I’m currently, ok always, considering my next vacation destination, and with so many amazing places in the world it’s hard to decide. Should we commit those precious vacation days to repeat destinations, digging deeper into what a city has to offer? If we do, what about all those wonderful new places just waiting to be discovered?
When traveling, I’m torn between wanting to wing it and not wanting to miss anything, which definitely helps makes the case for repeat visits to certain destinations. For example, our recent trips to Paris, London, and Edinburgh were all repeat visits, we’d already checked off many of the main attractions, which enabled us to explore more freely. One point for repeat visits!
That said, one of my favorite things about traveling is the discovery of the new. The surprise and delight you feel when discovering something wonderful in a new place simply can’t be beat! These moments are one of the reasons I love to travel, the highlights of our adventures! One point for new destinations!
However, being new to a place can at times be a hindrance. No matter how much research I’ve done, there are times when things don’t go quite as planned. Whether it’s accommodations, location, food, or timing, these are what I like to refer to as the hindsights of our adventure. These are things one can only know after time spent and often it’s too late… Another point for repeat destinations.
Of course not everywhere has a hindsight and some places are just plain full of surprise and delight. I love surprise and delight! Looks like another point for new destinations!
So, it looks like a tie between old and new, which means I’m no closer to working out where in the world, we’ll go next, but in the meantime, here are some of the highlights and hindsights from our summer 2016 adventures in Europe!
Highlights & Hindsights
Dublin, Ireland
Highlight: Guinness Factory Tour
There were many wonderful moments during our visit to Dublin, however it was our visit to the Guinness Storehouse that came out as number one! Which speaks volumes, since I don’t even drink beer. All four of us absolutely loved this experience and if you should find yourself in Dublin I highly recommend you go.
Hindsight: Popular attractions require advance planning
Our planned a visit to the Kilmainham Gaol Museum went awry when we couldn’t print our tickets and unfortunately we missed out. We ended up visiting Malahide Castle instead, which was delightful, but lesson learned.
Cork, Ireland
Highlight: The Blarney Stone
For more than 200 years people have been kissing the Blarney Stone and after some debate (it is the world’s germiest attraction) Simon and I decided to join the club!
Hindsight: Touristy doesn’t always equal bad
If only we’d known how much we were going to enjoy exploring Blarney Castle, we would have given ourselves more time.
Killarney, Ireland
Highlight: Killarney National Park
We spent three nights in Killarney, the gateway to the Ring of Kerry and the perfect little Irish town! Quaint, friendly and picturesque, it was exactly what I had pictured an Irish town to look like!
Hindsights: Whoops, attention to detail is key!
Putting the wrong fuel in our rental car meant a drastic change in our plans. Instead of a visit to the Dingle Peninsula and Skellig Michal we spent a lovely day wandering in Killarney National Park. If I ever find my way back to the west of Ireland a trip to the Skellig Islands will be my first order of business!
Limerick, Ireland
Highlight: King John’s Castle
We weren’t sure what to expect at King Johns’ Castle, but I do love a good castle and we had to stop for lunch anyway so why not just eat lunch at the castle?
Hindsight: There was none!
This was a bonus stop on our way to Galway, and we were delighted with the way this midday stop turned out!
Galway, Ireland
Highlight: The Cliffs of Moher
The spectacular Cliffs of Moher are a definite must-see if you’re visiting the West Coast of the Emerald Isle.
Hindsight: Allow time for unexpected adventures
There is a walk along the cliff tops , but we were running out of daylight and weren’t really dressed for a hike, so we satisfied ourselves with a good long look over the edge.
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Highlight: Everything about the entire visit
Our visit to the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland was by far the best day of our 12 day tour of the Emerald Isle, if not our entire summer abroad!
Hindsight: We should have stayed longer.
Having no idea how much we would enjoy our visit we only booked three nights, but easily could have spent twice that many exploring Belfast as well as the amazing natural beauty along the Northern Coast.
Glasgow, Scotland
Highlight: Mural Trail
A very happy accident, we discovered Glasgow’s Mural trail on our way to another destination!
Hindsight: Glasgow deserves more time!
Two days just wasn’t enough in this walk friendly city brimming with architecture, art, music, and shopping!
Inverness, Scotland
Highlight: Urquhart Castle on the Shores of Loch Ness
Having missed out on a visit to Loch Ness on our previous trip to the Highlands, we decided to make it a priority. A highlight was exploring the ancient ruins of Urquhart Castle, located on the shores of the lake.
Hindsight: So much more than a monster!
Our visit here was wonderful and exceeded our expectations in every way.
The Highlands of Scotland
Highlight: Eileen Donan Castle
A last minute decision to see Eileen Donan Castle did not disappoint. It’s no wonder that Eilean Donan is the most photographed castle in Scotland, it’s setting in the middle of three lochs is stunning!
Hindsight: The Isle of Skye
There is never enough time in this magical country. We got a small taste of what the Isle of Skye has to offer and I’m definitely going back for more!
