Ireland Scotland Travel Blog

Ireland is a home away from home

Ireland is a home away from home. As a young child I was able to have the opportunity to travel with my family to Ireland.We traveled throughout the country side and into the small villages immersing ourselves in the Irish culture. Ireland is one of few places that provides a feeling of nurture, but at the same time a completely different land with a completely different culture. I grew up in the hustle and bustle of New York. We rush through our day, spend our money on parking in order to enjoy the long island beaches, and at times have not talked to our own neighbors at all. After traveling to Ireland for the first couple of days I realized as a young child this was not how life was everywhere. In Ireland the locals welcome you as their own. They are thrilled to help in any way possible with your travels, giving advice for the best places to eat, sights to see, and best ways to travel. They are so enthusiastic about their culture and beautiful country that they want to share every corner of it with the all types of travelers who venture there. This type of lifestyle and culture inspires you to grasp onto the simple things in life. I stayed in B&B's with my cousins and family members throughout our trip. We were able to meet the local children and connect on levels while being from such different places. The Irish sense of hospitality I find never reaches an ending point. We played a game called "spoons" with the entire family after dinner, followed by exploring the country side in a game of hide and seek. The adults were able to converse about where to go around Westport, which lead us to our hiking day trip on Croagh Patrick. The next day we found ourselves on what seemed to be the top of the world on Croagh Patrick. We viewed the Irish country side and gazed with amazement on how untouched this country truly was. This is such a rarity in our world today.

As I've grown older I have traveled to many different continents and have seen many different types of cultures and beautiful landscapes. However, something inside of me always brings me back to the warm feelings I can still feel today thinking about my experience in Ireland. A home away from home.

Carolyn is a reservationist at

www.lynotttours.com

You may choose from the best Irish & British B&B's, hotels, guesthouses, inns in Ireland, unusual manors and even the most elegant Irish castles to form your perfect vacation! We have 3 star relaxed castles to 5 star elegant ones.

 

Other websites: Cruise Tour Planners

Australia Travel Master

Ireland Travel Expert

Scotland Travel Expert

Chauffeur Driev UK

Rob Little -

Since Lynott Tours has been in business for forty two years, we have created close bonds with vendors overseas, one being Rob Little of Let’s Tour England. Rob Little is a very knowledgeable chauffeur driver/guide from the Cotswolds. He is also a very talented photographer and blogger. He specializes in vacations to the UK, with tours throughout England, Wales and Scotland for small groups of family and friends. Tours can be customized and can last from a day to 2 weeks or more. Rob Little says this about his clients, “starting as customers and finishing as friends”! He has a comfortable late registration van with leather seats, privacy glass etc. Below are some excerpts of Rob Little’s email updates. Please enjoy the knowledge and stories of one of Lynott Tours’ best driver/guides.

BRISTOL, ENGLAND

Another place that does not figure high on American itineraries is Bristol - a major historic port literally attached to Bath. "Bristol".....what is "Bristol" is a comment I have heard many times! Bristol is featured in the February 2011 issue of "Discover Britain" magazine which is available in your newsagent stores right now - a good magazine to look at if you are thinking of visiting here. A few weeks ago I had some people staying in Bristol. I picked them up at 9am and we had agreed to have a tour around the city and they said:

"We'd rather miss out on Bristol and see a little more of the countryside"!

I said

"Ok.....give me half an hour to show you a bit of Bristol which I KNOW you will love and then you tell me when you are bored and we'll head out to the country"!!

Nearly four hours later.....we left the city to find a place for lunch.....they were absolutely amazed by the beauty and interest of the city particularly around the dock area. SO VISIT BRISTOL - you will not be disappointed.....HONEST!!

LONDON

A week or so ago I did a trip to London, ostensively to visit a few places I had not seen for many years or not at all.....places I like to recommend visitors to see!!! Well at least I'm honest.....I've not been literally everywhere! So I went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace - no I have never seen it.....driven through it, yes, but never stood there with all the tourists. Guess what....it was cancelled - I may catch it when I have a social visit with some Customers visiting London in a week or two !! Then I walked down the Mall to Trafalgar Square and caught the bus to St Pauls Cathedral where I had a look round to see what the protesters from "Occupy....." were up to before walking across the Millennium Bridge from where I took the rather excellent attached photo (though I say it myself) !

I had never seen Borough Markets, so I went and had a mooch around at this large mainly covered market selling fresh fruit, veg, cheese and dairy, meat etc....it is totally unlike the markets I have seen in Europe and quintessentially English ! I bought some unpasteurised butter with crunchy sea salt that was mmmmmmmmm!

I like to recommend / take people to unusual places that are not necessarily known as tourist traps - places that are more individual and one of those is a bombed out church from WW2 called "St Dunstans in the East" which is just across London Bridge from Borough Markets. What was the chuch "interior", has been transformed into a beautiful garden with creepers all over the walls and glass-less windows......a simple haven of peace in an otherwise hectic city!

Take a look at the photo attached of the bridge and, if you have five minutes, the video of some of the places I visited in London on the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0HEJspi7ZE

Finally, in London, there are very many "Harry Potter" movie locations. I had never been to Leadenhall Markets which are really interesting and quite quaint which doubled as Diagon Alley in the movie and I finished off at "Platform Nine and Three Quarters" at Kings Cross Station.....all this is in the video if you click the link above!

I hope you have learned from what Rob Little had to say and will continue to use Lynott Tours’ blog to learn information about the UK, an amazing place to visit!

Ashley Crane of Lynott Tours

Australia Travel Master Cruise Tour Planners

50th Anniversary of The Beatles

My colleague, Ashley and I were fortunate enough to be invited to the 50^th anniversary of The Beatles launch event at Carnegie Hall on February 23^rd – a lovely event hosted by The Beatles Story and Visit Liverpool. It’s been 50 years since the iconic rock band released their first single in 1962 and this was just the first of Liverpool’s several events and celebrations to honor this anniversary throughout the year and, most likely, throughout the next several years - as was joked about all night.

The event celebrated not only 50 years of the “Fab Four” but everything else that Liverpool and the rest of England have to be excited about for 2012. Emma Thomas, of Visit England, spoke briefly about some of the upcoming events that make this a great year to travel to the UK including the 2012 Olympic Games, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 50^th Anniversary of The Beatles. There is no better time to visit Liverpool, in particular, as it was awarded the 2008 ‘European Capital of Culture’ Award and has since experienced an immense amount of investment and growth. With new hotels, museums and restaurants opening constantly, there is no shortage of things to do in this vibrant city!

Whether it be on a shore excursion, a day tour or a longer escorted tour, Lynott Tours has several options available for those wishing to visit Liverpool and the rest of England.

Below are a few photos from the 50^th Anniversary event.

”The Liverpool” – A great Beatles cover band that played at the event.

One of the photos in the “The Beatles Hidden Gallery” exhibit on display at Carnegie Hall, featuring images of the band in their early years.

Alexandra is a reservationist at www.lynotttours.com

You may choose from the best Irish B&B's, hotels, guesthouses, inns in Ireland, unusual manors and even the most elegant Irish castles to form your perfect vacation! We have 3 star relaxed castles to 5 star elegant ones.

Outher websites: Cruise Tour Planners

Australia Travel Master

Ireland Travel Expert

Scotland Travel Master