Luck of the Irish

Welcome to beautiful Dublin/Naas Ireland 

We all had a very long trip over the big pond. We flew from Colombus OH and Nashville TN respectively and met in NYC. 30 hours later... We are exhausted and crabby.  

We watched movies and tried to nap a little. They gave us a pillow, blanket and toothbrush/toothpaste, headphones,  dinner and breakfast

Got the rental car and made our way to the cottage.

Learning to drive on the opposite side of the road has proven to be an Adventure ! It took all 4 of us to navigate to help Ms Donna drive. Didn't hit too much lol 

We are staying in a charming country cottage on a active sheep farm in Naas. It is so pretty and temps are cool. We are glad we brought long pants! :) 

We showered and took a couple hour nap and then ventured out to find some food. Fish n chips it is!

Tim and I's room

Stephanies and Donnas room 

To be continued tomorrow! :) 

17 days!

We have just 17 days until we fly over the Big pond! WOW!

We all are so very excited for this amazing journey!!We all have worked hard for this trip.
On July 29th all 4 of us will meet up for our Journey in New York, New York!

Tim and I are completely packed and ready except a few basic items that we will stuff in last minute because when we get back to Tennessee we will have very little time before we fly since I extended a extra week in Frazee Minnesota. We are driving Mz. Dazy (our new to us RV) from Minnesota to Tennessee next week and it will take an extra day.

Thank for being here and traveling with us vicariously thru my blog and photos. :)

The Next blog post will be Live from our First Stop in Dublin Ireland

Your Sleeping Where?

Our Housing for 30 days                  

Thanks for being here! My vagabond heart never settles So I am off on another trip with hubby and a few Gypsy nurse friends.

Since we will be spending about a month abroad in many places I had the challenge to find and secure our housing that is appropriate for 3 generations (25,45,65) and this was quite a challenge but, I had a great time researching and reading alot of reviews. This List is what I  have come up with for our journey.
 I am not an expert blogger but I have fun trying :) This is also where I will post our trip abroad in 100 days :) Enjoy!




                                              Dublin Ireland: 

We got a cute 2 bedroom Country Cottage outside of Dublin in Naas, Ireland
on a private working sheep farm! Sleeps 4.

                                                             Paris France: 
    
                                                                            La Maison Bed and Breakfast

                                                       See video here                         
All bedrooms look out into the bamboo garden. Each room has a private modern bathroom with big shower, make up mirror, air dryer or hand soap. Towels are provided.

                                                          Barcelona Spain1:

We got a 2 bedroom Apartment for one night before the cruise and one night after the cruise.
                                          Right in the Heart of the Gothic Quarter in La Rambla. :)

                                                                          See Video here!


                     12 day European Cruise aboard the Brand New Vista

                                                                 Barcelona Spain2
                                                              (same as above Spain)



                                                                  Zurich Switzerland

                                                            2 bedroom apartment for 4.

                                                               

                                                             London England

Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage

4.1  ·

Restored Victorian-era hostel with dorms and private rooms, some shared bathrooms and an eatery/bar        Click here to see our Hostel video

                                                                           and

                                                                                    BED AND BREAKFAST

                 Gatwick Belmont Guest House

                                            Reykjavik Iceland
Hostel Village~ Lightly and simply decorated, a Quad Room can be found in all of our houses, most of the rooms have a garden view and some include a balcony. Newly refurbished, a Quad Room has a double bed and two bunk beds, with night tables, coffee & tea facilities, refrigerator, wardrobe, large mirror and a work desk.

                            Click here for a Video of our Hostel


NOTE:
Total Housing Costs is Approx: $650.00US for Each person for the entire month :)

Packing

100 days until take off !! :)

My estimated Clothing for 31 days.

7 shirts/blouses– Easy to buy abroad too.
3-4 pair of shorts
1 pair of long pants
2 pair of short pants
1 sundress
1 light sweater
1 fleece lined rain jacket
2 bras
3 pairs of socks
7 pairs of panties
1 pair of flops and 1 pair Sneakers (may also take cute sandals for dinner on cruise, undecided yet)
1 bathing suit and cover-up

Always best to pack light, dress in layers and match colors.

Accessories I am taking:

~Travel Towel (lightweight and fast drying) your travel towel can also be used as a small blanket for cool planes, a extra cover for your pillow etc..
~Packing cubes (I got 3 medium and 3 small and 3 large but we won't need to use them all)
~air bags for clothes to decrease space in bag
~Baby wipes and hand sanitizer
~Ziploc baggies
~Paper clips (you'd be surprised, can hold the curtains closed at the hostels etc.)
~Small travel bottle of Dewrinkler Spray
~ Medicine ~Including Immodium and tylenol
~Toiletries Bag~ Take only minimal basic toiletries to get you thru, you can
  purchase these items abroad and won't need to weigh your luggage down unecessarily. (I have been hoarding hotel bottles of shampoo and conditioner and a few small bars of soap :)
~First-Aid kit with a needle and thread for sure. (I have one! no need for you to get one)
~Money Belt (can't stress this one enough)
~Bike Chain Lock (great to lock your bag to the bed or to lock your locker at the hostel when you're gone...not that someone wont steal it if their determined enough but if there is a room full of bags they are going to try to steal the one that will come the easiest first)
~ Also purchased a lock for the Love Lock Bridge in Paris :)
~Camera and Charger
~Tablet and charger
~Money/ATM Card (The card is great because of easiness with exchange rates, but make sure and watch the ATM fees, they can wipe you out pretty quick if you're not careful).
~Day Pack (to put things in that you will take with you during the day and your important documents).
~Sunglasses
~Converter and plug ins (I also got the 4 plug outlet to plug in multiple items at once.)
~Travel pillow for planes, trains and buses(I got a blow up one that will fit easily into my backpack for very little weight)
~Passport and Drivers License
~Copies of: Itinerary, passport, extra passport photo in case I lose my passport it will be easier to obtain new passport thru the US embassy)
  **also leaving copies with my child.

