Escorted Tours in West of Ireland

Are we beginning to emerge from this disastrous recent recession? In the US they tell us that the green shoots are beginning to sprout. Mainland Europe is showing signs of recovery and things here in Ireland are stabilising. In my own line of business, chauffeurdrive/car and driver/guide, escorted tours,we are so dependent on our friends in the USA who are our main source of business. Nearly all of my clients are from the USA. Without them i can park my car and stay in bed. Looking ahead to this year a few weeks ago i would have been delighted to think that i might hold my own. I would certainly not have expected to be very busy. Now all of a sudden i am amazed at just how busy i have become as enquiry after enquiry comes in. I have been tied to my phone and computer putting together itineraries for interested clients all the week and i can honestly say that i can never remember being quiet as busy as i am right now. The Irish American will always want to come back again to his or her homeland. If they can afford it, they will do it. There are so many wonderful places they can visit on their own side of the world. They can go south to Florida or Mexico or head for the Carribbean. They can go to Hawaii or even South America. They can come to Europe, visit Great Britain or even head for Africa. They have many wonderful choices but none that can match Ireland. Here they can walk where their ancestors walked, drive through the countryside where they grew up. Stop and gaze at the rock strewn fields where many of them worked their fingers to the bone just to scrape a living. They can murmur a prayer where many of their forefathers starved to death on the side of the road for those who died in their efforts to free their country. This is where they can feel in their bones that they are once again back with their own. Coming to Ireland for them is not just a holiday abroad. It is a spiritual experience. I have driven through areas with my American friends where their ancestors lived and, eventhough they have no accurate information as to exact locations, i have witnessed the emotional transformation in these people as something or someone let them know that they were home again. I have seen the effects that being in the exact locations can have on people when they do have accurate information...as they visit ruined cottages or make contact with existing relatives they have never met before. These family reunions can be one of the most enjoyable parts of my job and i feel honored to be the one to take them home again to where it all began. For the Irish American there is no place like Ireland and travelling with someone like me who knows his country and can share with them its tragic history, its struggles and its final emergence as a free nation makes my job worthwhile. I do not boast when i say that i do a good job. I say it because that is what i am told i do. I love my country and i take great pride in showing it off to those who really want to experience the joys of being Irish. I am sure that there are people reading this now who know what i am talking about. There are those who have not been here yet and who will want to come even more now. There are those who have already made the move and who are writing to make enquiries and they are doing it because once again there is a new hope that the worst is over and that there was never a better time to come as the value is there now. We are all doing our best to bring prices down at this point in time and make it more practical for people to travel. Prices are falling in just about every area, Hotels, restaurants, pubs, and in my own business also, i am doing my best to help as much as i can. Maybe i should not be so surprised that the enquiries are pouring in. I really do mean it when i say, do not hang about if you are really interested in coming this year. The early bird catches the worm. I can only look after so many and first come...first served. Is it your turn?
Comments welcome.

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