April Fool’s Day Pranks: A Fishy Tradition

April Fool’s Day Pranks: A Fishy Tradition

by | Mar 28, 2017 | Home, Momma Tips, Travel and Culture

Pin: April Fool's Day pranks

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Oh, the memories of April Fool’s Day pranks! As a kid I usually didn’t try anything too terrible. However, I do remember one year when I put a rubber band around the water sprayer on the sink. Then, whenever you turned on the water it would spray you. Let’s just say my mother was not thrilled with this, and much screaming ensued. In fact, I remember thinking how ingenious I was to come up with something like that and just could not understand why she was so upset!

April Fool’s Day Pranks, the Fishy Way

The past few years we’ve celebrated April Fool’s Day the French way, with paper fish. I love France and celebrating cultural holiday traditions, and quite awhile ago I took some classes in France then taught high school French. Therefore, it was natural I should introduce my own kids to Poisson d’Avril (or April Fish). Kids absolutely LOVE this tradition, and of course, the French claim to have started April Fool’s Day. So here we go, let’s learn about French culture so you too can celebrate April Fool’s Day with your kids as Poisson d’Avril.

Les Poissons

What is Poisson d’Avril?

Poisson d’Avril is what the French call April first, or April Fool’s Day. In fact, they celebrate by playing jokes on others just like American April Fool’s Day pranks. However, the day is called Poisson d’Avril, so kids and adults alike make paper fish. Then, throughout the day they try to stick them to other people’s backs without them knowing. I know it sounds fairly basic, but kids find it hilarious and don’t tire of it throughout the day (sometimes the entire week)!

History

The French often claim all things started in France, and April Fool’s Day is no exception. Supposedly, it all goes back to 1564 when King Charles XIV moved the calendar around and made the beginning of the year January instead of late March. Well, people resist mandated changes and some continued to celebrate the New Year in the last week of March. Those who continued to celebrate the old New Year had pranks played on them, and for some reason people started to stick paper fish on their backs. Consequently, these victims were called the April Fish (Poisson d’Avril). Why fish? Did it start with fishermen? Who knows, but the tradition stuck, and hey, why not go with it?

Sandbox fish

Create your own Poisson d’Avril paper fish

Here’s how to begin this super-fun, incroyable, tradition at your house. First, sign in below to download your free printable fish paper. While the fish are in color, I like to print it out in black and white so the kids can color the fish themselves. Second, give each child a page to color and cut out. Third, provide the tape and encourage fish sticking on friends’ and family members’ backs. Then let the shenanigans unfold!

April Fool's Day fish printable

Do you need some more activities for kids to get you through to summer?

Try a few of the 7 Awesome Activities to Beat the Winter Blues.

Read it here!

My own experience with Poisson d’Avril

Everyone loves April Fool’s Day pranks, and I love most anything that keeps my kids busy and makes them laugh and enjoy themselves. Oddly enough, I get lots of hugs on April Fool’s Day as the children try to sweetly stick fish on my back. Then, they go away snickering behind their hands until they can hold it in no longer and scream, “Mommy! You have a fish on your back! Hahahaha!”. Queue hysterical laughter.

Similarly, high schoolers can really get into this holiday. I think of when I taught high school French, and I liked to celebrate as many French fêtes as possible. Poisson d’Avril was always a hit. Inevitably, if you give a 16-year-old boy crayons, scissors, and a fish outline on a piece of paper he will become an excited little boy again. No matter how cool and disinterested he is in your class he will take the bait! As a result, you can get all sorts of participation in your French speaking activities about fish. AND as an added bonus everyone leaves laughing and with a paper fish stuck to their back. It’s a ton of fun to watch the hilarity spread around the school.

April Fool’s Day pranks at French bakeries

Okay, so maybe it’s not really a prank, but it’s a lot of fun! If you are lucky enough to live near a French bakery, on April first they generally have French pastries and chocolates all in the shape of, you guessed it, fish. Unfortunately, I don’t live by a French bakery (long sigh), so generally after watching pastry week on The Great British Bake-Off or some such, I over-confidently attempt an elaborate fish pie or little pasties. I’ve managed to make them taste pretty good, but usually they look more like a blob than a fish. Moral of the story – find yourself a glorious French bakery and get yourself some fish pastries!

