Ireland - An Experience of a Lifetime

Curtis and I just recently got back from our trip to Ireland. What an amazing country. What an amazing time we had together. We left on March 10 catching our airplane from Columbus to Philly. At around 9pm, we left Philly for our 7 hour flight to Dublin. We arrived in Dublin at 7am ready to partake in the days activities.

We saw the Guinness Factory and tasted our first pint of Irish Guinness - which was pretty amazing. I had my doubts, but I actually liked it a lot. After that long day, we finally were able to relax and sleep in our hotel room. In the next several days, we traveled to Kilkenny, Killarney, Blarney, Galway, Clifden and to top it off, we were back in Dublin on our last day for St. Patrick's Day! What a sight to see a river full of green bodies inches apart from each other. It was pure MADNESS trying to get through them all to our hotel. One other couple described Mardi Gras to be less crazy than the mayhem we witnessed on the streets of Dublin.

During the trip, we saw 6 castles including the Rock of Cashel, The Blarney Castle, The Kilkenny Castle, The Clifden Castle and Ross Castle - Ross was my favorite. It took almost an hour to walk to (we went off on our own without the tour group) and the walk itself was very scenic and breathtaking. When we arrived, it was like out of a painting with mountains as it's back drop and swans in the inlet in front with beautiful skies just around the end of the day. What more could you hope for? And having my best friend and husband holding my hand made the moment even more special.

We ate Irish meals including Guinness and Irish Stews, fish and chips (fries are chips), Irish pizza, chicken and potatoes, salmon, full Irish breakfasts which included eggs, Irish bacon (almost like Canadian bacon) pigs blood (YAK!) sausage and potatoes. We also tasted an Irish coffee which was also, surprisingly, yummy. I never thought anything with Whiskey in it would be good, but it definitely was something I'd drink again. It almost tasted like a Cappuccino. :)

Speaking of drinks, we did take a "Pub" tour. We drank a lot of different Irish beer including Kilkenny, Guinness, Murphy's, Bulmers, and Smithwicks. Kilkenny was my favorite.

Another high point of our trip was The Ring of Kerry which is a scenic drive though and along the coastline on the South Eastern portion of the island. Breathtaking. We were lucky because the weather was AMAZING on this day of the trip. The Atlantic ocean was beautiful outlined by the cliffs and shorelines of Ireland. I'll never forget how beautiful it was. We also saw the Cliffs of Moher which was equally as breathtaking. No picture can ever do them justice. It was a little chilly that day, and overcast, but the views were still profound.

Overall, I still think to myself how lucky we were to go to Ireland. We are fortunate to have made some friends, too. We went through CIE Tours - the Pub Tour. Our tour guide was entertaining and knowledgable. We had a great time and would recommend CIE Tours to anyone with a desire to see Ireland without the hassle of driving - especially if you're not used to driving on the left side of the road. CIE does a great job! An experience of a life time.

Bom Dia Açai Berry Juice

Last month, I had a HORRIBLE experience that changed my life. It changed my life so much, that I haven't had a sip of caffeine since. What was it that changed my life, you ask? Enter: Kidney Stones. It runs in my family, but I never thought that I would go through the awful experience. In my quest to NEVER EVER have to go through it again, I've been drinking tons of water and juice. I came across this juice / fruit called Açai Berry with Pomegranate made by Bolthouse Do Brazil. It has 472 antioxidants compared to 95 in cranberry juice. Açai berries are found in the Amazon and it's swiftly growing to be known as the most powerful and nutricious fruit in the world. Next time you're out grocery shopping, go to the fruit section and see if you can find a bottle. I get mine from Kroger grocery stores. They're healthy and taste great! Imagine the combo!