Maureen | Ireland & London | August, 2014 & December, 2015

Christmas in London

Happy New Year Ann!

Thank you for the welcome home. We had a fabulous trip. Flights were on time, without the crowds at the airport that I expected. We went through security quickly both ways and took off and landed within minutes of scheduled times! The flight over on Virgin Atlantic was wonderful!

The city just about shut down Christmas Eve and day! We explored around the hotel and attended Mass at Westminster Cathedral Christmas Eve, then had dinner at an Asian restaurant in our hotel. Christmas day we walked all around Kensington and Holland Park and had dinner at the Kensington Close Hotel. They had a fabulous Buffet Dinner, so lots of choices and fabulous service, reasonably priced and very festive!

Breakfast at our hotel was nice, tasty and plentiful, however, didn’t measure up to the Irish hospitality! The Copthorne Tara was perfect, great location, a short walk to public transportation, comfortable, clean, room, wonderful staff; friendly and courteous.

We covered a lot of ground in our six days in London. Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, Holland Park, Kensington High Street with shops and cafes, my daughter’s neighborhood in East London, a walk through the campus at LSE, a few of her local cafes, Winter Wonderland and Market in Hyde Park, a tour out to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and The Roman Baths, Buckingham Palace, the Tower Bridge, saw “the Eye”, went to The Top of The Shard, The George (The oldest pub), Downing Street, Big Ben,Trafalgar Square, Fish n Chips, a visit to Harrods (no purchase!), dinner at a great little Italian Restaurant, “Sale e Pepe” (recommended by a friend), Pubs, Drinks, and Tea & Scones!

We had a great time, a wonderful visit with my daughter, and enjoyed all the sights in London.

Thanks again for all your help with flights and hotel and, of course, for answering my many, many questions! I hope to go back again before Mariah comes home!

All the best to you in 2016!

– Maureen


August in Ireland

Hello Ann,

Thank you for the warm welcome home. Our trip was fabulous! Great weather. A bit rainy the last 2-3 days, not enough to stop us at all! It couldn’t have gone much smoother than it did.

The flights, both going and coming home, were on time, pleasant and comfortable. The hotels you arranged for us were wonderful. The Old Ground was lovely and our dinner on the 5th, excellent. The location worked well and we were able to find Steve’s great grandparents’ homesteads, met up with a distant cousin of his, and met and spent some time with some of the locals, one who now owns his family land. We were welcomed and treated like family by all.

The Harbour Hotel was also wonderful, the staff incredibly friendly and helpful, location perfect. We visited with my cousins in Castleblakeney two of the days here, took a ride to Longford and met up with another cousin, and spent a day not driving at all but exploring the city on our own feet. We took the trip out to Salthill and although it was cold, we tested the waters just a bit! The walk was beautiful.

During these first 5-6 days we experienced Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher along with miles and miles of extraordinary scenery. I have no words to describe the Lake Hotel. The view- magnificent! The staff- excellent, particularly Annette at the front desk. We spent an entire day on The Ring of Kerry, and another day on Dingle! Before leaving Killarney we took a Jaunting Cart ride through the National park and made a few stops along the way. Absolutely beautiful views!

The castle was a perfect way to end our trip. The staff at Dromoland treated us like royalty. The dinner here was also excellent; delicious, exquisitely presented and the service extraordinary.

We were greeted warmly with many well wishes for a Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary by many of the staff at each hotel. The breakfasts were amazing and so convenient.

We did not get to The Aran Islands or The Blarney Stone, so…we are already thinking about when we could make the next trip!

The only negatives…I may now be addicted to Irish coffee and scones!

Thank you so much for making all of the arrangements for us. We enjoyed every bit of our trip, even more than we expected.

Best regards,

– Maureen