Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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My family isn't Irish and my parents didn't drink alcohol, but we always celebrated St. Patrick's Day at our house.  We wore something green --- not doing so at my elementary school meant getting pinched relentlessly --- and Mom always made delicious corned-beef and cabbage.

It turns out that traditional Irish meal is actually an American dish popularized by Irish immigrants, but it will always feel Irish to me.

In Ireland, Guinness Beef Pie is traditional Irish cuisine, and I order it frequently when I'm on the Emerald Isle.  Another favorite meal for me is fish and chips with vinegar. 

Potatoes, of course, are still an important dish in Ireland.  I remember at one pub on our first trip to Ireland twenty years ago --- a bed-and-breakfast self-driving tour --- one our meals came with both French fries and mashed potatoes as side dishes.

I enjoy a pint of beer in a nice Irish pub, and there's no place better to drink a Guinness or some other Irish beer than in Ireland.

Most attractions are found outside the pubs, in historic buildings and lovely green fields punctuated by rock walls that remain from centuries past.

When someone books a trip to Ireland or the United Kingdom, I'm always excited for them, because I know how much I love going there.

Self-guided tours with packaged hotel, car and air can be fun in that part of the world, because they speak a form of English distinctly different from our own but usually decipherable.  Driving on the wrong side of the road can be challenging but also turns out to be rather fun after a good night's sleep to shake off jetlag.

With years of experience behind me, however, I now highly recommend cruises or guided tours, especially for first time visitors.  They take you places that travelers love and can help you get the best experience out of each locale.  Bottom line, they seem to save you money once you factor in the price of search and getting lost.  However, if you do go with a self-guided option to get between cities, at least let me help you get the most from your trip by booking excursions designed to get the most from each place you visit.

That goes for anywhere in the world you choose to make your next great vacation.