Lisa
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Pre-Cruise Day 3 — A Tour Around Nadi
The five of us, Sandy, David, Dad, Tony, and I had breakfast at Koro, one of the three resort restaurants and confused the staff by ordering à la cart from the menu rather than doing the breakfast buffet. We may be the only people at the resort who did not get the all-inclusive breakfast. But,…
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Pre-Cruise Day 2 — Happy National Fiji Day
We arrived in Nadi (pronounced with an unwritten “n” that makes it rhyme with candy or con-dy), Fiji, at about 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, after leaving Iowa at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 8 (recall that we time-traveled via the International Date Line). With very little sleep in the past 24 hours, we…
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Pre-Cruise Day 1 — On Our Way to Fiji
So begins our South Pacific cruise. More than a year ago my dad booked a Fiji cruise with some friends of his for October 2026. We were looking to travel to Ireland during that time, so we crossed it off our travel plans to join them. Earlier this year our Ireland plans were changed to…
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Ireland – Day 13 – Departure
Our final day in Ireland consisted of an early breakfast at 7:00 am and then a taxi ride to the airport. Our flights would retrace our flight path here, landing in Chicago first, and then Des Moines in the evening where Nancy and Tony W’s daughter would drop Tony and me at home before continuing…
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Ireland – Day 12 – Dublin
City Dublin, Ireland County / Province County Dublin / Leinster Population City – 592,713Metro – 1,263,219County – 1,501,500 Stay Clontarf Castle Hotel Meals * Breakfast – Harrison Chambers of Distinction* Lunch – picnic at Battle of the Boyne site* Dinner – Knights Bar at Clontarf Castle Activities * Belfast Botanic Gardens* Monasterboice* Battle of Boyne…
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Ireland – Day 11 – Belfast
City Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK) Counties / Province County Antrim & County Down / Ulster Population City – 345,418Metro – 704,406County (Antrim) – 651,321County (Down) – 553,261 Stay Harrison Chambers of Distinction Meals * Breakfast – Cul-Erg House * Lunch – ice cream at the rope bridge* Dinner – Darcy’s Belfast Activities * Dunluce Castle*…
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Ireland – Day 10 – Portstewart
Town Portstewart, Northern Ireland (UK) County / Province County Londonderry / Ulster Population Town – 7,854County – 252,231 Stay Cul-Erg House & Kitchen (B&B) Meals * Breakfast – Mill Park Hotel* Lunch – The Sandwich Co. in Derry* Dinner – Amici Restorante in Portstweart Activities * Grianan Ailigh* book store and Foyleside Shopping Center, Derry*…
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Ireland – Day 9 – Donegal
Town Donegal, Ireland County / Province County Donegal / Ulster Population Town – 2,749County – 167,084 Stay Mill Park Hotel Meals * Breakfast – Riverside Hotel* Lunch – snacks with Dr. Prannie* Dinner – Chapter Twenty at the Mill Park Hotel Activities * Sheepdog Demo* Benbulben Forest Walk* Seaweed Walk w/ Dr. Prannie Rhatigan We…
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Ireland – Day 8 – Sligo
Town Sligo, Ireland County / Province County Sligo / Connacht Population Town – 20,608County – 70,198 Stay Riverside Hotel Meals * Breakfast – Wyatt Hotel* Lunch – picnic at Ceide Fields* Dinner – The Mill Bar and Restaurant Activities * Bog Board Walk* Ceide Fields* Down Patrick Head & Dun Briste Sea Stack* Sligo’s town…
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Ireland – Day 7 – Westport
Town Westport, Ireland County / Province County Mayo / Connacht Population Town – 6,872County – 137,231 Stay The Wyatt Hotel Meals * Breakfast – Frenchville House B&B* Lunch – Kylemore Kitchen Cafe* Dinner – JW’s Brasserie at the Wyatt Hotel Activities * Lough Inagh* Kylemore Abbey* Killary Fjord boat tour* Doolough Valley* Walking around Westport…