Tag Archive | travel

TOW Top 5 Travel Tips – To do in Dublin #Ireland ☘️ #travel #tryitTuesday

Since it’s been a while since I have traveled internationally, I have been looking at my pictures of vacations from past years.

In 2017, I told hubs that we were taking an international trip to a new location. I wanted a new stamp in my passport.

He got to pick the country. He chose Ireland.

Not knowing much about the country, I began reading tourist blogs and watching YouTube channels dedicated what to do when visiting the country.

As I reminisce about that trip, here are my top 5 travel tips

-Do go to The Church and sit in the bar area (their food was phenomenal and they used to have live music and Irish dancers Monday-Wednesday). They take pub food to another level. If you get the roast chicken, it is big enough to share. Add on a dessert for a discounted price.

-Do book a bus tour to Cliffs of Moher (it’s a long day but totally worth it). It’s a win-win because you get to see the countryside, relax while someone else drives, and see breathtaking natural beauty.

-Do check buying your tour tickets online for best value (we saved 40% with Darby tours by booking online)

-Do go to Pennys for cute fashion at a value price. They have something for everyone. I bought some comfy pajamas.

Do a hop on-hop off city bus tour to get the layout and history of the whole city (we chose Do Dublin and added the Guinness brewery tour). You can hop off and visit the sites and then hop back in the bus to travel around the rest of the city.

Here are my top three DONT’S in the city

-Don’t be intimidated by riding the Luas aka “the tram” (its easy to navigate and people are generally helpful)

-Don’t believe it when the locals say “tram travel time is about 15 minutes” (whatever travel time estimate they give, you probably better triple that)

-Don’t forget that they drive on the left (be careful when crossing the street or only use crosswalks)

Final thoughts: Ireland is a BEAUTIFUL country and I think everyone should visit at least once.

I can’t wait to return!

Foodie Friday: The Brick #macongarestaurants

Mar5

The Brick

This restaurant was recommended to me by my friend and she said it had a lot of good reviews on various websites. So we decided to check it out. They are called the brick because they have a brick oven that they used to cook their pizzas. I love that! They also had a usual pasta dishes along with wings and other types of bar food appetizers.

We got there early (about 5pm in a Saturday), so as you can see we had our pick of seats. As it got later in the evening, the traffic did start to pick up and fill the restaurant.

My auntie ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. They gave generous portions of pasta, sauce, and meatballs. She enjoyed it and said that the garlic bread was delicious. My husband also got the spaghetti and his only criticism was that the marinara sauce was too sweet for him.

I decided that I wanted wings and pizza, so I ordered a small side of wings and a slice of pizza. I thought about ordering a small pizza, but then decided one slice should be enough. The rationale for that was that if one slice was not enough I could always order another size. But if I ordered a whole pizza, I thought it might go to waste.

As you can see, the slice of pizza it was huge! Almost the size of my hand. I ate all of my wings and only half of my slice of pizza.

TOW Final Word
It was delicious and I loved the atmosphere. Tables were spread out which is a definite plus during these times.

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Macon, GA 31201
(478) 254-3632

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Asheville area Bed & Breakfast: Dry Ridge Inn

Feb23

Back when we were doing a lot of traveling, we decided to go to a bed-and-breakfast in North Carolina to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

After doing a lot of research, we chose Dry Ridge Inn.

The inn keepers were gracious hosts. We also loved the location as it was walking distance from the town’s restaurants. And we were also close enough to Asheville that we could drive there in about 15 minutes when we wanted to visit downtown.

I would definitely visit again. I also recommend this location to anyone wanting a change of scenery when visiting this region in North Carolina.

Enjoy some pictures from our stay-

I ordered eclairs to artivr at check in. Celebration calories dont count 😉

Athens #Greece day tour #tryitTuesday

Jun9

TRY It Tuesday: Greece Edition

I know if you are like me, you are anxiously waiting until you can take your next trip.

If you are going to Athens, you are probably trying to decide which tour should you take.

I decided to purchase the Athens Half Day Tour on Viator.com

The tour was described:
Immerse yourself in the ancient sights of Athens on a private 4-hour sightseeing tour. The half-day excursion makes it easy as spinach pie to complete your Athens bucket list without breaking a sweat. Comfortable WiFi enabled transportation takes you to the Acropolis, Temple of Hephaestus, Panathenaic Stadium, and more. Get a taste of modern Greece with a viewing of the Changing of the Guard at Syntagma.

We will visit the world’s cradle of civilization, the ACROPOLIS, the temple of HEPHAESTUS, the ancient agora, the PANATHENAIC STADIUM and the Columns of Olympian ZEUS. We will watch the changing of the guards at SYNTAGMA and we will enjoy the wonderful ATHENS view reaching the sea from LYCABETTUS Hill.

I was excited.

The tour was super basic. And I’m using the “tour” loosely. You are essentially paying for a taxi driver to take you around to popular tourist sites. You still have to pay to see everything.
Entry to the Acropolis was 10Euros (because it was off season)

Entry to the Panathenaic Stadium was 5Euros

Our guide was nice but he didn’t speak a lot of English. He tried to make sure we enjoyed ourselves. But there were times when I gave up explaining what I wanted because he could not understand me.

I guess they don’t want you asking the driver any questions, lest you think he’s a tour guide. You are supposed to pay extra for a tour guide.

He picked us up at our downtown hotel and took us to as much as he could in 4 hours but traffic was a little crazy. We went to the ACROPOLIS, the PANATHENAIC STADIUM, and Columns of Olympian ZEUS.

We saw the changing of the guards at SYNTAGMA and then we took pictures with at LYCABETTUS Hill. I think we ran out of time to see the temple of HEPHAESTUS and the ancient agora.

TOW Final Word
All things considered, if you want to visit sites and have someone else worry about the transportation, this tour is for you. Other than that, I would suggest you pick a different tour.

Santorini Palace #tryitTuesday #travelpick

Jan21

TRY It Tuesday: Greece Edition

Santorini Palace
https://santorinipalace.gr/

Since we were taking our dream vacation to Santorini Greece, I wanted to stay in a hotel that was in the well-known white building style. The room rates were reasonable enough that I decided to upgrade our room to an ocean view with a balcony.

That proved to be well worth the money. Our ocean view room was beautiful and I liked sitting on the balcony each morning.

I did not get in time to eat breakfast. I usually make an effort, but I read a lot of reviews that said the food was mediocre. So, I did not waste my time. We slept in each morning and walked into town for an early lunch.

Since it was late November, it was too cold to get in the pool. But it was relaxing to sit in the lounge chairs and soak up the sun.

The heater did not work well in the room. Maintenance tried to fix it but is was still a little chilly for us. The front desk did provide us with extra blankets and offered to change our room. Since we were only there 3 nights, we did not change rooms.

I loved the location of the Santorini Palace. It was centrally located for the entire island in my opinion.
It was about a 10 minute walk to Fira (the island capital).
The trail to walk to Oia is close as well. We did not do that but it is an option if you want.
It was a 15 minute drive to Oia (famous for beautiful sunsets), 20 minute drive to Akrotiri (red sand beach), and 20 minute drive to Perissa (black sand beach)

I liked the quiet of the off season, but if you go during tourist season, be prepared for it to be crowded.