A Weekend on the Emerald Isle

Tullamore DEW Old Bonded Warehouse
Tullamore, Irealnd

On our first day in Ireland we drove across the entire country, coast to coast, and it only took 3 hours—Ireland’s not that wide.  We were driving from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher. Along the way we stopped off in Tullamore to visit the Tullamore DEW whisky distillery. While in Scotland, I discovered that I liked Scotch, so I was eager to try some Irish whisky. Not particularly liking scotch, Joe was not as eager. There are many distilleries around Ireland. We chose Tullamore because it was on our route from Dublin to County Clare, it was cheaper than the Jameson tour in Dublin, and we’d heard of it.




Placemat for Tasting 3 Whisky Blends
Tullamore, Ireland

The Tullamore Dew visitor center opens at 9:30am and we arrived slightly before 10:00am. We inquired about tour times, but the text tour wasn’t until 10:20am. Since we didn’t have the time to wait around 30 minutes for an hour long tour to start we bought a tasting ticket instead for only €5.00. Before our tasting started we watched a little video about the history of the whisky, and then were walked through the museum on a personal mini-tour. Next, we tasted 3 blends of whiskies that were vastly different from scotch. They were also generous pours, Joe—the driver—didn’t finish his. Don’t worry though, no whisky was wasted on this tour; I finished his too.

The tour ended in the gift shop where all kinds of Tullamore DEW merchandise and whisky was available for purchase. There are 2 blends of their whisky that is only available in their visitor center. We wanted to buy a bottle, but I was hesitant to spend the requisite amount on whisky we hadn’t even tasted. Luckily, they had just opened a bottle at the bar, so I was able to taste it there with some of the bar maids. The 3 of us pronounced it delicious—Joe would just have to believe us—and we bought the bottle.

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Visit the Tullamore Dew Old Bonded Warehouse
Tullamore DEW Whiskies

Mont St Michel

Mont St Michel, France

When Joe finished his work in Belgium, we set off for a mini French vacation; our first stop was Mont St. Michel. I first read about this abbey when I was a little girl, in some book I don’t even remember. I was fascinated by the tides and by this church rising seamlessly from the rock to tower over its surroundings. Mont St. Michel is located at the mouth of the Couesnon River in the English Channel and has some of the most dramatic tides in the world. When the tide is out, the island becomes part of the mainland; just a church on a rocky hill. When the tide is in, the city is surrounded by water and becomes a walled island once more. The tides come in with such speed (17 feet per second) and ferocity that it is dangerous to be outside the walls. 

The mud flats around Mont St Michel
This photo was take at about 4pm

This picture was taken exactly 3 hours later, and the
area is almost completely underwater.
Mont St Michel, France

The tide was out when we arrived, so we took the opportunity to wander around the mud flats surrounding the abbey. There is something amazing about walking on mud barefoot; it just feels so good squished between your toes. Joe was hesitant to join me at first, but eventually he gave in, kicked off his shoes and socks, and strode out onto more uneven ground. Quicksand is prevalent, so our steps were careful—until we found some. It was a small patch of quicksand, and it felt very weird to walk on, but since we weren’t sucked in, we stopped worrying about it. When our feet reached the desired level of muddiness, we decided to rinse them off, and go find a place for dinner.

We returned to the “island” by walking along the shallows of the adjacent Couesnon River. During our stroll, one of the local residents scuttled up to examine me. I think the little crab wasn’t paying attention and just crashed into my toe, but when I looked down and saw him there, I screamed and ran off. I probably scared him more than he scared me, but I’m not looking to get my toes pinched.

A soloist inside Mont St. Michel abbey church

After dinner we strolled along the walls of the abbey and looked at places where we had been mere hours before—now they were all underwater. At the time, the abbey was open at night, so we were at the top of the Mont during sunset. These stunning visuals were accompanied by soloists playing period pieces. It was very moving; the acoustics inside gothic churches make is seem like music is coming from within you. 

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Pictures from Our Trip!

Mont St Michel Visitor Information

Tide Times