Happy St Patrick's Day 2017

                              Happy Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

On St. Patrick's Day, which falls in the middle of the Christian Lenten season, Irish families would go to church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The Irish would dance, drink and feast on the traditional Irish Bacon and Cabbage. Lenten regulations about not eating meat were waived if necessary so that the traditional meal could be eaten.  They are waived again this year in Chicago.

Here in the United States, St. Patrick's Day has become a celebration for not only the Irish, but for all. There are parades and celebrations which include green beer. The Chicago River is dyed green each year in honor of the event.

Watch as the world turns green ...

Other Related Blog Posts on Ireland:

• Reflections of Ireland
• Dreaming of Ireland
• FriFotos Goes to Ireland

Blarney Castle was built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland's greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, and has been attracting attention beyond Munster ever since. Over the last few hundred years, millions have flocked to Blarney, making it a world landmark and one of Ireland's greatest treasures.

Blarney Castle (64 photos)

We've cruised to Ireland several times.  The collage above is made up of several images from a visit to Blarney Castle.   This is one of the favorite stops of visitors to the Cobh, Ireland area. Why not plan a cruise that includes Ireland, and kiss the Blarney stone for good luck?  We leave you with this Irish Blessing on this St. Patrick's Day.

 May you always have...
Walls for the winds
A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2015

                              Happy Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

Here in the United States, St. Patrick's Day has become a celebration for not only the Irish, but for all. There are parades and celebrations which include green beer. The Chicago River is dyed green each year in honor of the event.

Watch as the world turns green ...

   

Other Related Blog Posts on Ireland:

 

• Reflections of Ireland
• Dreaming of Ireland
• FriFotos Goes to Ireland
•  

 

 

Dreaming of Ireland

That's No Blarney

When @FriFotos announced #IRELAND for the theme for this Friday, we knew the St. Patrick's Day party was going to begin early.   So, we want to be the first to wish you ...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day
 
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.
 
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls in the middle of the Christian Lenten season, Irish families would go to church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The Irish would dance, drink and feast on the traditional Irish Bacon and Cabbage. Lenten regulations about not eating meat were waived if necessary so that the traditional meal could be eaten.
 
Here in the United States, St. Patrick's Day has become a celebration for not only the Irish, but for all. There are parades and celebrations which include green beer. The Chicago River is dyed green each year in honor of the event.


Blarney Castle was built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland's greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, and has been attracting attention beyond Munster ever since. Over the last few hundred years, millions have flocked to Blarney, making it a world landmark and one of Ireland's greatest treasures.

Blarney Castle (64 photos)

We've cruised to Ireland several times.  The collage above is made up of several images from a visit to Blarney Castle.   This is one of the favorite stops of visitors to the Cobh, Ireland area. Why not plan a cruise that includes Ireland, and kiss the Blarney stone for good luck?  We leave you with this Irish Blessing on this St. Patrick's Day.
 

 May you always have...
Walls for the winds
A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire. 

If you like Travel & Photography join us each Friday!

Follow #FriFotos on Twitter and Facebook

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

FriFotos Goes to Ireland

IRELAND

St. Patrick's Day is next Tuesday and this Friday, #FriFotos is featuring images from #IRELAND all day long. 

(For those that don't know:  #FriFotos is a weekly photo forum by @EpsteinTravels @TravelDesigned @CharlesYap. Theme is revealed every Tuesday 12pm ET.)    Recently, @spencerspellman joined the team as a permanent co-host.  We even had the chance to co-host one week late last year.)


Giant's Causeway

When on a British Isles cruise a few years ago, our itinerary was changed about a month out due to the EU Summit being held in Dublin, Ireland.   Our revised itinerary had a stop in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  A group of passengers per-arranged a private tour offered by a local tour company.


Our first stop was at The Giant's Causeway, pictured above. We arrived at the Visitor's Centre where we learned about the causeway which was formed 60 million years ago from lava. From there we boarded a bus which transferred us to the site of these magnificent basalt columns. The scenery here was breathtaking. The Giant's Causeway is a Natural Heritage Site and the 8th Wonder of the World. Pictures and words just don't do it justice, but for some more pictures, see my photo album and also click on both of the links above.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

It would be hard to top the scenery which we'd just seen, but we headed for our next stop, Carrick-a-Rede Rope bridge. The bridge was once used by fisherman bringing the salmon catches back from the island but today it is mainly a tourist attraction. The bridge has been enhanced from a single rope to the current caged construction for safety.

