March 17, 2017 - St. Patrick's Day and All Things Ireland

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 

Erin Go Bragh!

Another lovely St. Paddy's Day is here!  I will say, however, it is a cold one for marching down 5th Avenue!

I'll just watch it on television!

As I mentioned, I had my first session with the personal trainer at Lifetime Fitness yesterday.  I think we are going to have a blast at this gym!

After getting a more in-depth tour of the place yesterday and specifically with the some of the machines and exercise options, I was so excited to receive a complementary invite to the rowing class.

Of course, you have to pay extra for this, which I'm not sure I'm in a position to do right now, but at least I'll now what it's all about when the time is right.

What I love is that both girls can participate in the same classes (if they want to) as me.  Well, almost - Kelsey has to wait till she turns 11, but that's only a few months away.

So, me and Gianna will be taking the complementary rowing class together next week.

I am headed over there in a few hours for a yoga class - my very first experience with Lifetime!!!
Can't wait - I'll let you know how it goes.

I am so grateful to my friend who was very adamant about me joining a gym - for so many reasons! 

Moving right along...it's ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Have I mentioned enough how much I love Ireland??  And all things Irish!

It is absolutely hands-down, one of my favorite countries in the world AND has probably, the nicest, most friendly people anywhere!

I literally felt as if I had returned home to long-lost relatives when I visited the Emerald Isle back in 2012.  Everyone, and I mean everyone was so kind and sweet and I CANNOT WAIT to return!!

Something on my bucket list is to experience St. Pat's Day in Ireland, namely Dublin.

Although I have traveled throughout Ireland, I have never visited Dubln! And when I do, I want to be sure I schedule my trip so I am there to celebrate this holiday.

My cousin Tanya, on the other hand, has enjoyed the holiday celebration during her trip to Dublin, which included attending Dublin's St. Patrick's Day parade.  According to Tanya:
​"I'm a parade/festival type of gal and that this was the BEST parade I've ever seen anywhere in the world (hands down)!"

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE, DUBLIN, IRELAND (c) travelincousins.com

And speaking of St. Patrick's Day Celebrations, let's take a look at...

​The World's Biggest St. Patrick's Day Celebrations
(according to  Fodor's Travel)

#1 NEW YORK
New York hosts the country’s (and the world's) largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration, with more than two million people gathering for the city’s grand parade on March 17. There are no floats or cars allowed in the parade, which features bands, bagpipes, and dancers, and typically between 150,000 to 250,000 participants.
The tradition itself dates back to 1762, making the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade older than the U.S. itself. The parade starts at 11 am and lasts about six hours!

#2 DUBLIN
Of course, Dublin hosts one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, five days filled with boat races, the Irish Beer & Whiskey Festival, music and street performances, and a spectacular parade. 

#3 SYDNEY
The Sydney Opera House turns green for St. Patrick’s Day and so does the rest of the city. With a huge themed parade (dating back more than 200 years) on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day, there’s also pre- and post- parade entertainment along the streets of Sydney. The parade itself is one of the largest in the world, and the only one organized and sponsored by the Irish Community and Government.

#4 CHICAGO
The city of Chicago truly commits to St. Patrick’s Day by dyeing the Chicago River green every season. The tradition dates back to 1961, when the chairman of the annual parade saw green dye in the river (which at the time was used to identify a sewage problem) and got the idea to use it for the upcoming holiday. On the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day, this year falling on March 12, more than 400,000 people gather along the Chicago River to watch 45 pounds of environmentally-safe vegetable dye turn the murky river a bright shade of green.

#5 MONTREAL
Since its inauguration in 1824, the Montreal St. Patrick’s Day Parade has never been cancelled, regardless of poor weather in past years. The festivities take place on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day and includes floats, bands, and plenty of costumes. The three-hour parade features a massive replica of St. Patrick, which announces the beginning of the celebration.

​#6 LONDON
#7 MONTSERRAT
#8 SAVANNAH
#9 MUNICH
#10 BUENOS AIRES

And in case you are not 100% up to speed on this great Saint, here's a 17 for 2017...