Lumpy Fish pies

Fish cookies

Cookie cutter

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Chocolate fish

Yes, please!

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Toy fish

Let’s play!

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Fish journal

I love this

Why? Do we really need a reason? Well, because it’s hilarious! Kids will love Poisson d’Avril and some new April Fool’s Day pranks.  Also, as a bonus, everyone’s learning to appreciate the French culture while having fun. Please share your pictures and stories of your fish on Dad’s back or any other successes you have with the activity. I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section below! Have fun and bonne chance!

What other pranks do you play for kids on April Fool’s Day?

Carlsbad Caverns With Kids: 10 MUSTS For An Amazing Visit

Carlsbad Caverns With Kids: 10 MUSTS For An Amazing Visit

by | Mar 21, 2017 | Home, Momma Tips, Operation U.S. Parks, Travel and Culture, USA

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Carlsbad Caverns is high on my list of natural wonders of the world. Where else can you go down 700 feet into the earth and be transported into what seems another world? Moreover, it’s a world you’ve only imagined in stories with dwarves and Gandalf, or perhaps with Tom Sawyer, Becky, and Injun Joe. But should you visit Carlsbad Caverns with kids? The answer to that questions is yes, this is a place you want to take your kids. Not only will you look around, but believe me, it will create an impression in their minds they will remember their entire lives.

We have a family reunion almost every year in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and we often do side day trips from there exploring New Mexico. Carlsbad Caverns is definitely a favorite one of those trips for both adults and kids and not to be missed! The kids didn’t even mind the 3-hour drive (too much) back and forth they were so excited.

Carlsbad Caverns is no little cave you walk in and do a quick walk around the main room. The “Big Room” as it’s called, is about a mile around with a walking trail. Keep in mind only part of the area is wheel-chair friendly and strollers are not allowed down in the main cave. There are over 300 limestone caves in the area, and if you are a brave soul you can even arrange a  spelunking adventure in some of the less frequented caves. However, it is not for the faint of heart! There will be ropes, crawling, climbing, dirt and wet involved. If that’s your thing then go for it; it’s awesome!

Are you a fan of National Parks?

Pick up some great tips here for exploring Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park with kids in winter.

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10 MUSTS for visiting Carlsbad Caverns with kids

Carlsbad Caverns 3

Back to the main point. If you happen to be in New Mexico, or even if you’re not, make sure you plan to visit the Caverns. To make the most of your visit, by all means, read and utilize these 10 tips for an amazing visit to Carlsbad Caverns with kids!

Bring water bottles

Water is the only thing allowed down in the caves so don’t try to sneak in lunch, snacks, juice, etc. This is for the protection of the caves so I wouldn’t get too worked up about it. Still, this makes it even more important to bring water bottles for all as you will be walking around at the very least for an hour or two. There is a little snack area for emergency refueling, and it’s an almost eerie experience sitting at your table in the dark cave eating a sandwich.

Don’t forget a jacket or sweatshirt

It’s chilly down in the caves, even in 100-degree summer weather, so be sure to bring a jacket or sweatshirt for everyone. Or you can be like my husband and refuse then just be a little cold walking around. However, if you want to enjoy your trip, make sure everyone, especially the kids, have sweatshirts.

Carlsbad Caverns walkway

The Natural Entrance vs. the elevator

So here’s the debate. Do you walk down the Natural Entrance or use the elevator? It completely depends on your group. The Natural Entrance is about a mile and a fourth and is narrow in places and quite steep. If you have the time, health, a group including older kids, and a sense of adventure take the awesome Natural Entrance where the original explorers descended. On the other hand, if you have younger kids or anyone with health problems (such as a bad knee or asthma) I would suggest taking the elevator down to the Big Room.

Prep kids for what’s below

I didn’t have to worry too much about this as my kids showed only interest and no fear, but I would describe a cave for your kids before you go down. It’s not a small, enclosed area, but it is dark with spotlights around to see the pathway and formations. In addition, it’s cool and feels humid so very different than what they’ve experienced on the surface. Another thing to remember is that a cave echoes! Signs and rangers encourage you to speak quietly if you must speak. Your cell phone won’t work either so you’ll want to put it in airplane mode.

Carlsbad Caverns 7

Cameras all around!

