody whohelps you, right, and then you
have to ascend as far as youpossibly can, because the
Blarney Stone is actuallytowards the bottom, the very
bottom.
Why they put it there, I don'tknow, it's part of the castle,
but, yes, in order to kiss theBlarney Stone.
(05:21):
It is a little bit of achallenge and the stairs up and
down can be a little bitchallenging as well, but you can
take your time going up.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh yeah, yeah, because a lot of times the
people bending down to gettinginto position to kiss the stone
will take a little bit of time.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Yes, they will, yes, they will.
So, yeah, tell me more aboutBlarney Castle.
Well, I mean, this is abeautiful medieval castle and it
was built nearly 600 years ago.
Wow, this beautiful place toexplore the gardens and the
history of the castle itself.
It's a towered castle.
It was actually a towered house.
(05:56):
So there's a lot of stairsgoing up and down not just to go
kiss a Blarney stone.
But if you're going to explorethe castle, you actually do have
to go up and down a lot ofstairs because it's very
medieval.
Right and then, below thelookout tower, there's actually
a dungeon.
Whoa so for those who want to gocheck out a dungeon you do have
(06:16):
again, there's stairs down morestairs but the castle itself is
just really remarkable to go inand just see.
And it has.
It tells you all about thelocations of things, from the
family room to the kitchen.
And it was a family castle,correct, it was a family castle.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
That makes you wonder , this medieval castle and all
the stairs, and you think toyourself, boy, these people must
have been in good shape, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
And can you imagine wearing those dresses back then?
No, no, I can't either.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
And you know all the things that they do.
But I mean, it's an amazing,amazing trip.
And now you're saying thiscastle is over 600 years old,
over 600 years.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah, and there's so many stories about the castle,
including the Blarney Stoneitself.
There's several differentstories.
Okay, we're not exactly surewhich is true, but there's so
many stories.
One of these folktales is thatthe stone was actually used by
Jacob as a pillow when hedreamed of the ladder, extended
(07:14):
it up to the heavens where theangels could ascend and descend
on it, and that it was broughtfrom the Holy Land after the
Crusade.
So it actually came from theHoly Land, right.
And then a further legend tellsabout Cormac McCarthy, who
rescued an old woman.
He was the owner of the castleand he rescued an old woman from
drowning in a nearby river, andshe turned out to be a witch,
(07:38):
and in gratitude, she told himof a certain stone that was
already in the castle.
Right, she gave him I thoughtshe actually gifted him the
stone but, it was already in thecastle, oh wow, and that it had
magical properties and that hecould benefit by kissing it.
That's probably where the giftagain came from, Basically
(07:59):
meaning yes, it will give himthe eloqu gift of gab came from
Basically meaning yes, it willgive him the eloquence of
chatting, right?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yeah, I always think so.
Eloquence, yes, correct.
So, and this is now.
How did you learn these stories?
Is there a guide bringing youaround?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Yes, there are guides there.
I did not personally have aguide.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
There are also things like historical little signs
and things like that that youcan read.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So you can do your own thing.
You don't necessarily have tohave a tour.
You can wander the castle byyourself, the castle and the
gardens, and the grounds.
Now is this castle still inoperation?
Well, no, I mean just tourist.
It's just a tourist, but thegardens must be.
Yeah, well, the gardens arebeautiful.
They keep them up.
They keep them up, they try tokeep them beautiful.
You have to go to BlarneyCastle at least once just to
(08:49):
view it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Right Because it's there.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Yeah, it's just a beautiful, beautiful castle.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
So how long did you spend at Blarney Castle?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Well, I stayed at Blarney because where they
actually drop you off, you haveto walk to Blarney Castle, so
they don't drop you off right atthe castle.
They actually drop you off indowntown, kind of that area,
that Blarney area.
And so, yeah, I was thereprobably about an hour, which
was sufficient.
It was enough because, again,that was my second time there.
So, I have to go to Blarneyevery time I'm there.
(09:17):
And I'm sure some of the peoplethat were on the tour wanted to
stay yeah.
