Monday Memo

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Hopefully this weekend was just as beautiful most places as it was for me in upstate New York. I wanted to share with you my trip to Alexandria Bay in the 1000 Islands! This trip was absolutely beautiful and there was so much I brought back to blog about!!

Spending time on the water, anywhere, is really one of my most favorite things. I just love the peacefulness it brings. Even when the water is rough, it still allows for a soft landing, and a beautiful view no matter what.

So here’s the deal, I’m going to break down my weekend in a few different post’s. One relating to some of the amazing property in the 1000 Islands and how “Millionaires Row” is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from a camping village stuffed with RV’s. Another pertaining to some of the great food I enjoyed. Sometimes, saying “yes” to dessert is allowed. Finally, discussing what is essential to pack for a weekend getaway when you aren’t quite sure what you may doing, what type of dress code there may be and more.

Hope you all enjoy my posts. Again, Please feel free to comment anytime.

xx AJ

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St. Pattys Day

Is everyone getting excited for St. Patty’s Day!?  I certainly am.  My boyfriend and I both come from a family of Irish, so I found it fitting that I would surprise him with a trip to Ireland for the holiday!  His father went a few years ago, and I went back in high school.  Before I met him, I actually stayed in County Mayo, the same place his entire family is from!  We will be heading over to Dublin to experience all of the festivities on  March 13th and returning to the U.S. on the 20th.  I am going to need a vacation after this vacation.  I wrote up a travel piece on experiencing St. Patty’s Day in Dublin.  I hope you enjoy it!

“Erin Go Bragh!” “The Wearing of the Green!” “The Luck of the Irish!”  The air will be filled with all these familiar expressions in the streets of New York, Chicago, Savannah and many other cities on March 17, when St. Patrick’s Day will be celebrated.  St. Patrick’s Day has not always revolved around celebrations.  It was only in 1970 that Ireland began having festivals and activities.  Before that time, St. Patrick’s Day was observed as a religious holiday to honor their patron saint.  However, times have changed, and no where in the world will the celebration be more exuberant than in Dublin, Ireland!  Dublin will be sure to provide its own unique flavor and overwhelming enthusiasm for St. Patrick.

Numerous activities take place in the whole of Ireland on this special day. The biggest annual event is the St. Patrick’s Festival, which takes place in Dublin.  It offers entertainment for people of all ages.  The festival began in November 1995 and now draws approximately 1.5 million people.  Parades, music, family carnivals, street art, dancing, and theater are just a few of the events taking place.  It lasts for four days.  The St. Patty’s Day Parade in Dublin, is the largest of them all.

Along with the reveling, many people take the opportunity to engage in the St. Patrick’s Pub Crawl.  This pub crawl involves going to several different spots for drinks.  Some of the favorite Irish drinks that could be consumed on this pub crawl are whiskey, cider, cream liquor, Irish coffee, wine, or the most famous, Guinness.  Other popular beers are Murphy’s Stout, Kikenny and Smithwick‘s.  Throughout the days of partying and celebrating, you must eat, or else you probably won’t make it!  The most popular is to just grab a bite from the street vendors; however, if you want a nice sit down meal there are many restaurants to choose from. The Pig’s Ear and Rustic Stone are popular restaurants where you can find fantastic Irish food.  The traditional foods are Irish stew, soda bread, corned beef with cabbage, Dublin coddle, champ, and apple cakes.

If you are still looking for something to do, additional activities to participate in are the Dublin University Boat Races, the 5K Road Race and a Walking Tour in St. Patrick’s foot steps.  This tour takes you through the origin and legacy of St. Patrick.  In the 21st century, Ireland has become as ethnically diverse as the 40 different shades of green that is believed to exist in its landscape.  All of Ireland and the entire world will take to the streets to jubilantly celebrate Ireland’s patron saint on St. Patrick’s Day.

Live – Laugh – Love – Travel

AJ

Mardi Gras

I don’t know about you… but I’m heading down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras!! NOT… I wish I could, but I have this thing called a job :-p  Here is an article that I wrote that talk about some other great places in the U.S. that you can travel to if you want to celebrate Fat Tuesday.  Or if you happen to live in one of these cities, enjoy and party on!

Most people associate the celebration of Mardi Gras in the United States just with New Orleans but that is not the only city that is known for celebrating Mardi Gras!  Many other cities in the United States pride themselves on their Mardi Gras festivals and celebrations.  As a result, many people are finding that they don’t have to travel to New Orleans to get their fill of Mardi Gras Carnival celebrations.

Mobile, Alabama is considered to have the oldest Mardi Gras Carnival celebration in the United States with history that dates back to the 1800s.  Mobile’s celebrations revolve around the mystic societies which are basically organizations that put on parades, masked and costume balls, and other events for members of the mystic societies and guests and also the public.  To become a member of one of these mystic societies is a secret and not general knowledge.  Members of the mystic societies take a big part in the the colorful floats and parade part of the Carnival celebration and have been known to toss small gifts (ranging from beaded necklaces, candy, stuffed animals, cups and hats) to the crowd.  It is a big part of the city’s celebrations each year and is popular for the residents and visitors alike.

The state of California has at least 3 different recorded events and celebrations of Mardi Gras although not all are continued at this current time.  Up until 2005, San Luis Obispo had annual Mardi Gras Carnival events but have been halted since they have gotten out of control with college students and visitors to the city.  San Diego has a corporate sponsored celebration in the Gaslight district and a San Diego Brazil Carnival Ball is usually held around the same time.  And then in San Francisco, the annual Carnaval San Francisco is a street parade and a festival that is held annually each May.

St. Louis, Missouri claims that they have the 2nd largest and 2nd best Mardi Gras celebration after New Orleans.  The city was founded by French settlers and has a strong Catholic background and so it makes sense that Mardi Gras would be big here!  Events include a pet parade where people can dress up their pet and walk in the parade with them and it is followed by Wiener dog races.  The Fat Tuesday parade always occurs in the evening and has been moved to Downtown St. Louis and mainly put on by corporate sponsors.

There are over 20 other cities in the United States that pride themselves on the Mardi Gras celebrations so the big question is just deciding where to celebrate Mardi Gras this year!

Live – Laugh – Love – Travel

AJ