Edinburgh, Scotland
Highlight: Everything
Have you ever visited a place that felt so right, so special that it was almost painful to leave? Love at first sight? That’s exactly how I felt about Edinburgh from the very first moment.
Hindsight: I’ve realized my Edinburgh list will never be completed
Although we didn’t have time to go inside the Writers Museum, we did spend time in the courtyard reading the tiles, which are inscribed with lovely quotes written by some of the city’s most famous writers. All of them about Edinburgh of course!
Hadrian’s Wall
Highlight: A dream come true
I know that for some, what basically amounts to a crumbling brick wall in the middle of nowhere England might not be interesting, but for me, a history loving anglophile, this was an absolute dream come true!
Hindsight: Walk the Wall Hike
It’s quite popular to “walk” the Wall and I would have liked to, at least for a little while, but serious rain was threatening and after a few minutes the boys abandoned me for the shelter of the Housestead’s Museum.
York, England
Highlight: York Minster
It made sense that the center piece of York, York Minster, the largest medieval Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, would be our first stop. We were not disappointed!
Hindsight: There wasn’t one!
The rain fell hard and steadily during our visit, but thankfully we still managed to enjoyed this lovely city.
Nottingham, England
Highlight: THE Nottingham!
Yes, that Nottingham, home of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men!
Hindsight: Sometimes the weather wins
Sadly, extremely heavy rain put us off from a visit to Sherwood Forest.
London, England
Highlight: Camden Market
My highlight is also a hindsight! I can’t believe the Camden Market wasn’t already on my radar, It’s right up my alley and reminds me a lot of Venice Beach, California. Fun & quirky!
Hindsight: Top of the Shard
With my love of photography, I regret that I didn’t take the time to visit the observation deck at the Shard. Greenwich is also high on my list for next time…
Brugge, Belgium
Highlight: Beautiful Medieval Town
I was delighted by the incredible beauty of Brugge, a quaint little medieval town. I immediately fell in love and spent the better part of my three days there taking endless photos.
Hindsight: Why didn’t we eat more chocolate?
The question is: With endless chocolate shops around every corner, why didn’t we visit more of them? I’m afraid that’s a question, I’ll never know the answer to.
Ghent, Belgium
Highlight: Graffiti Street
Wanting to see something a bit off the beaten path and big fans of street art, we were excited to learn that Ghent has a dedicated graffiti street called Werregaren straat. We really enjoyed this and loved the idea of a dedicated place where anyone can express themselves freely.
Hindsight: Maybe next time…
Elliot really wished we’d had a can of spray paint or two, so he could contribute.
Amsterdam, Holland The Netherlands
Highlight: Everything about our visit!
A lovely and walkable city with no shortage of interesting sights and streets to wander we made the most of every minute of our visit in Amsterdam.
Hindsight: We visited Amsterdam and didn’t ride a boat or a bike, what?!
We made the most of every moment while visiting this fabulous city, but still ran out of time before ever stepping onto a boat, or peddling a bike. We did see some windmills though! If I had to do it over again I would stay on a houseboat!
Zaans Schans, Holland
Highlight: Windmills
I felt I couldn’t visit Holland without seeing at least one windmill up close and personal! I know, I know, that’s a very touristy thing to do, but hey, sometimes I’m a tourist!
Hindsight: Why didn’t we rent bikes here?
If we ever find our way back to this wonderful place we will be sure to rent bikes. The wide pathways and lovely scenery would make for a perfect bike ride!
Paris, France
Highlight: Sainte Chapelle
As I emerged from the doorway into the main part of the chapel my mouth literally fell open. I was completely surrounded by jaw dropping beauty. How did I not know about this amazing place?
Hindsight: Accommodations
While there wasn’t really anything wrong with our hotel, I’ve yet to really hit the nail on the head as far as Paris lodgings go… hopefully next time!
Versailles, France
Highlight: Marie Antoinette’s Gardens
My favorite part of the day was our visit to the Petit Trianon, the home away from home of Marie Antoinette, who apparently wasn’t so enamored with the main Palace and preferred to spend her time elsewhere.
Hindsight: An evening visit might have been better
We should have considered going later in the afternoon for the musical fountains show and evening fireworks. We might have been able to beat the crowds, and the heat.
London, England
Highlight: Hyde Park
London’s parks are the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon just like the locals do! They are beautiful, vast and filled with activities for every interest.
Hindsight: Do we really have to go home?
Even after six weeks of travel, I wasn’t ready to go home.
Nothing makes me happier than discovering new places with my family and sharing them with all of you!
Pin for Later:
I’m sharing a room with three other people, none of whom wake up as early as I do, so while I can take care of everything else quietly in the bathroom, drying my hair isn’t an option unless I want three extremely grumpy traveling companions!
