Rick Steves

What’s the best way to meet new people while traveling?

I wrote many posts about my trip to Ireland in 2025. I turned 60 on that trip and it was my first ever extended group tour. I think we had 28 people in all, including me and my husband. We were together for about a week.

I was nervous about how I’d like traveling with strangers, but wanted the ease of not driving or needing to book every attraction and meal myself. I researched a lot of tours and chose Rick Steves, largely for the price and the fact that Steves is a well known Trump-hating liberal. I figured the chances of me getting stuck making small talk with some Texan in a red hat were minimal.

It was great. I decided on Day One to be open and friendly and our group had great rapport. Our Irish guide Joe was a deeply intellectual and thoughtful artist type (bit of a tortured soul), but honestly, what better type of person to show you Ireland? When it rained, he played us haunting songs like Fairytale of New York by the Pogues and Grace by Rod Stewart on the bus’ sound system.

That’s Joe on the right paying our tab in a pub in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland. The other man is the pub owner and son of the famous Irish playwright John B Keane (author of *The Field*)

I was not shy about jumping in with my questions (like is “paddy” a slur or not? Short answer: yes, but they can use it). Joe teased me—a lot—but that was OK. He needed someone to play off and help him lighten up at times. Plus, it was MY birthday, which I made clear.

Blowing out my 60th birthday candle in Dingle, Ireland

I’ve kept in touch with a few folks from the group, including two sisters from Minnesota who came to Boston, where I met up with them. They gave me credit for our group getting on so well. They said I just came in and announced “it’s my birthday this week and I want everyone to sing to me” and that broke the ice. It turns out there were two other birthday girls on our trip, so we celebrated them too.

So, I’d say go ahead and try a group tour on your next foreign excursion, but do your research about the company you choose. Make sure it matches your personality. And then, don’t be shy. Don’t be obnoxious, but don’t be shy.

Rick Steves Group Tour photo near Gallarus Oratory, Dingle Penninsula, County Kerry 🇮🇪

As I prepare to turn sixty in 77 days, I am working on my Bucket List (things I want to do and places I want to see before I “kick the bucket”). I’ve always been one to keep a “to do” list (I like getting stuff done), but this one is fun. I started it shortly after my dear friend Carla unexpectedly got sick and passed away in 2022 at age 57.

I try to really think about places and experiences that call to me, not just rack up instagrammable, exotic locations. I have reasons for wanting to see these places. For the bigger trips, I try to keep the budget to $10,000 (or less) for the two of us for a full week. I know that’s a lot of money for a lot of folks, but believe me, I know people that spend a whole hell of a lot more than that on their luxury vacations. I would say we are “budget conscious” travelers, but I will splurge on special experiences like dinner in the Eiffel Tower or a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.

Here’s where my Bucket List stands now:

Grand Canyon ✅ (June 2023)

Paris ✅ (December 2023)

Finger Lakes & Hot Air Ballooning ✅ (May 2024)

Tanglewood ✅ (August 2024)

Yellowstone National Park ✅ (September 2024)

Northern Lights ✅ This wasn’t a planned trip, I just got lucky! (October 2024)

Key West ✅ (February 2025)

NEXT UP: Ireland ☘️

Is there any other foreign country that looms quite so large in the American psyche? I don’t think so!

Like millions of other Americans, I am a descendant of poor Irish immigrants. My great grandmother Mary Barry was from Dublin.

My mother’s father’s mother, Mary Barry, with six of her children, including my maternal grandfather Henry (far right). She was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1880 and died in Queens, NY in 1952. She immigrated to America, through Ellis Island, in 1903. She was 23 years old and arrived with *three* US dollars to her name.

This trip to Ireland will mark my first group tour experience. We’ve never been on a weeklong tour before. I usually book the hotels and do all the planning myself, but since it’s my birthday, I wanted to give myself a break and have someone else do the planning.

I looked at many types of tours (including on bikes and boats), but ultimately decided to try a Rick Steves tour. Good old Rick—PBS super nerd! I love his guidebooks and his travel philosophy in general. Plus, he is a well known weed-smoking liberal, so the chances of having any Trumpers in our group are slim.

So now, I need to start reading more about Ireland. I’ve already watched many of the recent TV shows and movies set there, including the excellent miniseries about The Troubles—Say Nothing.

Our tour is in the Republic of Ireland only, but I’m contemplating taking a trip up to Belfast (Northern Ireland, UK) at the end of the trip. We will be staying a few extra days in Dublin, where our son will join us, so I need to make some plans for that time.

Please send your Dublin recommendations and any advice you might have about planning a day trip to Belfast.

Also, books! What should I read to help truly understand the heart of this country and its people, from whom so many of us Americans descend?

I’m open to the classics, as well as modern fiction, historical fiction and nonfiction.

TYIA

☘️ 🇮🇪

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Last Stop in Ireland

Food and Signs in Ireland

Thursday Doors—Dublin Unitarian Church

50 Happens

GenX Mom Keeps Calm & Carries On

Ireland planning 🇮🇪