Do you have a budding photographer in the family? Flash photography is permitted in the caves as long as you’re considerate of those around you. Take advantage of it! My little guy loved getting his camera out and taking pictures of the pools, the “tree”, and “dinosaur” formations as he called them.

Carlsbad Caverns camera man

Flashlights/headlamps

Another warning! There are multi-colored mining helmets with lamps for sale at the gift shop and down in the cave. It is inevitable the kids will want one. If this purchase is not something you’re willing to make for everyone, arm the family with their own flashlights or headlamps. We have a couple headlamps we take camping, and they’re great because wherever you look, BAM! the light points there. This lets you see some of the areas that may not be as well lit as others. Explore!

      

Read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (or listen to it in the car on your way to the cave!)

Okay, so this one is me. You will probably have some travel time on the way to Carlsbad so fill that time with a classic! The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain was a great favorite of mine when I was a kid and should be shared. While you’re not in Missouri, you will be in a cave, and who can forget the great scene when Tom and Becky are lost in the cave with a murderer?! Right? Please tell me this made an impression on you as a child as well because it always comes to mind when I think of caves.

                                                                        

Exodus of the Brazilian free-tailed bats

Are there naturalists in the family with an interest in bats? Be sure to plan time in the evening to sit and watch the departure of the Brazilian free-tailed bats leaving the caves. Don’t worry, they won’t be down in the Big Room on your cave tour, they live in another cavern and stay away from people. Go to the amphitheater for a free talk from one of the rangers about the bats and wait for the mass exodus. The best time to see them is from August to September when the babies join in. It’s quite an experience even for those who may not be quite so fond of the creatures. For more details see the link here.

Carlsbad Caverns ceiling 2

Self-guided and optional ranger-led cave tours

Speaking of Park Rangers, there are all sorts of tours you can sign up for if you want more of an adventure away from the Big Room. My daughter begged to go on the Spider Cave tour because she thought it would be awesome to crawl around through the cave maze on your stomach with her head lamp. Unfortunately for her, most tours are for those 12 years old and up. If anyone in your group is not great with small, enclosed spaces, be sure to talk to the rangers about the particular tour you’re interested in. Take a look at the tour schedule here: Carlsbad Caverns tour schedule. Of course, you can do your own self-guided tour of the Natural Entrance and Big Room.

Carlsbad Caverns & me

Carlsbad Caverns with kids: The Junior Ranger program

Finally, for my last MUST, take advantage of the Junior Ranger program. Ask in the Visitor’s Center or one of the rangers for a free Junior Ranger Activity Book. They have two books, one for ages 0-6, and the other for 7-12 year-olds. Your child will visit the caverns then complete the book and other requirements. After that, a ranger will review their work and award the participants with a Junior Ranger badge. Super-fun free educational experience! Score!

Are you ready for some more exploration either without kids or with those 12 and older? Experience a ranger-led tour like one of these:

The King's Palace

Try this hour and a half journey to the deepest part of the cave open to the public! View the different formations as you go 830 feet below the desert surface. Experience the ranger-led blackouts on one of the most impressive mile hikes you will ever take part in.

Left-Hand Tunnel

2 hours exploring an unpaved section of the cave by candle-lit lantern. Don your hiking boots for staying upright as you view slippery slopes, cavern pools, and delicate formations.

Slaughter Canyon Cave

A 5 and a half hour “moderately strenuous” tour where your efforts will allow you to gaze upon magnificent formations: the Christmas Tree, the Monarch, the Mushroom, and the Chinese Wall.

Hall of the White Giant

Are you ready to rough it, get dirty, and do some crawling around in small spaces? Enjoy ladder climbing, slippery surfaces, and free climbing too! Make your way through the narrow passage of Matlock’s Pinch and see the fabulous White Giant formation.

So what comes to mind when you picture a giant cave? Have you been in a large cave before? For me, it’s a once in a lifetime experience not to be missed! Make your plans for summer vacation and visit Carlsbad Caverns with kids. Also, be sure to keep all the MUSTS in mind for a super-amazing trip to be talked about in AWE for years to come!