We have already registered with all of the US embassies in Europe! (Step program).

Western Europe 2016

So we meet again!
We are preparing and lots of planning for our trip, We have been planning and booking things since the beginning of August 2015, it takes alot of research.We will be meeting up together the day before our flight leaves for Europe. We will be visiting 11 different countries on this trip. (you will only count 10 but I promise it is 11 winkwink) They have never been over the pond. :) This is gonna be great!

Who is we?: Tim and I. Donna and Stephanie

When?: July 29th /August 30 2016

Where?:
New York City ~ 1 day
Dublin Ireland ~ 3 days
Paris France ~ 3 days
Barcelona Spain ~ 1.5 days

European Cruise for 12 days aboard the Brand New Carnival Vista!
you can check the Vista out here:
http://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/carnival-vista.aspx

• Ports of call are:
• Barcelona, Spain
• Marseilles (Provence), France
• Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy
• Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy
• Naples (Capri/Pompeii), Italy
• Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Corfu (Kerkyra) Greece
• Messina (Sicily), Italy
• Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy
• Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona Spain ~ 1.5 days
Zurich Switzerland ~ 4 days
London England ~ 3 days
Reykjavik Iceland ~ 4 days
New York City ~ 1 day

All flights were purchased at www.bootsnall.com (after we changed it 5 times or more! ;)

We will be staying in Various places like Hostels (4 bed dorms is just like private space for us), B&Bs,Hotel and an apartment in Switzerland. Everything is reserved and deposits are paid. :)

We still have 8 months to go but, I will post some blogs as we are preparing things.

USA

Leaving Germany and headed home.

Goodbye Germany

Uneventful 3 hour flight 

Hello Iceland!

De/icing the plane

Very Uneventful Transatlantic flight over the big pond. I kicked my shoes off for the ride.

I watched three movies, The hobbit, the Life of Pi and I can't remember the name of the third one lol 

Do I see the lights of New York?

Even though I had a wonderful time in Europe, I was pretty excited to see the lights of home.

Hello New Jersey USA

A friend if mine picked me up from the airport and we got coffee and a nice juicy American steak! She took me to see the NY view from NJ side of the Hudson river.

NYC skyline from New Jersey  

Buddy from cake boss already went home for the day. 

Very long day today , tomorrow Gypsy meet and greet Central park, New York City 

Neuschwanstein

So Today I took a tour of 2 Royal castles , as it is my last day in Germany and my last day in Europe (for now).

Fact by tour guide : There are "only" 6 breweries in Munich, Germany. Only One is privately owned. 

We left at 8:30 am sharp, on a comfortable double decker bus, with a tour guide. I went up to the top to get the best views. 

It was 0-4 degrees celcius and very wet/snowy in the Bavarian Alps. 

We took the Autobahn! No speed limit and they go as fast as 126 mph (of course our bus didnt do 126 mph) looks just like a 3 lane interstate. 

Views along the way

The first placed we stopped was the Lindenhof Castle where the King Ludwig II lived alone. It was his favorite Castle. Yet, it is the smallest one.

10 minute hike up and back down.

Ceiling in entry way

The view from the kings bedroom was almost this: (imagine fountains and gardens.) 

Along the path

Now we are On our way to the village of Oberammergau, Germany

We stopped in the tiny Village of Oberammergau for 45 minutes.

This is the style in this area of Germany, all houses have to look the same. To add a window, or a add-on will be denied.

(See description of clay pots below)

Loved this. 

Then we were headed too Neuschwanstein.( this is a photo of a painting )

Facts:

296 steps in Neuschwanstein Castle. It is a 45 minute hike up the mountain to the castle Yow!

King Ludwig II died at the age of 40 , he was claimed incompetent/Insane in his throne room, then the very next day the king and his psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with insanity, were found floating in a lake 20 km from Munich. It is Unknown to this day if it was an accident, double suicide or murder. 

He had 3 castles as a hobby. 4th one had plans but was never built. 

2nd floor was never completed, this is a view out a window between 1st and 3rd floors on the stairs.

He got to/from Munich by carriage and it took 3 days one way, today it is 2 hours. 

He was never married, but engaged once. Just broke it off for unknown reasons. They think it is because he liked to live in alone in solitude. No children.

He lived in the Neuschwanstein Castle for a 'total' of 172 days in his life.

No visitors in his castle of residence until  6 weeks after his death . It was then opened to public. 

Entry 

Every chandelier looks like a gothic crown, he loved the gothic look. 

Kitchen

It was cold,wet,foggy and snowing.

A small replica of the Neuschwanstein castle on bottom floor. Which were the servants quarters .

Another castle near it .

I have truely enjoyed traveling with my friend Candy and then as a solo female traveler. I have learned TONS! I have seen a LOT. But my truest reward was the free feeling and finding myself in this world. The unbeaten path was always my best adventure . 

My god is an awesome god ! I have been blessed beyond my belief. 

Tomorrow,  I return to the USA, With a stop in NYC for 2 days before I head to Nashville, Tn 

Thank you for being here with me for my great Gypsy Adventure Abroad. 

!!