And they did, they did.
But it was again the time framethat I went, it was low season.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Oh, so it wasn't crowded.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
So it wasn't that crowded so it was very easy to
go up there and there was nolong line and sometimes if you
go in particular time framesthere's really long lines, just
to kiss the Blarney stone.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
So there we have a little travel tip.
If you're going to go toIreland, go a little off season.
It might be a little bit chilly, but it won't be so crowded,
right?
So that's a nice little tip.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
So after I left the castle I went ahead and went to
the little downtown area therewhere they have the woolen mills
.
Oh, and the woolen mills isactually a wool factory where
they take the wool from thesheep Right and they of course
clean it and all and then theycreate the wool clothes Right
and it is.
If you go upstairs in the millarea, it actually has a machine
(10:11):
that is creating some of theclothes and some of the items
that are there From the sheep,from the sheep From our local
sheep.
Yeah, that's kind of nice.
Yeah, very nice, yeah very nice, yeah, very nice.
And so did you get a tartan, Ia tartan.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
No, no, no, but maybe your husband?
Speaker 1 (10:31):
No, no, no no, no, no no.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah, no, no tartan.
And I mean the sweaters are sobeautiful and the scarves, and I
actually did buy my mom a pairof slippers.
Oh, slippers, go figure.
It's Florida, right, but she alot of them.
They're so comfortable and sosoft and warm, you know, for the
(10:54):
winter months here, right so,but the sweaters there are just
beautiful.
And you could wear them acouple days here in Florida, but
they're great for overseas whenyou're traveling.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, those are nice.
And sweaters I still have asweater of my father's from
Ireland, and it is warm.
Yeah, you wouldn't think it is,but it's very warm and the
problem is it's pure wool andthey're beautiful.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Yeah, I mean, they're absolutely beautiful.
So there's also a little eaterydown there, cool so cafe, where
you can go and sit and getsomething to eat.
If you'd like Watch people, gowatch people.
Of course they have a littleporcelain store.
You know where you can get someIrish porcelain, for example
Balik.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You Balik porcelain they.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Porcelain for example Balik you Balik porcelain they
have all kinds of porcelain.
They also have a differentcrystal besides Waterford
because there are a couple othercrystal stores in Ireland so
you can do some shopping there.
Chocolates I bought somechocolates for everybody Some
real, authentic Irish chocolatesfor everybody.
So I would share that.
Oh and fudge.
I also want some fudge.
(12:00):
Oh, that would be so good.
If you've been to the castlebefore and you don't want to go
to the castle again, you canactually just take the time to
explore the little village thereoutside of the castle the
Blarney village.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yeah, that's kind of nice.
You know the little tinyvillages.
Sometimes just doing thatlittle bit of exploring is what
travel is all about and peoplejust love to do that sometimes.
I mean, I did that with myhusband when I was overseas.
We just stopped and justwandered through the town and
just enjoyed a cup of coffee andtalked with the people.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah, talked with the locals and again, as you
mentioned, the locals are sofriendly and just welcoming.
They really want you to bethere.
They don't feel like you'd beoff-putting, you know because
you were there.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
So it's just very welcoming, very, very welcoming.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
And, of course, there's always a pub around the
corners, A pub in Maryland, it'sthe same.
No, I don't believe it.
You know it's 11 o'clock in themorning, you know, Of course.
You know it's 5 o'clocksomewhere, Right, exactly, yeah,
so you can always have abeverage.
It was really.
It's just really really a niceplace to explore.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Right.
So when you got back on the busyou were going to Killarney,
correct.
Now you said that this is theroad which is the Ring of Kerry.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Killarney is actually where the Ring of Kerry starts
and ends, because the Ring ofKerry is actually a scenic drive
.
It's a loop.
Yeah, it's a loop.
It takes a little bit of time.
Unfortunately, we didn't get tosee it on this particular trip.
We didn't get to see it on thisparticular trip, but Mickey,
who is absolutely wonderful andour driver, he did go ahead and
stop at a beautiful scenicoutlook.
