I read three books featuring strong women. Each book is utterly unique from the other two, with interesting stories and characters, but each one memorable in its own right. All of these will stick with you in different ways and for different reasons. Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore Set in a small West Texas town in … Continue reading Spring Fiction
I have two contradictory views of Doolin, Ireland. One version of it in my mind is that its what Disney designed to give tourists an Irish seaside town to visit that fits everything in your head about small towns in Ireland. Rolling green hills with stone walls; squat, quaint homes with horses or cattle roaming … Continue reading Basecamp Doolin
Don't Skip Cork Sometimes when you plan a longer trip and everything you see is amazing, you forget how great the first part of your trip was. I saw some comments online about Cork, Ireland, with people essentially saying you can skip it. I did a double-take, and got really upset! Don't skip Cork! I … Continue reading Cork Ireland: What to see
EPIC is a new museum in Dublin, opened in the last few years that tells the story of emigration from Ireland. Yep – it’s telling the story of people leaving the country. This was the main attraction I did in Dublin when there last fall. The museum is incredibly well done. John Hammond may be … Continue reading Dublin’s EPIC Museum
Have you ever been somewhere so beautiful you just couldn't stand it? In making a loop around the island, I spent three days in Doolin and three days in Donegal Town. Both are along the West Coast of Ireland, known as the Wild Atlantic Way. Doolin is exactly what you picture when you picture Ireland. … Continue reading Visiting Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way
I initially heard comments, before leaving for two weeks in Ireland, and while there, about going to Belfast. As one tour guide in Belfast said, twenty years earlier they were one of the three B's you didn't visit: Baghdad, Beirut, and Belfast. I did not do much prep before going there. Why I included Belfast … Continue reading Four Days in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Beautifully written, the story a young woman foisted from the protective nest of her Irish village, to Brooklyn for opportunity America brought in the post-war world. Eilis may feel this new life was foisted on, but she takes it on well. She is young, a little sheltered, and anyone can relate to her feelings of loss, trepidation, … Continue reading Brooklyn
