Travelling Lore

Another fantastic Northern Ireland site is the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede .  Located near Ballintoy in County Antrim, this bridge was first erected by fishermen about 350 years ago.  It spans over a 23-meter deep and 20-meter wide chasm and was traditionally used by the fishermen so that they could check their salmon nets.  Today fishermen no longer work in the area due to a diminished availability of salmon.  In the 1960's fishermen caught approximately 300 salmon per day, but by 2002 only 300 salmon were caught in a single season. The original rope bridge consisted of a single rope hand rail that was replaced with a two hand railed bridge by the National Trust .  So suffice it to say it's much safer now than I'm sure it was 350+ years ago!  For those afraid of heights, crossing is definitely a thrill since the rope bridge undulates as everyone walks across it.  However, the staff has safety in mind as only a maximum amount of individuals can cross at any one

If you prefer beer over wine, Charlottesville also has plenty of local breweries to visit. Most, if not all, offer flights or taster sizes of their brews and most also have food to purchase.  In addition to C'Ville-ian Brewery in downtown, we stopped at Blue Mountain Brewery for lunch where we tried every beer they had on tap.  My favorite by far was their Dark Hollow, a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. Blue Mountain Brewery also had amazing  pizza.  I am a hardcore pizza fan (it's basically my favorite food on this planet) and was incredibly happy with "The Real Deal" pie that I ordered.  This easily lasted us three meals: lunch for myself, dinner in the hotel room watching the NFL playoffs, and lunch on the drive back home. My fiance, on the other hand, ordered their delicious "Creole Cuban Press" sandwich, which was composed of slow-roasted Virginia pulled pork, shaved ham, pepper jack cheese, and pickles. He graciously let me try a bi

When we found out about Northern Ireland's Dark Hedges I knew we had to go.  I am an absolute sucker for tree tunnels and this looked like the mother of all tree tunnels! Located about 50 miles north of Belfast and near the village of Armoy along Bregagh Road, this avenue of over 150 beech trees was planted in the 18th century by the Stuart family.  It was intended to impress visitors as they rode up to the entrance of Gracehill House, the Stuarts' Georgian mansion. The estate itself has a royal heritage  that dates back to the 17th century.  King James I granted the land to a cousin who unfortunately drowned on his way to Ireland before he was able to take possession of the estate.  The property subsequently passed down to William Stuart, the cousin's grandson, where it remained in the family for a number of years.  There's also a local ghost story that features the Grey Lady, who glides along Bregagh Road and vanishes from sight when she passes the l

After visiting Barboursville Vineyards we drove a very short five minutes to neighboring  Horton Vineyards .  Though not as old as Barboursville, Horton Vineyards has been producing for over two decades.  In 1988 entrepreneur Dennis Horton and business partner Joan Bieda acquired 55 acres of land to start the vineyard.  The first crop was harvested in 1991 and vinted at Montdomaine Winery in Charlottesville, where Dennis eventually took over management and produced a Chardonnay and Cabernet under that label.  The tasting room we now know as Horton Cellars came into being in 1993, which saw its first crush that year.  The following year additional acreage began producing Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, Portuguese, and Spanish varietals. Horton Vineyards also has an extensive list of wines from which to taste.  Once there you can choose eight from the list to taste, if my memory serves me correctly.  Pictured here is their 2013 Pinotage, which is a blend of Pinot Noir and Cinsault , wh

I mentioned earlier that we visited quite a handful of wineries near Charlottesville, eight in total when all was said and done!  We visited Barboursville Vineyards bright and early on our way to downtown Charlottesville. When we arrived we were greeted by an expansive view of their precious vines set atop ever so slightly rolling hills.  Gianni Zonin, heir to a family wine enterprise that spans over many of Italy's wine-producing regions, acquired the historic property in 1976 with the idea of creating a vineyard.  As such, Barboursville is one of Virginia's oldest vineyards, with Mountain Cove Vineyards  (45 minutes south of downtown Charlottesville) being the oldest.  Barboursville Vineyards also happens to be one of the most award-winning wineries in the state. Upon entering the tasting room we were intrigued by the layout of wine tasting stations where, at each station, we tried three to four wines at a time before rotating to the next counter.  We quickly f

While Charlottesville, Virginia is known for its plethora of wineries, they also have an abundance of local breweries.   C'Ville-ian Brewing Company , conveniently located in walkable downtown Charlottesville, is a veteran owned and operated nanobrewery.  Its clever name incorporates a play on the word "civilian" as well as the tendency of locals to shorten Charlottesville to "C-ville."  The owner Steve, who we met while enjoying a couple of pints, started the company in his garage in 2013.  Now, after securing a storefront, Steve remains motivated to create an inviting environment where people can enjoy delicious beer that was brewed with local ingredients.  Sitting in C'Ville-ian's cozy bar is like being draped in a U.S. flag: the bar is built with red wood, the walls are white, and there are 50 light bulbs hanging overhead, not to mention there's a gigantic U.S. flag hanging on the wall to seal the deal. The moment we walked into C

My fiance and I spent the most amount of time of our Ireland trip in Dublin due to a couple of logistical factors.  We all had to arrive in Dublin with enough time to visit the Guinness Storehouse and Trinity College before my fiance's brother and his fiancee flew back to the U.S. as well as allow us enough time to explore the city ourselves and mentally regroup to do a one-day trip to Northern Ireland. First, and obviously  the most important place to visit in Dublin, we stopped in at the Guinness Storehouse.  I honestly wasn't sure what to expect out of this except that I'd heard good reviews about the factory. It's open 7 days a week from 9:30 am to 7 pm and is located on St. James's Gate, which is very close to St. James's Hospital. Visiting the storehouse was liking visiting Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but with beer and for adults! I loved it! The interior of the building is shaped like a Guinness pint glass over seven stories,

After touring the Rock of Cashel but before making it all the way back to Dublin, we stopped in at  Wicklow Mountains National Park .  This national park encompasses part of a mountain range that extends over most of County Wicklow in eastern Ireland.  The primary purpose of the park is conservation of local biodiversity and landscape and also serves as a popular recreational area.   The most frequented area of WMNP is Glendalough Valley where the ancient monastic settlement of St. Kevin is located.  Pictured above is part of the settlement, which was founded in the 6th century, though most of the structures that remain are from the 10th to 12th centuries.  It was one of Ireland's greatest ecclesiastical foundations, despite frequent Viking attacks, until it was destroyed by the Normans in 1214 AD. Wicklow Mountains National Park also has a lot of beautiful walking paths.  We didn't have a lot of time to explore, so we didn't embark on any long hikes, but we we