(13:46):
You know where the ring startsso we can take pictures.
He really took us places anddid things with us that I'm
going to share with you thatweren't part of our tour.
Oh, wow, yeah, he just he saysyou know what?
I've got a surprise for you.
I'm going to stop someplacehere and I'm going to do this.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Bad Vectors are nice.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
So, if we have the time, he does like to
incorporate other things.
Right, he knows his country,right.
So, it was very, very nice andhe enjoys what he's doing.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
He does.
If he you wouldn't be doing it.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Yep, yeah, so yeah, it's very nice.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
That's kind of cool.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Yeah, and also if clients don't want to include
Blarney in their tour, you knowthat's something that they can
do and they can purchase itseparate.
It doesn't have to be included,but it can be included.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Right, there are different things that you can do
when you go to Ireland.
There are so many differentthings that you can do when you
go to Ireland.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
There are so many different things you can do over
in Ireland.
You can customize almostanything for anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Right, because your name Celtic Tours.
Yeah, it's Celtic, that's whowe are, that's where we started.
You know, a lot of times, likeI said, people will call their
travel advisors and say you know, I want to go to Ireland, I
want to see this.
I Well, they travel advisorsand say you know, I want to go
to Ireland, I want to see this,I want to see this, but I don't
want to see that.
And you guys can actually do atour that will incorporate what
they want to see and more thanlikely, you have tours that are
(15:08):
already doing this, because youhave many, many different styles
of tours.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Yes, yeah, yes, we do .
We have tours from five nightsin Ireland all the way to nine
nights in Ireland.
That travels the entire island,where you get to see the giant
causeway up north.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Oh the giant.
Come on, it's right there, thegiant, or go to.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Derry, where the Derry girls are, or a lot of
people aren't aware, but we haveanother cliff the size of
Cliffs of Moher.
We have the Sleath Leaguecliffs that are just as
beautiful.
They're smaller but just asbeautiful, and those are further
up north as well.
So there's just so much to seein Ireland.
(15:50):
Sometimes I don't think thateven nine nights is enough.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I had a friend call me the other day and went
there's mountains in Ireland andI went yeah, so I thought it
was flat because it's an island.
And I went oh, Not at all, Notat all.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
So she was excited to find out, there were mountains,
and that's one of the things.
As we were exploring and Mickeywas taking us from place to
place, he would point outdifferent things like that, like
look over there, these are thecertain mountains.
It was just really aneducational part of the tour as
well, because he's reallysharing all of those things with
you.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
That's nice, that's very nice.
So now everybody was back onthe bus and you're all heading
over to Kilkenny, killarney,sorry about that, killarney.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Killarney, you were already in.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Kilkenny the night before, so now you're going to
Killarney.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Now, when you got I'll tell you, by the time we
got to Killarney and we checkedinto our hotel, because that's
where we stayed the night.
We stayed at the Artibus Hotel,okay, and just a very, very
nice hotel, and of course we allhad to get ready for dinner,
right?
So some of us took naps, we hada little nap it was a busy day
(17:05):
in Killarney and then some of usactually just went and wandered
the hotel and we took a look atthe hotel, because, again, this
is something that we want totalk about with all of our
clients.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
And now you said you went to the hotel, you kind of
relaxed a little bit beforemeeting for dinner.
Are there dress codes?
Speaker 3 (17:23):
People are going to ask that that is a great
question and I tell everybody no, no, there's no dress code.
We want you to be comfortable,we want you to enjoy.
The thing that I tell peoplethe most is the layer yes,
because of the weather layer.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Yes, well, it's the bit they're layering clothing.
But you know, sometimes peoplethink, well, do I have to woman
with syndrome have a skirt todinner, or things like that.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
No, not at all.
Very, very casual.
All of the locations are verycasual.
The Irish aren't known fortheir style.
Wear whatever makes you feelcomfortable.
I, honestly, I wore jeans everyday.
Oh, okay, I wore jeans.
