Ireland Visit with Kara

We had a fun-filled two day visit to Ireland. We loved the friendly people. The Irish welcomed us to their homeland wherever we went. The pubs are places where whole families go to eat, drink, watch 'football' (soccer) and enjoy each other's company. The beer is delicious and the "chips" taste great! Everyone is welcome here!

We introduced ourselves as "Mary Casey", "Kara Casey" and "Howard Goodell Casey". We got a kick out of seeing all of the businesses owned by "Casey's". One gentleman asked me, if, upon seeing my family name written in many places over the County, did I feel like I was "coming home". I felt so comfortable here...maybe....who knows.......

We spent our Saturday visiting the beautiful Cliffs of Maher and walking around Galway. On Saturday evening, we enjoyed the sights of Bunratty Castle, made some new friends, and enjoyed their Irish hospitality. On Sunday morning, we visited Bunratty Folk Village. Where we caught a glimpse of the hard life people lived in those days. It was a fabulous visit, one we will all remember for years to come.
http://www.shannonheritage.com/Folk_Park.htm

Bunratty Folk Village

Directions around Bunratty Folk Park

Bunratty Folk Village

The beautiful grass, animals and houses captured our interest on our tour of the Folk Village.

Hello to Wilbur!

Howard and Kara said "hello" to Wilbur!

Bunratty Castle

We enjoyed listening to the music, watching the dancing and singing.

Bunratty Castle

While we were waiting for the "fun" to begin at Bunratty Castle, we made some friends! Nulla and Patricia live near the Castle and kept us fascinated with their stories. Before the event began, we met their husbands, Tom and Rob.

Later that evening due to an unfortunate event at the Castle, we ended up eating and drinking with our new friends at Patricia and Tom's. What fun!!!!

The Cliffs of Moher

We had so many different things that we wanted to do on our first visit to Ireland; to search for our Casey family roots, to travel to County Cork and Kerry, places I heard my father and his family talk about...but ah.. the roads in Ireland are small and curved. Certainly, not highways. This would take a long, long time.

Our hosts told us we "were mad" to want to travel so far with so little time to spend. Rather, they suggested, we spend our time enjoying Shannon and all the beautiful sights this County had to offer.

While looking out at the Cliffs of Moher with its' breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean, we were very glad we decided to take their advice http://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/

Cliffs of Maher

Standing along the cliffs and looking out into the Atlantic Ocean was such a remarkable experience!

Visting the Cliffs of Maher

Some sights from the Cliffs of Maher.

Driving to the Cliffs of Mohar

We arrived in Shannon, Ireland very late on Friday evening. We stayed at Hillside B&B in Shannon, Co. Claire. Our wonderfully, hospitable hostess, Angela Murphy was waiting up for us to arrive. If you are ever planning to be in the area, e-mail Angela at hillsidebb@eircom.net!

Angela welcomed us warmly into her home. She made us hot tea and talked with us about the area. The next day, after eating one of her delicious full Irish Breakfasts she helped us to map out our drive from Shannon to the absolutely gorgeous Cliffs of Moher.

Along the way, we saw this beach area and we just had to stop, get out of the car, walk along the beach and visit this beautiful area. The Cliffs of Moher were in the background, so we knew we were very close to one of our destinations.

Knowing our family, we all took pictures...Kara and I used our still cameras. Howard used his new camcorder....doesn't he look like a professional!!!!

Driving to the Cliffs of Mohar

A view from the car window---the sheep were out grazing along the green pastures and the grass was as green as it could be!

Driving from Shannon towards Galway to visit the Cliffs of Mohar, we stopped at this beautiful little beach. Kara enjoyed a crisp walk along the the beach.

Ireland Visit

On the left is the entrance into the visitors center at the Cliffs of Moher.

Dinner Cruise on the Seine

One Saturday evening, we all decided to enjoy a dinner cruise on the river Seine. We made reservations on Bateau Parisiens Restaurant Cruises and enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing evening.

