Maldron Hotel Portlaoise

... besides pasta, lunch meat sandwich, or pizza. Then when we came back Lindsey & Brittany had made me a cake while I was gone and put up a birthday banner. Jordan also got be a flashing birthday girl sash. Everyone hung out in my apartment till about 10 and then we went downtown to the pubs. We called for taxis for 16 people and ended up getting this party bus with lights and loud music. The ride was really cool and the night was a blast!

... to drive the Military Road instead of the usual routes south. The road was built in the early 19th century as a way for the British to bring in supplies for their war against the insurgents. It has been repaved since, but once we got on it, we knew why it is the road less traveled. It was bumpy and narrow, and just a bit “bendy”. (Here, curves are called bends, and they can be severe as well!) We were rewarded for our efforts by the Glenmacnoss Waterfall, a lovely cascade ...

Founded in 1620 - best known for the family's contribution to astronomy. In 1845, the world's largest telescope at the time was built here. The 56 ft wooden tube is supported by two walls.<br><br>In the gardens, they apparently also have the world's largest hedge-row.<br>

... afternoon so there were plenty of folks enjoying the beach. Everyone parked their cars on the hard sand so we joined them. On the hill behind the beach there was a nice little cafe that served light lunches and beer. Jim ordered a Guinness and I ordered the Bulmer's Pear. We were amazed that even in a beach front restaurant, where everyone took their food and drinks outside, our drinks were served in glasses and food was served with ...

A very relaxed day with family, after another sleepin. We have been welcomed with open arms and spoilt rotten with lots of food and good will. Yes another big fry up by TK.... still hard to move! CK took us to look at TK's Connemarra Ponies - 2 mares and 2 foals aged 2 months. Just beautiful to see the foals. We then explored the old ruin near their home. It is the ruin Black Jack Adare. We climed all around the ruin looking at the old cellar, arch ways ...

... of contact. We were greeted with a large meal of roast beef, turnips and potatoes before heading to Carlow for a Gaelic Football Match. It was amazing to see a live match. Even better County Laoise won by 2 points. We then returned to Ballybrittas for red wine and watch the American shuttle fly over us. A great day and evening.

... what I eat, and the promise of all that every morning always made it much easier for me to get up. <br><br>A dark grey mist was rolling in from the sea as we meandered along narrow country lanes near Lady&#8217;s Island Lake, some sort of Catholic pilgrimage site, and westwards to the Hook Peninsula, through a progression of tiny villages with the obligatory one or two cosy looking pubs amongst the handful of houses in their centre. In one such ...

... a hot water bottle for company. This was during the winter of 1973 in Coolbanagher, Laois. My grandfather has spent most his life in the "Old Rectory" next to Coolbanagher church and my father also called Coolbanagher home before he emigrated to Australia. I travelled from Melbourne in 1997 and returned to Ireland for the first time in 24 years. On a particularly wet February afternoon with nothing much to do - winter is a miserable ...

... the amount of money of money we paid for it. While I recommend the Morehampton Townhouse, I have to say that I'll probably try staying somewhere else if I go back to Dublin.<br><br>After checking out of the hotel around 10 a.m., we grabbed the bus outside the hotel and went back to Dun Laoghaire. There, we rented a Toyota Corolla from County Car Rentals on a three day contract. We also paid a little extra so that we could drop off the car at a location ...

... 1973. The only image I had of it was an aerial photograph in our family home in Melbourne. It was a big, whitewashed building, an ex-vicarage my grandfather bought for cash for the equivalent then of $1 million. The vicar must have got sick of the cleaning and cold drafts, as there are some seriously large rooms here. What makes one decide to revist the place of your birth? I'd never been back before, always left behind as my sisters visited via ...