Carlsbad Caverns 4

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Visit Carlsbad Caverns with kids for an awe inspiring experience. Operation U.S. Parks #familytravel #carlsbadcaverns

Coconut Apricot Gluten Free Granola Bars

Coconut Apricot Gluten Free Granola Bars

by | Mar 14, 2017 | Food, Home, Momma Tips

Today I’m going to tell you how to make these super simple, super healthy, no-bake, coconut, apricot, gluten-free granola bars. Is that enough of a description? The secret to these granola bars is that they don’t actually have any oatmeal. That’s right, the base is dried flake coconut, and let me tell you they are amazing! Furthermore, they have another secret ingredient that may sound odd to you, but I beg you to give it a try. You won’t be sorry.

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Peanut butter, coconut, and apricots? How does that go together?

First of all, just imagine a peanut butter and apricot jam sandwich. This is one of my son’s favorite treats so we decided we would try to put that taste into a healthy granola bar. Now, I love to make my own granola bars and have many go-to recipes, but this time we wanted to try something new and without actually including oats. Voilà! Our peanut butter apricot coconut granola bars were born.

Chopped apricots

Lenten gluten-free granola bars

Also lately I’ve been struggling to find some recipes for my husband’s sweet tooth during Lent. Now, I won’t go into the minute details, but in Orthodoxy, for Lent one is to give up all animal products. There are a few other rules here and there, but it’s pretty much vegan. Because of this, I’ve been making all sorts of vegan cakes, bars, and cookies. Inevitably some turn out well and others don’t (like the vegan chocolate cake I tried last night – still working on that one). 

This recipe fits the exact mold we were looking for: healthy, gluten free, oat free, and lent-friendly. I give you full warning however, they have been known to cause squabbles around our house. My husband and son constantly try to figure out how to prevent the other from eating them all. I’ve actually found the container in some pretty interesting spots, and the four-year-old protests, “But Daddy won’t find them and eat them if they’re under my bed!”

Needless to say, we’ve had to establish some ground rules for hiding the granola bars.

Wouldn’t you like to make these delicious no-bake gluten-free granola bars today?

Gluten free granola bar ingredients

Recipe: Coconut Apricot Gluten-Free Granola Bars

Ingredients:

First

First, in a large bowl combine the coconut, sunflower seeds, and chopped apricots. Mix those together so they’re evenly dispersed.

Gluten free granola bar mixture with apricots

Next

Second, prepare your pan and line with parchment paper. I use a 7 inch by 11-inch baking dish, but you can use a 9x9 inch, 8x8 inch or whatever you have, and the bars’ thickness will vary.

Third, over medium heat bring your honey to a boil. Once there are bubbles all over, set the timer for 3 minutes.

Then, after the honey boils for three minutes take it off the heat and quickly mix in the peanut butter then 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Honey & PB mixture for gluten free granola bars

Next, quickly pour your peanut butter and honey mixture over your coconut, sunflower seeds, and dried apricots.

Gluten free granola bar mixture

Mix it all together with a spatula to coat, and then turn it out into the prepared baking dish.

Pan of gluten free granola bars

Then

Next, pack it down into the corners of the pan so you have an even thickness. I generally use the extra parchment paper sticking out of the pan to fold over on top of the bars and press it down firmly.

Then put it in the fridge to harden for at least 2 hours (or if you’re in a big hurry about half an hour in the freezer).

Last but not least, take them out of the pan using your extra parchment paper and cut into bars. I store them in the fridge or the freezer in an airtight container. This is the best way to store them because if they get too warm they can be flimsy and start to fall apart.

How to get your kids to eat healthy

It is so difficult to get kids to eat healthy these days.  Here are some tips you can implement today to help your kids make healthy choices.

Check out these ideas from Explorer Momma today!

Read it here!

The perfect gluten-free snack

These coconut apricot gluten-free granola bars make a great mid-morning or afternoon snack. Also, if you keep them in the freezer you can set one out about 10-15 minutes before you’re planning to eat it. In addition, they’re the perfect way to stop that afternoon hunger craving and prevent me from making some fairly unhealthy choices.

So listen, if you are looking for a healthy, lent-friendly, sweet alternative to a candy bar look no further. Give these bars a try, and I seriously doubt they will last long in your fridge! I hope you enjoy them.