We boarded the ship near Pont de Lena. We saw a sign that noted the ship held approximately 300 people. We looked up at the long line of people waiting to walk on board but the line moved along fairly quickly.

We were greeted pleasantly by our waiter and served a Kir as an appertif. When our menu arrived, we were surprised by the variety of choices in each section. The food was magnificent. I ate Duck foie gras, roast peach chutney and raisin bread for my starter. Kara ate pan-fried burgundy snails and Howard had mediterranean prawns. We all ate different entrees and then we each chose different desserts. We were served white wine with the starters and a bottle of red with our entrees. Howard was the photographer for the trip! What beautiful pictures!

The entertainment was supurb! A live band provided music and singing. There was even a solo by a violinist who walked around the tables as he played. Throughout the evening of eating, drinking and listening to music, we enjoyed the beautiful dinner cruise from the La Tour Eiffel to Les Invalides and onto to many other well known sights ending at La Statue De La Liberte.

It was a wonderful night! One we will remember fondly of our visit with Kara!


http://www.bateauxparisiens.com/OLD-SITE/english/DINNER-CRUISE-PARIS.htm

Dinner Cruise on the Seine

We cruised by the Statute of Liberty and we felt right at home! The view from the tables by the window were breathtaking!

Dinner Cruise on the Seine

Kara and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful reflection of the Tour Eiffel from the boat, Bateaux Parisiean.

Kara's visit

We visited the Louvre! Here is Kara standing in front of the Pyramid.

Sightseeing around Paris

Kara arrived early Thursday morning. Once we arrived back at our flat, Kara rested so that she could enjoy the day and begin her tour of Paris.

We took a quick trip to Les Invalides http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Invalides
This magnificent building contains much information on France's military history. Napoleon's tomb is here as well as that of several other military persons.

Then, we put on our walking shoes and walked all around the 7eme to the Tour Eiffel http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/.
The beautiful lighted tour sparkles on/off for a short while at five past the hour. We arrived just before the lights began to sparkle! How cook was that! It was a magnificent sight, standing below the tour and seeing the lights go on and off.......

Thursday evening, we met Howard for dinner at L'Ecluse http://www.leclusebaravin.com/us/lecluse_2.htm,
where we had delicious french food including Onion soup for Kara.

Tour Eiffel

Here we are...standing at the top of the Eiffel Tour....
You can see Les Esplanade de Invalides from the top of the Tour Eiffel.
The Tour lights up at night and then sparkles on and off at five past the hour.

Visiting Napoleon's Tomb

Our first stop - seeing the gold dome on where Napoleon's tomb is located.

Kara is standing outside building...

Visiting Paris with Kara

Casey's Pub

A bar bearing the great name of "Casey's Bar" can be found on 120 Rue Montmarte, 75002 Paris!

Rue St Louis En L'Ile

On the last weekend in January, I continued exploring Paris. On Saturday, I visited the Rue St. Louis En L'ille with my friend, Catriona. http://www.intltravelnews.com/Paris_StLouis.htm
This is a lovely little street with lots of shops, restaurants, cafes and a beautiful church.

For lunch, we ate a delicious three course meal with a carafe of vin rouge for a price of 15 euros a piece. After our delicious lunch of soup, pasta with Gorgonzola sauce and a beurre tarte, we walked around the Rue. We visited the shop "Au 60" and I bought a beautiful scarf! Of course, we had to stop by La Charlotte de l'isle http://perso.orange.fr/la-charlotte/index.htm
This quaint little shops serves the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever tasted! The chocolate is so thick..and tasty. I will definitely visit this lovely establishment again.


On Sunday, Howard and I walked around the Palais Royale hParis_ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Royal_-_Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvre_(M%C3%A9tro)
and marveled at the beautiful gardens and at the designs. Finally, as we were walking around the city, we found a Pub called CASEY's PUB!

Who would have thought.....even in Paris...there is a Casey's Pub!