Hello again from Ireland!

I missed podcasting the past couple of days.

On Thursday I had absolutely no connectivity and Friday night half of my hotel room had no electricity – so I was in the dark. The very sweet maintenance man came from home to try to fix it, but left his industrial flashlight so I could have light in the bathroom.

I'll give you an update of the past few days, but first, a listener question.

Shannon R has been following my travels (thanks Shannon!) and asked: I noticed you are in Kilkenny- have you ever done a hurling tour in the city or elsewhere?

I haven't had the opportunity to do a hurling tour – yet. But it is on my list of things to do.

That said, I spoke with James Kavanagh of Hurling Tours Ireland in Kilkenny in podcast episode 151.

We talked about the sport, how it is played, and why Kilkenny is the ‘home of hurling'.

I have had quite a few of my vacation coaching and custom itinerary clients try their hand at hurling in Kilkenny – and all have sent rave reviews.

In my last podcast we had driven from Doolin in County Clare to Lough Eske Castle just outside of Donegal town, County Donegal.

Lough Eske Castle is one of my favorite places to stay because it is so quiet and tranquil. There aren't a lot of on site activities so you really can relax and unwind.

The next day (Thursday) we drove along the dramatic Donegal coast to Glencolumbkille for a sheepdog demonstration from James at Away to Me.

This was a terrific demonstration. You could really see the love the dogs had for James and his handling of them showed that it was fully returned. They were so excited to work and James answered every question we had. We never felt rushed or pushed to end our visit. I highly recommend it if you are in the area and haven't seen sheepdogs work.

From there we retraced our route back to Slieve League Cliffs. With another sunny (and hot) day Ireland was showing us her best.

For those planning a self-drive visit: you can park at the base of the cliffs and walk up. It's a very nice walk on a fine day. Or you can pay at the new visitors centre to take the shuttle up to the top.

Private vehicles are not allowed to drive to the upper parking area of the cliffs.

We made a quick stop in Killybegs to check out the massive fishing ships, then back to enjoy the castle before a group dinner.

Friday we said goodbye to Lough Eske Castle and made the trek back to Dublin with stops at Trim Castle, the largest Norman castle in Ireland, and the Hill of Tara, where Ireland's ancient kings were chosen.

And today I drove to Cappoquin, County Waterford, where I will be rusticating at an 18th century Georgian mansion. (Kind of.)

I'll fill you in on that tomorrow.

Traveling in Ireland Podcast Episode 163

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