Part of the wonder and beauty of Wales is the search for the hundreds of castles that exist sprawled all over the country. Here are some of the ones I knew and loved:-
Castell Coch
Castell Cosh (or the Red Castle) is situated on a hillside between Cardiff and Pontypridd. It is often called the ‘fairy tale’ castle and is reminiscent of castles from the medievil era. (Also it is similar to many castles found in the Rhine Valley.
There is nothing wrong with Cork; there is also nothing right with it. During 1997, I spent close to two months studying in Dublin, and got to see most of the country. Cork is a typical industrial city in a booming nation. There is not much to see because the focus is on making things, not attracting tourists. Don’t get me wrong: you will find typically the same Irish friendliness in Cork that you will in Dublin (this, however, says nothing about the true Ireland–read my reviews of other Irish destinations for details). There simply is not much to do in Cork other than to stop for lunch on your way to or from Waterford. For you golfers, there is a pretty good golf course there, but it is more of an American course than a true links course. You should stop by to see it if Cork is on your way. Don’t make a specialized trip out of the way–you’ll just be disappointed.
I would disagree with whoever said to drive through Cork City. I lived for six years in Ireland and loved every trip I made to Cork.
The city may look industrial, and I admit the city centre is drab and dirty. But spend some time climbing through the winding streets away from the town; stop in a pub - any pub - and try and decipher the lilting Cork accent. If you want to get the locals talking, mention that you can’t decide whether you like Dublin or Cork better and you’ll start a good natured riot, as the rivalry between the cities is legendary.
Cork is a city I had long fancied visiting without really knowing why and I was lucky enough to visit for a weekend break last December. Booking the flights and the accommodation was the only preparation we did so when we arrived in the city we had little idea of what we wanted to do and see.
Arriving late Friday afternoon and departing again Sunday lunchtime did not leave us with a great deal of time but we managed to cram in plenty of activity and found that there is still plenty left for another visit.
I lived in Cork City for almost 3 years - it is a swamp!
Well, it is actually! in more ways than one. If you love the pub life dont mind seeing often very young people dressed like wh…. and so drunk they cant even think two words - you will love this place.
If you have a health like an ox, never ever get a flu or even a cold - if you love a dampy, wet and foggy place, you will love Cork City.
I traveled in Ireland with a group of high school kids and had a blast. One of the places we visited was County Cork. I have always wanted to see the Blarney Stone. To my surprise it’s on top of the castle!!! The castle is several stories high and has a spectacular view form the top.
This castle is not for someone with a fear of heights. The stairs are of limestone ,as is all of the castle and are very narrow. They lead up in a spiral and had a large rope about two inch diameter to hold onto running straight up from floor to ceiling. When you get to the top and walk on the walkway, it is magnificent. To think that people actually lived there!
It was everything the American Express commercial promised - my mother and I tracing our roots on the Emerald Isle. We purchased hotel/car rental vouchers through CIE Tours (which is owned by Ireland’s transportation board). The plan was to drive along the western and southern coast and fly home out of Dublin. We LOVED the west coast so much that we decided to change our flights and fly home from Shannon.
It was a cold and dreary day in Paris, April 11, 2001. My baby and I took the #3 Metro Line and got off at the Pere Lachaise station, not knowing what the weather would be like above ground. We were ready to escape the comfort of the underground into the cold and dreariness of life above and light our fires. We purchased a map, some flowers, a bottle of wine, a pack of cigarettes, and were eager to explore this Land of the dead. We strolled into Le Pere Lachaise, the largest burial-ground in Paris, knowing that this damn well would not be simply another tourist attraction, but one that we would remember for a long, long time.
Today we’re going to get to know Stuttgart, the capital of the Land Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of Germany which was founded 51 years ago, on 25th April 1952. Last year there were celebrations and festivities everywhere!
Before that time it had already been the home of the Kings of Württemberg who, as it is the habit with kings, had castles built in the city and outside, so there’s quite a lot to see.
I don’t know if this article is more an essay than a review, but I do hope some people find it useful,
Why am I writing this?
Well I am Irish; I now live in The Netherlands. However having had an upbringing in Ireland that was sheltered from the rest of the world, it was not until I started to travel that I discovered that people have a lot of misconceptions about Ireland and in this text I will try to set the record straight on some.
I have also discovered that people from different countries have different viewpoints of the country so not all sections will apply to everyone and I apologise if I have generalised as that is a dangerous thing.