17 Facts about St. Patrick
​
1. March 17th is the day that St. Patrick died 461ADUT 
2. St. Patrick was NOT Irish - he was born of Roman Citizens living in modern day Scotland. 
3. He was captured by Irish raiders at the age of 16 and sold as a slave.
4. St. Patrick escaped at age 22 to a monastery where he studied for twelve years
5. He used the Shamrock to teach about the Holy Trinity.
6. The Shamrock is the official symbol of Ireland
7. The original color associated with St. Patrick is the color blue as he was depicted in blue vestments.
8. Green is the color associated with Ireland.
9. St. Patrick's Day was started by the American Irish as a way to organize themselves politically against the discrimination against Irish Catholics.
10. 1970 marks the first year that St. Patrick's Day was no longer a dry holiday in Ireland.
11. Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland in 40 years.
12. St. Patrick is one of the most popular saints.
13. There are more Irish in America than in Ireland.
14. St. Patrick was knows as the "Apostle of Ireland"
15. The reputed burial place of St. Patrick is Downpatrick, Ireland, about 21 miles south of Belfast.
16. According to legend, St. Patrick drove all the snakes, or in some translations, "toads," out of Ireland. In all likelihood, this is not true as it was more likely that the climate was too cold for them to thrive. However, many religious scholars believe that the term "snakes" may be figurative and refer to pagan religious beliefs and practices rather than reptiles or amphibians. 
17. The original color associated with St. Patrick is blue, not green as commonly believed, as the saint is portrayed in artwork wearing blue vestments. Additionally, King Henry VIII used the Irish harp in gold on a blue flag to represent the country.

For more great Ireland travel memories and adventures, click the following links:

Top 15 Places to Visit in Ireland

#3 ON OUR LIST: MUCKROSS HOUSE & GARDENS (c) travelincousins.com

Waking up like a Princess on my Birthday at the Ashford Castle!

ASHFORD CASTLE, ON THE MAYO-GALWAY BORDER (c) travelincousins.com

THROWBACK THURSDAY:  Falconry, Archery & more  at Dromoland Castle Ireland 

DROMOLAND CASTLE, CO. CLAIRE, IRELAND (c) travelincousins.com

A Few of Elisa's Memories of Ireland

SCONE MAKING (c) travelincousins.com

FALCONRY AT DROMOLAND CASTLE (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

MY GIRLS' FIRST HORSE RIDING IN KILARNEY (c) travelincousins.com (Gianna 8, Kelsey 5)

MUCKROSS HOUSE & GARDENS HORSE & CARRIAGE RIDE (c) travelincousins.com

DROMOLAND CASTLE GARDENS (c) travelincousins.com

KELSEY KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE AT BLARNEY CASTLE (c) travelincousins.com

Anyhoo, for such a happy day, it didn't start off great - had a big run-in with the kids.  I was just so sick of their nasty mouths and attitudes! Additionally, I asked them to do a few chores before bed last night so that the morning would be easier for me and of course, they didn't because they were too preoccupied with their latest Netflix obsession - Grey's Anatomy.

So, I originally punished them for the rest of the day by banning them from using their laptops and devices.  That led to major chaos.

Complaining  - mostly Gianna - the whole way to school and then more nastiness and disrespectful talk.  So, I upped it to include tomorrow.  By the time we got to school (and after a warning) - she was up to the entire weekend with no phone or laptop.  

She refused to get out of the car; she went on about how her life was ruined without her phone and I told her - THIS WEEKEND WE ARE DOING IT UP OLD-SCHOOL - NO ELECTRONICS AND THAT IS FINAL!!!!

SEriously - these kids are so spoiled and I had had it.

On that note, I wish you a wonderful day and 

Here's to a great St. Patrick's Day!!!

-E
​xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 3 DAYS

The headaches of Traveling

Good Day Everyone!
​AND Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Luckily I got plenty accomplished yesterday...maybe I had the luck of the Irish helping me out!

• I finished up my super long shopping list - woo
• I actually found a darling birthday outfit (so excited to show you - on my birthday) - hoo
• I am basically all packed and almost ready to go - WOO to the HOO!

I also received a package that I have been waiting for...            Filled with Lip Colors!!! 

I'm not sure that I've mentioned it, but I started using a new lip "stain". I use to go days without wearing any lip color simply because it wouldn't last, would rub out, would stain things other than my lips, would get on anyone I kissed💋 and would end up on my glass, my sandwich/burrito, and worst of all my teeth - ewww

So when I heard about this fantastic hot product that lasts 4-18 hrs without wiping off or bleeding on anything. Well I had to try it! 

I fell in love with it. I had to have more and I wanted a discount - so guess what???

I joined to become a distributor!!!

Well this product has been flying off of the shelves and the manufacturer has had a difficult time keeping colors in stock - there are over 70 gorgeous colors to choose from. 

