travel to ireland | AAV Explorations

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Here at AAV Travel, we would like to give your mind a break and the opportunity to enjoy and learn more about the world from the comfort of your home.

TASTE • LISTEN • EXPERIENCE • READ • HAPPY HOUR

Ireland is likely one of the most loved and cherished European countries, particularly by Americans. This post celebrates a nation with plenty of history, heart, culture, and passion! #tourismstrong

Irish food needs no introduction! Meat, potato, milk, and dairy have shaped Ireland’s food culture since the middle ages. Surrounded by the sea with many rivers and lakes, seafood naturally plays an important role as well. Today, Ireland has a thriving food scene, which combines the traditional with a more modern approach.

Galway hosts the Irish food festival each year, celebrating the areas rich culinary landscape and is also home to some incredible food tour operators. I particularly enjoy working with Padraic when creating itineraries around Galway. He takes clients to the Aran Islands, or all across Connemara for food as well as pub tours.

Another fantastic area for foodies is the Coastal Causeway in Northern Ireland. At AAV Travel, we love it when females take action and happily send our clients to explore the region with Portia, the founder of Toast to Coast food tours.

There are, of course, many reasons to visit Ireland, but you wish, you can make your visit all about food and drink.

Are you ready to try a winter recipe at home?

Irish Leek & Potato Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil or butter
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
3 large leeks trimmed, sliced, thoroughly rinsed, and dried
3 spuds diced (russet potatoes)
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 liters of vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Easy to follow instructions, courtesy of the Happy Pear and Melanie Murphy.

Irish music is as varied as Ireland’s weather. From rock to traditional folk music, there is something for everyone. Our playlist highlights many of the country’s favorites, but there are more, so many more.

Whether you want to delve into Ireland’s history, enjoy some Irish music, or drool over the gorgeous landscapes, there are many movies to pick from. Here is a selection of six to get you started.

Michael Collins: The story of Michael Collins and the Irish Republican Army fighting for Ireland’s independence from the British.
The Quiet Man: Irish-American boxer John Wayne, accidentally kills a man in the ring and returns to the Irish village where he was born. Hoping for a tranquil life, Wayne purchases a home that is also coveted by pugnacious squire Victor McLaglen. This 1952 movie is set in the village of Cong in the west of Ireland.
Angela’s Ashes: Angela’s Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all the odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick.
P.S. I love you: Although sad at times, it is a romantic comedy. A grieving widow follows a series of tasks to be revealed in ten monthly messages left by her husband and designed to help her overcome her sorrow while gradually making the transition into a new life.
The Commitments: Jimmy Rabbitte, a self-proclaimed promoter, decides to organize an R&B group to fill the musical void in his hometown of Dublin. The band comes together but consists entirely of white musicians who have little experience with R&B.
The Secret of Roan Inish: Ten-year-old Fiona is sent to Donegal to live with her grandparents. On the nearby island of Roan Inish, she spies a wild child. Fiona believes that the child is her long-lost brother, who mysteriously disappeared when his cradle floated out on the tide.

If you want to do some daydreaming and possibly plan a visit, check out this clip about the rugged West Coast.

If you are interested in Dublin, check out N.Y. Times’ 36 Hours in Dublin clip!

Although Ireland appears small in size, it is one of the most varied countries. This clip takes you across the island to explore some of the most stunning landscapes.

If you love reading and are ready to go deeper and learn more about the country as well as its history, culture, and behind the scenes, there are some excellent books for you!

Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks
TV comedian Tony Hawks tries to win a bet by hitchhiking around the circumference of Ireland in one calendar month, with a fridge. This is the story of Tony’s adventures—the people he meets, the difficulties, the triumphs, and that fridge. For more…

The Pope’s Children by David McWilliams

This is the special generation, the Irish baby boom of the 1970s that peaked nine months to the day after the Pope’s visit. There are 620,000 of them, squeezed into the middle and lifted up by the Expectocracy. Ireland is blurring. Out of this haze has come the Full-on Nation, the most hedonistic generation ever.

David McWilliams’ brilliant research and analysis of Ireland is a celebration of success. In an easy-to-read style, he takes us to Deckland, that suburban state of mind where you will find the Kells Angels, Breakfast Roll Man, Low GI Jane, and RoboPaddy. Come face to face with the You’re a Star generation, Billy Bunker, fair-trade Frank, Carrot Juice Contrarians, and Bouncy Castle Brendan. We also meet the HiCos, Hibernian Cosmopolitans, the new elite whose distance from Deckland is measured by appreciations and cultivations that Deckland’s rampant credit just can’t buy.

Entertaining and informative, The Pope’s Children told of the vast surge of ambition, money, optimism, and hope in Ireland during the boom. For more…

The Treasury of Irish Folklore by Padraic Colum
Everything from Irish myths, superstitions, and even songs of Ireland, are included. From blessings to spells, this book is chocked full of info, ready for you to crack the cover. For more…

Poems by Seamus Heaney
This critically-acclaimed body of work brings together roughly 100 poems culled by Seamus Heaney from nine of his collections. For more…

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Cyril Avery is not a real Avery — or at least, that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he?

Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead. At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from – and over his many years, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country, and much more. For more…

If you watched the 36 Hours in Dublin clip above, you know that the Guinness Brewery’ is one of Ireland’s most visited attractions.

If you have never tasted one before, this might be the moment to try one. Or, if you want to check out one of Ireland’s most popular shots, try a Baby Guinness.

Ingredients:

Coffee Liquor
Irish Cream

Please stay safe and healthy, wash your hands, and practice social distancing as long as it is necessary.

Being able to travel is an incredible gift. The experience can open our eyes to the unique cultures and spellbinding beauty of the natural world. But with this gift comes a responsibility – to protect the world as we know it. Please behave responsibly and show respect!

STEFANIE PICHONNAT
Stefanie Pichonnat is the owner of Cumar Gold Travel, a boutique travel firm specialized in creating customized travel itineraries. Originally from Switzerland, she started exploring the world at a young age and continues to expand her knowledge every year.