I started my second day in Ireland with this lovely cappuccino before we took a tour of Newgrange (move over Starbucks). This is a huge prehistoric stone tomb (80 meters in diameter and 13 meters high).  It is more then 1000 years older then Stone Henge and is older then the pyramids.  It’s original purpose is not know, but it is believed to have been a burial place and the builders made the passage way in such an accurate way that at the winter solstice the light shines directly down the tunnel into the center chamber.  It was an extremely windy and cold day, so we were happy to go inside and have a tour of the domes chamber.

We spent the night in Armagh.  Well, actually in a beautiful 1700’s farmhouse just outside of the city.  The kids even got to bottle feed two lambs.

We had to stop at this adorable country store just down the road from the farmhouse.  It was so picturesque with it’s red phone booth and mail box and beautiful spring flowers everywhere.

So, here’s just a few more instagrams from our 2nd day in New York.  We packed it in and tried to see, do and eat as much as possible.  It was a little warmer today, so we did a lot of walking.

So, it’s just 3 sleeps till we are leaving on a jet plane for Ireland.  I shared how we are so blessed to be going to Ireland for Spring Break.  Now I’m down to the crunch and have so many things on my to do list.  Slowly but surely I’m checking them off.

One thing that we really like to do before we visit a new country, is do a little research.  We think the best way to do that is with a guide book.  Lonely Planet guide books are our favorite.  They seem to be the easiest to read and follow and have a lot of great maps.  There are of course other great ones out there, this is just our personal preference.  But definitely check the publication date on any guide book you purchase.  You don’t want one that is so old that certain restaurants and hotels no longer exist.  That won’t be any help to you at all.

If you are the kind of traveller that likes your vacations to be about relaxing by the pool and having time to read a good novel, then you shouldn’t travel with us.  We are the kind of travellers that like to pack in as much of the culture, sights, and food as possible.  We believe you can rest on the flight or when you get home.  In order to get the most out of a country, you need to plan ahead and do research.  We like to read through most of the guide book about the spots we are visiting and take a highlighter and mark up things that seem interesting or need farther research.  I’ve been doing this in the evenings and eating Hershey Creme de Menthe Kisses.  They are so yummy.  And luckily they are a seasonal treat for St. Patrick’s Day (the green wrapper), because I could get addicted to these pretty fast.

We have a pretty good selection of Lonely Planets on our book shelf.  And they are fun to look through even after your trip and remember some of the sights you saw.

How do you prepare for a trip?  Do you research where you are going long before the trip?  Are you a “see everything” traveller or are you a “relax as much as possible” traveller?