pickyshopper - My son and I spent 2 weeks in Ireland in October and I received conflicting information from everyone - even a native Irishman. We stayed at hotels in Killarney and Dublin, and Bed and Breakfasts in Galway and Kinsale. They all had their own hair dryers in the bathrooms and they were hard wired into the wall. Even if I had taken my own hairdryer I wouldn't have able to use it in the bathroom - It's against the electrical code. I bought a set of converters at The Container Store and I was able to use my curling iron with one of them, but I had to use it in the bedrooms, not the bath. My son took his Mac computer and it wouldn't work with any of the converters. He had to stop at a computer store and purchase a special adapter for a Mac. His computer worked but the download times were really slow. I didn't want to take my smart phone with me so for $20.00 I rented one from Verizon and it arrived with it's own convertor. I had heard horror stories of people who returned from overseas trips to discover a huge data bill on their smart phones. The one I rented was just a regular old fashioned flip phone, but it worked great. One travel agent told me to just pick up a converter at the airport. She even suggested that I just buy a curling iron at the airport and then I wouldn't need an adapter. For what it's worth - my trip was wonderful however it was one bad hair day after another. We spent a lot of time on the west coast which is quite blustery in the fall and we were near the ocean the entire time. Dublin was milder and not windy at all. have a fantastic trip - where will you be going?

thankyou... I've had Katherine for the past two days and nights. she went home this afternoon but didn't want to at first..she was in an old toy..the kind that's yellow and red, with the cab over for kids... she managed to get it upright, while her daddy was checking out the trailer we're having moved out tomorrow morning..this toy has two broken wheels in the back but it didn't stop her..she was determined.. finally, her mom gave in and pushed her up and down the driveway..when they got in the car, she stayed in her little car and didn't want to leave it but her mom said.. "bye Katherine" and that's all it took. she bailed out of the car and ran to her own car seat...lol I'll be seeing them at 6am, for the trailer to be hauled down the freeway about 35 miles, to a barn. after they finish that, we're going to be at the kids' house for breakfast. the countdown is on... I know it in my head but I'm trying not to feel it in my heart yet. my youngest daughter is in San Luis Obispo for this next week. she called me just a bit ago, to let me know she's fine and arrived at around noon, to beautiful weather. she's been living with the kids and little girls for the past several months and she was telling me how she knows she's going to be a basket case when they go. she's in really strong transition now. she's turning 23, changing jobs, checking out California to be sure it's the school she wants to finish her architecture course in and coming home to having to both move out of the house and say bye to her sister, brother in law and both babies, that she's been around since the birth of both of them... I made her cry when I told her that Katherine had gone in her room looking for her and saying "Meena, where's Meena...she gone?" Savannah is too hard for Katherine to say, so it's shortened to Meena...cute huh? I could post a picture of Savannah..she just got her braces off on Wednesday afternoon of this week.... let's see if I can get this to post...... she's the caboose...youngest of my 6 kids.

barborn If I were you I would just get myself to ireland my own way and hire a car when I get there . The have most major car rental firms . Also many lovely "guest houses " Guest house in english terms means someone with a large house who rents rooms out in them (friendly and cheap) , there are many hotels as well . Also just for your info there are now 2 internal uk flight operators who run planes at incredibaly cheap prices they are "go" and "easyjet" , easy jet have just bought "go" so go's site might be outof date , You can fly from belfast(ireland) to edinburgh(scotland) for 17 uk pounds RETURN thats about 25 dollars(for example). their site is www.easyjet.com . curt ps are you going to northern ireland or southern ireland or both.coz they have different currencies , southern is the euro(might be still irish punt) , northern ireland is uk pounds. I live in the UK so of theres anything it may be easier for me to find out just email me

Bac - I just checked Munro's website and I don't see the ones I have. I bought them about 5 years ago so they probably discontinued them. My Irish driver told me to bring waterproof shoes which is why I bought the LLBean hikers. I was traveling in October and spent a lot of time on the west coast which is usually colder, rainier and windier than elsewhere in Ireland. I have other Munro shoes that I also like for everyday and travel- the Joliet is very comfortable, light, flexible and breathable yet offers good support. I bought them at my local shoe store last November and they sprayed them with the water repellent aerosol and they kept my feet dry on rainy or snowy days around Philly.