While waiting for my own order, I had friends place orders (still waiting on Elisa to choose some colors), and a partial delivery has finally arrived!!! 
​   💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋

Super exciting to find a product that you truly love and then it's like Christmas when Fedex finally drops off your order!

This is what I've become! Send me a message it you want to try the BEST lip stain on the market!

SPEAKING of COLORS:

​Dominic's green hair was beginning to look like HAY, so he needed a new color. 

I personally liked the green better. This has shades of blue/green and it appears even a grayish. But he likes it - so it's all good!

Now let me share with you some of my frustrations and screw ups for the day...

FIRST: I am furious regarding a Pay Later reservation that I made for our stay in Chicago while on the Cousins Road Trip. To me Pay Later means Pay Later, especially when it also advertises that your card will not be charged until check in/out.

Well the card was charged ladies and gentleman. And the thing is that it was Dave's card set as the default card - being that I had just finished some of our bookings prior to booking the Chicago stay (of which he isn't coming).

You could imagine my frustration. So I called to fume and to get the matter straightened out. However no such luck, when I was told that they couldn't assist me and that my account was FLAGGED!

Well that certainly doesn't sound good. Why is it flagged? What does it mean that it is flagged?

But no one could answer me. Only explaining that another department was notified and that only they can handle the flagged issue with me! I was to expect a call within an hour or two.

Well many hours had gone by and I never received any calls. I called back to find out wth?! But got the same freakin' responses - promising me a call from this "other" department. Nothing yet.
​And I'm not a happy camper about this!

Ready for issue number two???

SECOND: I just happened to go onto American Airlines because I wanted to double check that the Advantage Miles numbers were linked to our upcoming flight back east.

Well yes they were. HOWEVER, when I pulled up my account I noticed the date was May 16th and I scratched my head... Where am I going on May 16th? When I looked further I realized that I totally somehow screwed up when I booked our tickets!

OMG how did I do this? 

Well when I looked at the calendar I had noticed that I obviously wasn't looking at the dates and that I chose the May date based on "where" it was in the calendar and the May 16th date was in the same spot as the June 13th date on the calendar. 

I immediately got on the phone with the airlines and was told that I would incur a $200 per ticket change fee! UGH
I was speechless by what I had done. I really couldn't even speak - how did I confirm our (4) tickets for the wrong month and the wrong date???

Hearing my explanation and utter disbelief the agent asked to place me on hold and then spoke to a supervisor on my behalf (I hadn't even asked for her to do this). When she came back on the line she had told me that the supervisor said that she could waive the fees and we amended the ticket to the correct dates. Whew!

Now that was GREAT customer service!

But while I was on hold and she was re-ticketing, the phone had become disconnected!!!

Ohhhhhh noooooo. I really was frazzled and had no choice but to call back. Thinking that I had to go through the entire process all over again and pray that the supervisor would waive the fees like the other supervisor.
​But when I got the new agent of the phone it had appeared that the previous agent had completed the ticketing and that we were good to go - we only needed seat assignments at this point. Whew Whew Whew!

What a day huh?!

I had made a lovely Pasta Fasul (one of Dominic's favorites) for dinner and filled the fam bam in on all the zaniness that I had been dealing with. 

Pasta Fasul (c)travelincousins.com

Therefore I was doing all the talking while everyone else was eating away. Bad enough that I'm the slowest eater around here, but when I'm talking away and not eating, well let's just say that everyone finishes before I even get to start!

I had got us a special little treat for dessert and to kick off the GREEN festivities of St. Patrick's Day!

And tonight we'll be eating a special Irish feast! 

Just in case you were wondering what some of the flavors for vegan Irish food are, I found this cute graph:

Now you might be wondering why I haven't said much about St. Patrick's Day...

Well have you seen Elisa's column?!
She touched on and pretty much covered all bases. I love all the information that is on there! If you haven't already, then please check it out.

But since Ireland.com sent me a great list of
9 Facts about St. Patrick's Day I figured that I'd share just a few of them with you:

Down Cathedral (credit: Ireland.com)

In Dublin for St. Patrick's Day 2011 (c)travelincousins.com

I will add that going to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin was the St. Patrick's HIGHLIGHT of my life! ​

I'm so excited that we are going again next year and that the kids will get to join in on the festivities this time around!

​Now it's time for me to go enjoy St. Patrick's Day and to kick off the weekend!!

​-T