Éire and Alba

Sounds like a name of a great indie group eh?

Well... it's not... it is Ireland and Scotland.

I am researching people! I am going to make this real!

And... I am going to kiss the Blarney Stone (which I just found out was near Cork... which is near where my "people" came from).

And... if I can ever find the website again, I may take a ferry to Norway. Or Sweden. Or Denmark. I can't remember which one cause I can't find that damn website again.

Here's my general plan...

Fly Calgary to Manchester (or London Gatwick) and take a cheap Ryanair flight to Dublin. Tour around Dublin (going south to Cork for the Blarney Stone), and (due my deep love of the movie P.S. I Love You) I need to go to Galway before heading up to Belfast. Yes, I know that they are not even close together. This is why I travel alone - it only has to make sense in my mind.

Spend a couple of days in Belfast trying not to get killed. I have no idea if my last name is a good or a bad one to have in Belfast. I also have no idea if my family is Catholic or Protestant. It could be interesting.

Take the ferry over to Glasgow. Stay a couple days... then head to Edinburgh. I want to head to the Scottish highlands for at least a day trip and I must see Loch Ness...

Then, board some sort of moving object (I am thinking a train) to get back to Manchester to fly back to Canada.

It isn't as grand as my Europe trip a couple of years ago, but I'm looking forward to spending a couple of days in each place...

Now... should I buy the plane ticket now, or wait?