That's nice.
And, of course, like I said, Ilayered.
So I had most of my shirts werelong sleeve, because it was
(18:11):
cool enough for long sleeve, andthen I wore jackets over it.
So, yeah, but definitely,definitely just layer, that's
good to know.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Yes, people are going to say I don't know what to
pack and you know, should I packthis, should I pack that?
Okay, we need to pack forlayers, layers, layers.
There we go, layers.
Now, what kind of dinner didyou have in Killarney?
Speaker 3 (18:32):
So again I had fish.
Good, I had another sea bass.
Oh, sea bass, that's very tasty.
Yeah, because the first night Ibelieve it was I had a sea bass
with risotto.
Right, yeah, this time I had asea bass.
That was actually.
It had a coating on it.
Oh, best, that was actually.
(18:52):
It had a coating on it.
Oh, okay, like a little coatingon it, and they flash fried it
and it was so good, so good.
Another delicious meal.
And again it's included.
Yes, it's included and thedesserts.
I had dessert every night I'mnot a dessert girl I'm not a
dessert person, but I did havedessert every night.
What, what kind of desserts didyou have?
Oh goodness, I had.
Of course, they had the sconeswith the cream, you know that
(19:15):
you could have a dessert.
Then I had macaroons.
They had macaroons, oh wow.
And a chocolate cake that I hadone evening it was just to die
for, but they had severaldifferent desserts that you can
get um that and that they offer.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
So of course you know whatever it is so is dinner
included every night on the tour?
Speaker 3 (19:38):
so on our particular tour it was okay now it's not
always right included, but onour on this one, it is okay.
Now most of our tours.
If you you go online and youtake a look at our tours, some
of them have six meals, some ofthem have four meals, some have
three meals, but again, we cancustomize anything for you.
So if you want all of yourmeals included, we could do that
(20:00):
for you.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
That's nice, yeah because sometimes you don't want
to have to worry about it and alot of times when people are
out and they're overseas, theydon't know where to eat and what
to eat.
So when you're with a grouplike this and you're all going
to the same restaurant, you cansay oh, what are you having?
What are you having?
Yeah, yeah, and that makes itnice, of course, I like that
yeah.
So in Kilkenny, did you doanything special in Kilkenny?
(20:21):
Not that evening.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Not that evening, not that evening.
Kilkenny, and it's Kilarney?
Yep, it is Kilarney, but I willtell you I did do something the
next day.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
So that's going to be day five.
So, coming up on day five,we're going to learn all about
and I'm going to say it rightthis time Kilarney Well,
fabulous.
Thank you again for sharing.
I know a lot of people outthere starting to plan their
Ireland trips, and Ireland isopen 24-7 year-round.
It's not like a cruise linewhere they say, oh, we're not
(20:58):
sailing in February or we're notsailing in December.
You can go to Ireland any timeof the year.
You can go to Ireland any timeof the year.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
You know, I do tell a lot of people the last two
weeks of December.
It is a very, very CatholicRight.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
So it's very holiday.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
So a lot of things do close down, a lot of businesses
will shut down, just like theolden days, exactly, and it's
also very, very cold.
In the last couple of weeks ofDecember into January the
temperature does drop a littlebit.
Does it get nippy?
It does get nippy.
Now they don't get any snow.
There's no snow, but it's nippy.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Well, Diana, thank you again for sharing day four
of your Celtic Tours Irelandtrip.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Thank you, I appreciate you having me.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Well, that's it for today's episode of the Z
Michelson Travel Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed our journeyand found some new inspiration
for your next adventure.
Remember, the world is full ofstories and sometimes all it
takes is a plane ticket to startyour own adventure.
If you loved today's episode,be sure to tune in every week
(22:06):
and don't forget to share yourfavorite travel moments with me
on social media.
I'd really love to hear aboutwhere you're headed to next.
So, until next time, keepexploring, keep discovering and,
as always, keep traveling withyour heart wide open.
I'm Zee Michelson and I'll seeyou on the next adventure.
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