Chauffeurdriven tour ends in Dublin

My latest tour ended in Dublin yesterday, and as i write the ladies are on their flight home to California, via London. This had been a really nice tour for me, and i hope, for the ladies also. They never complained when the weather was poor, but we did get some nice days also.
I would especially like to thank David and Carrie Edwards, who referred Janice and  Marissa to me, and who had toured with me themselves back in 2014. Thank you sincerely for that.

A lovely picture of Marissa, on the left, with Janice, at their favourite place on their tour of the West of Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher.
Thank you once again ladies for choosing me.
You will always be welcome if you should choose to return to Ireland at any time.

We are now taking bookings for 2018 and would only be delighted to discuss a possible tour with anybody interested.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Wild Atlantic tour on Ring of Kerry.

What a difference a day makes, as today we were blessed with a complete change of weather from yesterday. It was ideal weather for what we needed for our visit to the famous Ring of Kerry.

My favourite place on the Ring is high in the mountains overlooking the lakes of Killarney, and in the picture above, maybe you can see why. The ladies add some extra beauty to the wonderful scene.

 Another lovely spot on the Ring is Mols Gap, at the top of the mountains, and here once again we have the ladies, posing, with the Gap of Dunloe in the background, just to the left of Marissa's head.

 Janice is a real fan of anything to do with Christmas, as you can see here, as she poses, with a little stuffed toy in the Avoca shop at Mol's Gap.

 Marissa, posing with the mountains and the Gap of Dunloe in the background.

 Muckross House is another must to visit on your tour of the Ring, as this was where Queen Victoria stayed during her visit to Killarney back in the eighteen hundreds.

 Ross Castle is a fine example of a Norman castle, and stands on the lakeshore just outside Killarney town.

The evenings are growing short as the Winter settles in, and here we have Marissa, posing, in the fading light, down beside the lake at the back of Ross Castle.

Tomorrow brings this latest tour to an end as we make our way to Dublin, where we will part company, after what, for me, has been a really nice tour with two lovely ladies.Thank you for your your lovely company.

Time to be looking to begin your planning if you are thinking about coming to Ireland next year. You know where i am if you need me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my pals.

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 Happy Thanksgiving to all. 
 
Thanksgiving is a feast we do not celebrate here in Ireland, but it is one that i feel we could all gladly celebrate, as we do have much to be grateful for. I personally have plenty of reasons to be grateful for all of the wonderful friends i have been so fortunate to make through my chauffeurdrive business, and the list is much too long to detail here. You know who you are, and Sue and i sendour greetings, and best wishes, to all of you on your special day.

Love to all from Ireland.

Dave and Sue.

Chauffeurdriven Tour to Cork City and Jameson Distillery in Midleton

Today we made our way to Cork City to visit the Nano Nagle center, and the resting place of this great woman. Nano was the foundress of the Presentation Order of nuns, and Marissa had attended one of their convent schools back home in California. This was a special visit for her.

Nano's tomb is located in the cemetery, beside the gardens at the old convent.In the picture above, we have, on the right, Janice, and beside her, Marissa, with Nano's coffin, behind the glass walls of the tomb.

A picture of the gardens at the old convent.

The ladies pictured at the Nano Nagle bridge in Cork City.

A monument in the Mall in Cork city, to the Irish patriots, who fought and died for our country's freedom.

After our visit to Cork city, we moved on to the town of Midleton to visit the Jameson Distillery.This is a very special place to visit, especially if you like our most famous whiskey, the renowned Jameson brand. Here we have Marissa, standing at the entrance. Where had Janice disappeared to?

Here she is. She had us worried there for a minute. You do not want to lose anybody in a distillery.

Happy together again, and no wonder. The whiskey tasting session is one of the highlights of the tour, and the ladies seem to be enjoying this very much. I did manage however, to extract them from the bar area eventually, and it all ended well. Yes, Jameson is a good whiskey.

This had been a very bad day weatherwise but it all went very well and we did manage to accomplish all of what we had planned to do.
Tomorrow, Thursday, we are on the Ring of Kerry. Hopefully, the sun may shine for us.

Dingle and Killarney with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

On Monday we traveled from Kinvara to Killarney, where we were to stay for the next four nights, in the
Killarney Plaza Hotel, right in the heart of the town. This is a lovely hotel, and the location could not be better, as it is close to all of the shops and pubs and restaurants, and you will never need a cab or taxi at night when you are ready to retire for the evening.

Two happy ladies, Marissa and Janice, at breakfast this morning in the Plaza hotel in Killarney,

 Entering the Dingle peninsula as we make our way to Dingle town.