 

Apricot coconut granola bars
Print Recipe

Coconut Apricot Gluten-Free Granola Bars

Kid-friendly, easy, and healthy coconut apricot goodness!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time5 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: Gluten-Free
Servings: 16
Calories: 139kcal
Author: Lauren

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups shredded coconut unsweetened
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds raw or toasted
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots chopped
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  • Line a 13x9 pan or glass dish with parchment paper, and set it aside.
  • Combine the coconut, sunflower seeds, apricots, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine.
  • Heat the honey in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it boils all the way around the pan.
  • Boil the honey for 3-4 minutes.
  • Take the honey off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
  • Pour the honey over the coconut mixture, and stir it quickly to coat.
  • Spoon the mixture into the dish/pan, and press it down firmly. Use the parchment paper to help press it down evenly.
  • Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
  • Take it out of the freezer and cut into 16 bars.
  • Wrap each with parchment paper and place in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Notes

Calories per My Fitness Pal.

 

What are your favorite recipes for lent?

 

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What are your best kid-friendly recipes?

 

Do you have some sweet vegan treats recipes?

 

I’d love you to leave your suggestions in the comments section!

 

Free Kids’ Travel Journal Printable

Free Kids’ Travel Journal Printable

by | Mar 6, 2017 | Home, Momma Tips, Travel and Culture, Travel Tips

This amazing free printable kids travel journal is perfect for family vacations and kids’ travels. It’s the perfect tool to inspire observation and learning about culture and geography. 

How would you like to have a super easy activity for the kids on your next vacation? What about one that involves reflecting on their day and writing and drawing about their impressions and experiences?

Look no further! I love this free Kids’ Travel Journal printable, and so does my daughter. With this notebook, she is able to keep track of what she did each day, how she felt, and her favorite aspects of it.

In addition, there’s a reflection page that lets kids write or draw the weirdest thing from the vacation, the funniest thing, or what they’d like to do next time, etc.

Why do you need a Kids’ Travel Journal?

First of all, I would suggest all travelers keep a journal. Why do you ask? There are so many times you are in the moment and the sights, impressions, feelings, and experiences are all crystal clear, and you may think you’ll always remember them exactly that way.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case, and as time passes some of those start to muddle. Moreover, if you take the time to write out what you are seeing and experiencing you can go back to that at a later time. Then your mind will more easily recall all those senses from your journey and make it a reality.

I love to go back and re-read my travel journals and look at the photos together from that time.

A kids’ travel journal is important for all of those same reasons, but more as well. When a child writes out in sentence form about their day and what happened it causes their mind to process it in a new way. They will see it from a different perspective and remember it through that writing and also drawing.

Furthermore, journaling one’s adventures and feelings is a skill to be learned and practiced. I find it calms you down at the end of the day, and we all know traveling can be exhausting! Make it part of the routine each evening before bed, and the relaxing familiarity of it will help to comfort kids. Inevitably this makes the entire trip more enjoyable for everyone!

Free Kids' Travel Journal

10 Tips to Get Kids Excited About Learning

Are you looking for more ways to get kids involved in learning? Check out another post from ExplorerMomma.

10 tips to get kids excited about learning #kidsmotivation #kidslearning

Read it here!

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As a bonus download your free kids’ travel journal!

Kids' Travel Journal preview

You should receive an email, and once you verify your subscription the travel journal will automatically download.

I hope you enjoy the travel journal, and your kids will get a lot of use out of it! Happy travels!

Need a little travel journal variety?

My kids have gone through this travel journal several times, and we love it! However, sometimes it’s good to mix things up a bit! Why not also download our latest kids travel journal? It’s filled with new activities and prompts to get kids thinking and observing more on their travels!

 

Get it here!

St. Patrick’s Day: A few of my favorite Irish things

St. Patrick’s Day: A few of my favorite Irish things

by | Mar 3, 2017 | Books, Home, Travel and Culture

St Patrick's Day pin

This post contains affiliate links. St. Patrick’s Day

It’s March so what do I think of? Ireland, green, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day!

Ireland. Such a powerful word filled with imagery, music, and memories. I love to travel, and Ireland is one of my favorite places in the world because of the friendly culture, rich history, distinctive music and dance, and also my own ancestry. Unfortunately I’m not making a trip to Ireland this year so instead, I’m going to share with you a few (there are too many to list them all) of my favorite Irish things. Celebrate the Irish this St. Patrick’s Day!

Shall we start with food?

Few foods say Ireland to me quite as clearly as a hearty lamb stew with Irish soda bread. Once I had one Irish woman laugh and joke with me at the American idea the Irish eat corned beef and cabbage every day of the year! “I’ve never eaten it in my life!” she said.