Click on images to enlarge

 

In order to get to the rope bridge, it is necessary to hike quite a distance along a winding path. Make sure you have good hiking shoes to make the journey as the pathway can be a little challenging as you can see in this picture. I only went part way and my husband did go all the way to the bridge, but not across it. Since we were there after hours, we were not able to actually cross the bridge.

See our Belfast - Rope Bridge photo album for more images from this attraction.   Unfortunately, our SD card was damaged and some of the pictures had to be salvaged using a photo-editor which was able to process the .jpeg bits.   I guess we'll just have to go back to get better images.

If you like Travel & Photography join us each Friday!

Follow #FriFotos on Twitter and Facebook

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc

“May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.”

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2013

That's No Blarney

Happy Saint Patrick's Day
 
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.
 
On St. Patrick's Day, which falls in the middle of the Christian Lenten season, Irish families would go to church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The Irish would dance, drink and feast on the traditional Irish Bacon and Cabbage. Lenten regulations about not eating meat were waived if necessary so that the traditional meal could be eaten.
 
Here in the United States, St. Patrick's Day has become a celebration for not only the Irish, but for all. There are parades and celebrations which include green beer. The Chicago River is dyed green each year in honor of the event.

Blarney Castle was built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland's greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, and has been attracting attention beyond Munster ever since. Over the last few hundred years, millions have flocked to Blarney, making it a world landmark and one of Ireland's greatest treasures.

Blarney Castle (64 photos)

 

We've cruised to Ireland several times.  The collage above is made up of several images from a visit to Blarney Castle.   This is one of the favorite stops of visitors to the Cobh, Ireland area. Why not plan a cruise that includes Ireland, and kiss the Blarney stone for good luck?  We leave you with this Irish Blessing on this St. Patrick's Day.
 

 May you always have...
Walls for the winds
A roof for the rain
Tea beside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.

St. Patrick's Day Greetings from County Cork

Blarney Castle                 Charles Fort

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.



On St. Patrick's Day, which falls in the middle of the Christian Lenten season, Irish families would go to church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The Irish would dance, drink and feast on the traditional Irish Bacon and Cabbage. Lenten regulations about not eating meat were waived if necessary so that the traditional meal could be eaten.

Pictured above are two well-known attractions that can be visited in a day trip while docked in Cobh (Cork), Ireland.   Blarney Castle, which was constructed over 600 years ago, is most widely known for the Blarney Stone.  Legend has it that if you kiss the stone, you'll never be lost for words.  Each year visitors climb to the top to reach the stone and hang by their feet to kiss it.  The picture on the right is of Charles Fort in Kinsale, Ireland.  This 17th Century fort, which protected Kinsale, is one of the last remaining examples of a star-shaped fortress.   

More pictures and information ...  British Isles - Cork, Ireland

The Irish countryside is beautiful, the towns are quaint, and the people are very friendly. It is a great place to visit. Cruises to the British Isles stop at one or more Irish ports. June is a great time to visit Ireland. The weather is usually mild and you'll be comfortable in a light jacket on the cooler days.   Plan your Summer British Isles cruise and be sure it stops in Ireland.
 

A special offer just crossed my desk ...   here's some Saving O' the Green...

3 days of special savings on 2010  

Canada & New England - Summer Caribbean vacations 
 Special St. Patrick's Day savings event starts March 17th.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years.

On St. Patrick's Day, which falls in the middle of the Christian Lenten season, Irish families would go to church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. The Irish would dance, drink and feast on the traditional Irish Bacon and Cabbage. Lenten regulations about not eating meat were waived if necessary so that the traditional meal could be eaten.

Here in the United States, St. Patrick's Day has become a celebration for not only the Irish, but for all. There are parades and celebrations which include green beer. The Chicago River is dyed green each year in honor of the event.

We have cruised to Ireland a couple of times. We've visited Cork, Kinsale, and Belfast. We were scheduled to visit Dublin, but due to a European Summit, the cruise schedule was changed at the last minute.

The Irish countryside is beautiful, the towns are quaint, and the people are very friendly. It is a great place to visit. Cruises to the British Isles stop at one or more Irish ports. June is a great time to visit Ireland. The weather is usually mild and you'll be comfortable in a light jacket on the cooler days.