 It was overcast today, but never cold or very wet, and acceptable weather for November in Ireland.

 Marissa had a special interest in visiting the Presentation convent in Dingle, a religious order of nuns founded by Nano Nagle, as she herself had received her own education from the Presentation nuns at home in California.The convent in Dingle is now a visitor center, dedicated to Nano Nagle, and there are some beautiful murals painted on the walls in a special room there showing various scenes depicting events in her life.  In the picture above we have Marissa, with the scene showing Nano, known as the lady with the lamp, as she spent many nights visiting people in need in the dark evenings.

There is also the nuns own chapel where the magnificent stain glass windows are an invaluable collection, especially those by the famous Harry Clarke.

 Dingle town is a lovely quaint town, and Dingle harbour is famous for its playful dolphin, Fungi, who attracts thousands of visitors every year, and who venture out on the harbour in pleasure boats to enjoy his playful antics.
Above, we have Marissa and Janice, with the bronze of  Fungi, in the town center.

 Our next stop was in Brian De Staic's jewellery factory. Brian's work is special, and highly regarded world wide, and the ladies were anxious to get their hands on some special items for themselves. One of Brian's specialities, is jewellery engraved with your own name, in the ancient Irish Ogham script, an ancient alphabet dating back thousands of years.

 Christmas is definitely on the way, and Ireland is already buzzing with expectation. In this picture, we have Janice and Marissa, posing with an ancient standing stone, in Brian De Staic's, and with  his lovely Christmas tree, all lit up for the occasion.
This was a lovely day, and a very enjoyable one, with the evening yet to come.

 Tonight we dined in the Caragh restaurant in Killarney town.This is one of my favourite restaurants, if you want genuine Irish food. Janice and i, had the Shepherd's pie, while Marissa had grilled salmon. There was also large helpings of extra mash, and french fries, and roasted vegetables, and then we followed all of that up with desserts. Janice had Profiteroles, Marissa had the Eton Mess, and i had Jelly and ice cream, all delicious.
Life can be tough.

 Later i took this picture of the entrance door to the Plaza Hotel, all lit up for Christmas. We do start early in Ireland, and yes, we do call it Christmas.
Tomorrow we are off to Cork for the day. Make sure to follow along.

Chauffeurdriven trip to the Cliffs of Moher with Janice and Marissa on Irish tour.

Today was our day to visit the Burren of County Clare, and the Cliffs of Moher.

I collected the ladies at the Harbour hotel in Galway, and brought them on a brief tour of the city, starting out at the Galway University.
In the picture above, we have, on the left, Janice, and Marissa, together in the quadrangle of the old University buildings, with the Aula Maxima, (the great hall) in the background. This University was one of four Universities built during the reign of Queen Victoria, The other three being in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast.

Here we have a very excited Marissa, who has an engineering

degree, when she discovered this picture of Alice Perry, an engineering graduate from Galway University, who was the first woman ever to gain an engineering degree in Ireland or Great Britain.   Marissa is happily following in her footsteps.

In this picture, we have Marissa, and yours truly, me being a former student at this famous University.

Well if Marissa got her  photo with me, then it was only fair to let Janice have a picture with me also.

From the University we moved on to the beautiful Galway Cathedral, and in this picture above, we have the ladies, pictured together, standing in the main aisle of this magnificent church.

A picture of the ladies in front of the main altar. This fabulous church was officially opened in 1965 by Cardinal Cushing from the USA.

Then it was on to the Burren of county Clare, a region which was once upon a time the ocean floor, and the famous Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient Portal tomb. This tomb has been dated somewhere in the region of five and a half thousand years and six and a half years old. The tomb can be seen in the background, to Marissa's left, and unfortunatly this was as close as we were allowed to get to it, as there has been some recent damage done to the tomb by vandals, disguised as human beings.

These locals were more than curious, and despite the barren area they were living in, they did not look in the least bit underfed.

Now we were on to Lisdoonvarna, and the famous matchmaking town, the place to go if you are looking for a wife or a husband. The main matchmaking festival is held here in September, and i think, that if my two ladies were here during that month, they would have had no problem finding a husband.
In this picture, they are standing outside the famous matchmaker Bar, in the main street.

Right next door to the Matchmaker bar is the local police station. 

The ladies found this hilarious and just had to have their picture taken outside the police station.

At last, the magical Cliffs of Moher, and how lucky we were to have the dry day that we had today to spend time here, as the forecast had been for a rainy day. We certainly did not complain, and we all enjoyed a really nice day in the Burren, and at the Cliffs.

Another lovely picture of the ladies at the Cliffs.