Irish Bed and Breakfasts for St. Patrick’s Day

 

St. Patrick's Day tea

Next, enjoy the hospitality of the Irish! One of the best ways to see Ireland is to stay at one of the numerous bed and breakfasts around Ireland. Moreover, you’ll meet new friends, get local advice, and relish a huge Irish breakfast in the morning.
St. Patrick's Day house

The shamrock story for St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick's Day shamrocksLong ago in the time of the druids there was a bishop named Patrick, St. Patrick. He came to Ireland to teach the Word of God throughout the island. He was loved wherever he went, but one day one of his followers told him it was difficult to understand the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. St. Patrick thought for a moment and then bent down and picked a  shamrock. He held it before them and explained the “three in one”, using the shamrock to illustrate the concept of the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since that day the shamrock has been revered throughout Ireland, and the simple beauty of the story convinced the follower. Legend has it if you find a four-leaf clover it will bring you good luck! It is said the leaves represent faith, hope, and love, and God added another leaf for luck.

Source: Irishindeed.com, but told to ever visitor to Ireland.

Celtic Thunder for St. Patrick’s Day

Take a listen to the lads, and you can’t help but get a smile on your face. When my daughter was 5 she LOVED this song, she still does but did more so then. She always wanted to play it and dance around the living room!

Right now if you have Amazon Prime you can listen to to The Very Best of Celtic Thunder through Prime Music, and even if you don’t have Amazon Prime you’ll probably want to download it anyway. Then be sure to watch for them at 10 am on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, on the Today Show! They’ll be performing and making a “big announcement”. Hopefully that announcement’s next year’s tour schedule!

Gaelic Storm

Do you need some more Irish music for St. Patrick’s Day? Try Gaelic Storm; do you remember the belowdecks Irish dance party in Titanic? Well, that’s them, and yes they have some wonderful albums out.

           

Books for St. Patrick’s Day

The Book of Kells

Okay history buff readers out there. What is the most amazing book in the Trinity College Library in Dublin? First of all, the library itself is one of my favorite Irish things, and I could probably live there. However, getting to the particular book in the library, it is of course The Book of Kells. What’s The Book of Kells you may ask? It’s actually an illuminated medieval manuscript of the four Gospels from the Bible, and simply put, AWESOME. The colors, artistry, and painstaking effort at detail obviously put into this work by the monks during what we call the Dark Ages is mind-blowing. I’d better stop there because I could go on, and on, and on.

Click the link here to read more about The Book of Kells.

How the Irish Saved Civilization

Another fascinating book talking about Ireland in the early Middle Ages is Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization. This is the perfect book for St. Patrick’s Day because it goes into the actual role St. Patrick played in the history of civilization. For history geeks like me it is a must read, and I highly recommend it.  Click the link here to take a look at it on Amazon.

1916

For more recent Irish history in novel form, 1916 by Morgan Llywelyn is a good read. This is a book I read right before actually visiting Dublin, and it really brought so much more meaning to my trip. As I crossed the Haypenny Bridge I saw Ned from the book doing the same thing. I saw the bullet marks still visible on the pillars of the Dublin Post Office where the rebels in the 1916 Easter Uprising tried to hold off the British. Truly, the viewpoint of someone actually in the fight, even a fictional character, makes events from that time period so much more real and powerful. Check it out here.

Great movies for St. Patrick’s Day

Some of these are more historically accurate than others, but interesting to watch nonetheless.

       

Oh, and don’t forget the Disney classic, Darby O’Gill and the Little People.  A fabulous chance to see a young Sean Connery!

Want some more book recommendations?

What to read next for history fans, pin

Click here!

Irish fields of green

There is such a powerful beauty in the Irish landscape!

Stone fences

Driving or crossing the country by train you will grow to love the Irish stone fences.

The Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite places in Ireland. The Cliffs of Moher, on the west coast of Ireland near Galway, are on my own list of wonders of the world. If you haven’t been, you should add it to your bucket list.

Thank you so much for sharing many of the things I love so much about Ireland. Next time, we’ll make the trip and find something new. I truly love Ireland and it’s people, and hopefully you’ve learn something new to appreciate this St. Patrick’s Day!

Photo source: Pixabay, Upsplash

St. Patrick's Day, what to read, Trinity College Library

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