All of this has prompted me to come up with a personal rating system for places I stay and blog about!
will work perfectly. Moving forward I’ll use a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best! I’ve just finished a series of blog posts about our recent travels through Ireland, so I’ll start with those properties first! While cleanliness, comfort, and service are paramount. My ratings will also include the following criteria:
The lobby and main areas in 
Crystal blue waters and sandy beaches weren’t exactly what I was expecting during our recent travels to the Emerald Isle, but it’s exactly what we found! In fact Ireland has many beautiful beaches although the water is bit on the chilly side. Salthill Promenade overlooking Galway Bay came highly recommended, so after dropping off 8 days worth of laundry at a nearby laundromat we set off for the beach!
The Promenade also known as the Prom is 2 km long and lined with bars, restaurants and hotels. During the summer months their is an amusement park. It’s a popular destination with both locals and tourists alike.
We wandered up and down the Prom and really enjoyed the walk. About midway we came upon a giant high dive where we stopped to watch some kids jumping into the 59 degree water! Brrr! Those were some brave kids!
We only had one day in Galway and spent most of it at Salthill, but we did find time to explore the main part of town. Parking our rental car was no trouble at all and we wandered up and down the pedestrian only Quay Street poking in and out of the various shops. Our lunch at 
While our ultimate destination that final day was Belfast, Northern Ireland, my list of sights in the Republic of Ireland was only partially checked off and with only hours left difficult choices had to be made. One such place was Newgrange, a 5000 year old monolithic passage tomb, which conveniently happened to be on our way to Belfast, this meant the castles in Athlone and Trim got only passing glances during true pitstops. Normally I would never pass up a chance to visit a castle let alone two, but the idea of seeing and stepping inside a place older than the pyramids was just too tempting to pass up!
Newgrange is a prehistoric monument which is located in the Boyne River Valley about an hour or so outside of Dublin. I won’t go into too much history as I think the 
If you plan to visit Newgrange here are few things to keep in mind:
All that aside, Newgrange was fantastic! The visitor center had a really nice exhibition as well as a movie, a cafe and a very decent gift shop. That was a good thing too because the first available tour was at 4:45 pm and we arrived at 2:30 pm. Access to the monument is via a bus which leaves directly from the visitor center.
Lucky for us the skies were clear when we arrived although it was very windy! The weather is never boring in Ireland! The views from the cliff top walkways near the visitor center were breathtaking, but judging by the silly antics of the boys I could tell they were over it within just a few minutes. It had already been a long day and in hindsight visiting at the end of an already full day was probably not the best idea.
Not having a car meant no trip to the Dingle Peninsula, which although disappointing, turned out to be more than okay as we spent a lovely day wandering in the Killarney National Park. Located just across the road from downtown Killarney and about one block from our hotel it was just steps away. No car needed! As I mentioned the weather can be quite unpredictable and we experienced just about every kind of weather during our walk in the park. We were well prepared with rain gear and the boys loved walking into the wind and rain! The park path twisted and turned through forest and meadow and along the way we saw cows, deer and ducks, and at the end a castle!
The Emerald Isle, where we almost kissed the Blarney Stone in Cork (yes, almost…), walked atop the parapets of King John’s Castle in Limerick, stood at the very edge of the Cliffs of Moher on the far Western Coast, and felt our mortality while standing inside a 5000 year old monolithic passage tomb at Newgrange! Not to mention the many other amazing sights “along the way” during our recent visit to The Republic of Ireland!
With no shortage of interesting must see places, manageable driving distances between cities, and a long wish list of sights to see in a relatively short period of time we decided driving would be a great way to try and see it all! Picking points of interest about 2 or 3 hours into the route on driving days would give the kids a break from the car and all of us the opportunity to see even more of the beautiful Emerald Isle!
For more than 200 years people from all walks of life have climbed to the top of Blarney Castle and kissed the Stone hoping to gain the gift of eloquence. After some debate, Simon and I decided that although the Blarney Stone is the world’s germiest tourist attraction* we too would join the ranks, brave the germs, and the incredibly long lines and kiss the stone. After all who couldn’t use a little more eloquence, and besides how could we come all this way and not at least give it a try?
The first stop on my list was 
After we’d had our fill of old books, we set out for a walk around Dublin and found ourselves in Merrion Square. Conveniently, there were food stalls set up in the park and we enjoyed a quick lunch on the grass followed by a visit to the park’s playground and the Oscar Wilde statue. Both the 
Next up was 
A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle, good things come to those who wait, and not everything in black and white makes sense, these are just a few of the things we learned during our visit to 
On our last day we decided to venture outside Dublin and took an easy 30 minute train ride to Malahide Village where we met Shane and his children for a tour of 
We stayed in 
A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle, good things come to those who wait, and not everything in black and white makes sense, these are just a few of the things we learned during our recent visit to 
Floor three showcases 80 years of advertising campaigns, which we loved and afterwards had fun recognizing in all the pubs around town and every other town we visited in Ireland and just about everywhere else! We also posed with the animals and heard a whistling oyster!
Of course you know we couldn’t leave before a visit to the gift shop! They sell everything you can imagine, Guinness crisps, Guinness chocolate (tastes like Guinness), clothing, holiday ornaments, magnets, and on and on… This holiday season I’ll be enjoying my new Guinness tree bauble!