This had been a very special day and one i know that the ladies enjoyed very much, as i did myself in lovely company.
Tomorrow we are on our way to Killarney, one of my favourite Irish towns. Come along and enjoy.

I am taking bookings for 2018 already, so if you are interested in taking a tour with Dovechauffeurdrive, then let me know soon.

Chauffeurdriven tour of West and Southwest begins in Galway

 My latest party, Janice and Marissa, all the way from California, arrived in Galway today, after spending the last two days in Dublin. Despite the weather not being very nice, they were in good form, and glad to be here. They were immediately excited, and maybe even surprised, by how early we begin our Christmas celebrations in Ireland.

Galway is renowned for its fine Christmas market, which got under way this weekend, and there you can enjoy a carnival atmosphere, along with a wide assortment of Christmas stalls, selling everything from Christmas fare, to all kinds of food.
In the picture above we have the two ladies in Galway's main square, with the Ferris wheel in the background. This wheel provided the crowds with great excitement last night, as the wheel got stuck while operating, with many people stranded on high. They rescued them after a couple of hours, but not exactly the best of starts for the big wheel.

Here we have, from the left,Janice, and Marissa, just waiting to explore the market in Eyre Square.

Another nice picture of the ladies, standing in front of one of the stalls, selling stuffed elves, and all kinds of Christmas dolls, in the background.
Tomorrow we head for the Cliffs of Moher, just one of many special places on our western seaboard.

If you are contemplating a visit to Ireland in the coming year, it would be a good idea to begin to plan right now. This past year has been a difficult one for me, as i did have to disappoint some people who enquired too late, and this i never like to have to do.
I would love to hear from you.

Dovechauffeurdrive, Ireland's leading Chauffeurs.

They are after me. The Gators think that i am the man to solve their problems. They have even sent me the T Shirt.

Well there is no doubt that i do look well in the Gator shirt, but this would be a big move for me. Obviously my masterly control over animals is a major factor here.

 More proof of that fact, as you can see the total respect this wild horse has for me.

My present position with the Patriots will make this a really difficult decision for me, as i have been credited with having played a major part in bringing them to where they are now. When they get news of this development, i will be coming under severe pressure.
I would not mind, but i have many fine friends from both Florida and Mass, and indeed many more states, and would never like to hurt any of them.
Maybe i should just pack it in altogether, and just stick to my touring, and and what i do best, and enjoy the fun that i have with all of these new friends that  i make along the way.
What do you think.  Gators, or Patriots, or sanity?

If you need me for anything, just send me a message. Maybe i can show you my Ireland, and we can enjoy that together. Sounds good to me.

Chauffeurdrive record year for Dove and Dave Hogan

What a great year this has been for tourism in Ireland, and especially for Dovechauffeurdrive and myself. My business, thankfully, has grown year on year, as one would hope it would do, but 2017 has seen an unprecedented growth. There is no doubt that, in my case, this has been mainly due to the fact, that the more my business has grown, the more friends i have made in the USA, and elsewhere, and these friends have in turn referred their friends to me, and sent many of them my way. For this i am most grateful, and thank them sincerely for this.My time has become more and more limited, and i just have not had the time to write to them all personally to thank them. I hope that, if you are one of those good friends, that you get the time to read this message, and to know that you are in my prayers.

Do you remember this old ruined house at the tip of the Dingle peninsula overlooking the Blasket Islands? I always picture a wife or a mother,sitting inside this window on a stormy evening, waiting for her husband or sons to return from these treacherous seas after a day's fishing. Many of them never did return.

This cheeky cow could not resist the ivy on top of the stone wall between my property and my neighbours. I love this picture. Not my cow by the way, but that is my ivy.

 The awesome Gap of Dunloe, a journey through an ancient mountain gorge, cut through the Kerry mountains by a giant glacier during the ice-age. If you were fortunate enough to see this on one of my tours, you need no reminding.

A beautiful picture, and a very special place. This is the Ballinahinch river in Connemara. 

Things are quietening down now for me, and my season is slowly drawing to a conclusion, but not finished just yet. Normally i would be finished by now, but it is hard to refuse people, especially when they are keen to come and have been referred by friends that i do not wish to let down. 

Now is normally the time for me to begin to deal with requests for next year, 2018, and i would would appeal to anybody, who may have the intention of coming and touring with me next year, to let me know as soon as possible, as i hate letting people down. I always work on a first come first basis, and that is the only fair way to operate. This is also most important for people who have not quiet made up their minds and want to make enquiries initially. It costs nothing to do that, and you are under no obligation if it does not work out for you.

I hope to continue to Blog during the closed season. Take care for now.