Travel Tips from the Varney Girls

3:05 P.M. July 2012 - in the Minneapolis Airport (for 7 more hours)

Note: This is for those you planning to travel in Ireland! The girls had intended to blog about the various places we stayed...and ended up doing it all at once. Abigail's comments are, unsurprisingly, in purple, and Ella's are in blue.

Dublin: O'Shea's Merchant Bar/B&B

At first, when you hear you are staying in a bar, your expectations drop a bit, but the room was not bad at all, offering a nice view over the town, giving an ideal place for a little people watching while sipping tea. The food is nice, the setting perfect for easy access all over town! Over all, not bad.

I have to agree with Abby on the staying in the bar, it’s a little on the creepy side, but the room was nice, small with three beds that took up most of the space, and a nice view. Besides when you are so tired you could sleep in a dumpster in an alleyway in Manhattan NY, do you really care about what your room looks like?

Laragh, County Wicklow: Tudor Lodge B&B

Although the main building is a B&B, we stayed in a serene little cottage. It was small; there was the main room, which was dining room/ living room/ bedroom. This was where my parents slept. By the groans and constant complaints of long term back injuries, I am not sure it was the most comfortable situation, but me and Ella were housed in a little loft. I managed not to hit my head but Ella was constantly having short notice meetings with the first aid bag. The village was small but cute, nice food. We went on a nice hike, accompanied by these things that are like mosquitoes, they are called midges and they pee on you - really nice. There was a great bar that served you free chicken wings at half time for the soccer game!

Overall it was a tranquil place to stay and very beautiful setting with good service.

 Wow did I hate the ceiling of that loft, Abby’s right I managed to hit my head on the low ceiling every time I went to bed. We spent most of time exploring the town; it was cute and sleepy with a nice restaurant where we celebrated my parent’s anniversary. Seven years of love, how sweet!

Belturbet, County Cavan: Staghall Old School

Very good service……and cookies! The room was great; the town was a short walk away. Good movie selection, we watched King Arthur - I did not pick it out! Beds were very comfortable, the breakfast was delicious, and they had some horses and a foal which was super cute! Overall extremely nice place with great service!

 I enjoyed staying at this house, even if it was only for one night. The room was very sweet with a homey feel to it. The bathroom was a very important part of this room, it was actually bigger than the main part of the room with the beds! It was every girls dream with a basket with everything ranging from tampons to lavender hair spray! The breakfast was good made up of mostly meat. The sausages were a little soggy, not my favorite but good, and the service was great!

Rathmelton, County Donegal:Donegal Shore B&B

This was my favorite place! They had extremely good service, great rooms, beautiful gardens and good breakfast! They were very nice folks, welcoming, and I cherished the four days I spent there! Nice walk to town, fun town, only one restaurant though! While we were there the Lennon Festival (named after the river, not John Lennon, as we suspected) was happening. We got to watch the raft races, people built rafts and would race, or float at a leisurely pace down the river and back, hilarious! This place is highly recommended and has my vote!!!!!

 I enjoyed this house; it was comfortable with a conservatory and a beautiful garden and in it a small pond. In the pond were two fish, Josephine and Tommy, we grew quite close in the four days we stayed there.The first morning at breakfast two men who were also staying at the house and were sitting next told us stories about England and their childhood. That night my parents went out to the pub. We were asleep by the time they got back so we did not find out about their night. The next morning as we were exploring the town and two men looked up and started asking my dad and mom if they had headaches from there hangovers or if they were feeling okay after last night. It gets you wondering what happens in pubs come nighttime!

Derry: Pump House Apartments

Nice place, fun. Great setting for easy access to the city. We went on a nice tour while we were there, got caught up on the city’s history, this tour is highly recommended, called Derry city tours! Place was big, comfortable, you have to go up like 100 flights of stairs though (only three) to get to the apartment we stayed in, very physically draining. Nice view of the white building next door, you could really see the intricate design of bricks covered by white wash, nice really! J Overall, good!

I liked this apartment it was well furnished and nice, but no real highlight of the trip. It was a relaxing place and I liked Derry a lot. We went on a tour of the walls, it rained the whole time and my rain jacket is more like a rain failure! The actual tour was very informative and enjoyable! As Abby said we had a wonderful view; the lovely building complete with broken pipes and overhanging weeds on top of whitewashed  walls was the best part of Derry.

Cushendall: Garron View B&B

Very nice place! Nice rooms! Best breakfast we have had at a B&B! There was this cow there, really nice!  Would come up to you and lick your clothes and shoes! We named it Roshin! There was also this baby cow that was born when we were there, cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very big mom, I don’t know what they fed that thing! Great places to visit, waterfall hikes, we opted to take the scenic route, more like death wish route, it was super long and we were once again visited by the midges, I don’t know what they drink that makes them pee constantly! Nice hike though!!!!!!!! We also went to an orange order parade, weird! My mom probably had a bit more to say on that thing! Overall, great!!!!!!!!

I never knew you could fall in love with a cow! Roshin was a cow who acted like a dog. Seriously. She would lick you and let you hug her and pet her. The food at this bed and breakfast was great the warm rolls and homemade breads were exceptional!

Belfast: Premier Inn

Not bad, they offered you a lot of different benefits that never really worked out. Interesting place, service was good, comfortable space! Belfast was a very interesting town! Fun!!!!!

I loved Belfast, like Dublin it was bright and colorful with performers in the street and booths selling gifts and home-made foods and candies. We visited the titanic museum which was so interesting and so informative!

 Skerries, County Dublin: Jantol House B&B

Nice place! Cute little town! Good access to the beach, which was beautiful. We went to a cute museum, the house was nice, the service okay, weird breakfast ordeal!  Overall, nice place and great little town!

I enjoyed this place immensely, the walks on the beach and the thrill of the cars flying through the corners during the rally. The place we stayed in was a big B&B with a nice atmosphere. The town was cute and quaint, pretty much the same as the rest of the country towns in Ireland.

Athlone: Arch House Apts

Nice, big space! The town was kinda depressing, but not that bad! Spent a very relaxing time there! The house was nice and comfortable, although the utensils were kinda dirty!  Over all, great place, not a very fun town!!!!!!! But was close to other places such as Galway, which are nice towns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We stayed in the arch houses, and as Abby mentioned it’s a big space. We visited Galway on Wednesday. Galway has been my favorite place to go, with performers on the streets and celebration in the air, the atmosphere is warm and makes you happy. The people are friendly and helpful. It is a big tourist city, though small, and people line the streets; laughing and talking, selling and buying toys and treats in the gift shops that line the sidewalks. Our own town is small and sleepy, rainy and quaint.