January 2022

January 30, 2022

Guest: Dominic O’Morain, General Manager, Lough Inagh Lodge, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland.

Arriving at Lough Inagh Lodge is like entering paradise where peace and tranquility are a given! Nestled snuggly in Connemara, a uniquely isolated section of County Galway, you’ll find the simple facade of this country house retreat surrounded by trees and flowers beside the road that separates it from Lough Inagh, a lake where you’ll often see hotel guests fishing so conveniently.

This family managed hotel epitomize Irish hospitality, warmth, charm and the tranquility one associates for many decades past. Accommodations are very comfortable, cozy, well appointed and, while breakfasts are plentiful, you’ll want to reserve a table for a delicious dinner at Lough Inagh lodge.

While long walks, a bit of boating in the region, a visit to the Connemara Heritage Centre where . . .

. . .guided tours for groups give insight into day-to-day life in Connemara and its cultural heritage, storytelling, turf cutting, singing songs, and more experiences await the visitor Be sure to ask for Martin and Nora Walsh, owners, founders and creators of this awrd-winning visitors’ experience and send love from Stephanie Abrams who is so proud of what Martin and Nora have created since she discovered their unique step into the history of Ireland about 2 decades ago and became great friends with the Walshes. www.ConnemaraHeritage.net

Unless you are splurging on one of the big accommodations at nearby Ballynahinch Castle which is on the other side of the lake from Lough Inagh Lodge, you might opt to just stop in for a pint and a pub lunch or pub supper or splurge on dinner in their fine dining salon. It’s worth a visit to walk through Ballynahinch’s gardens and rejuvenate in the Downton Abbey spirit of their pub but even if your stay is at Ballynahinch Castle, be sure to have a drink and a meal at Lough Inagh Lodge, an experience you don’t want to miss out on. And you’ll be delighted by your stay there as well. . . so listen and learn from its General Manager joining Stephanie Abrams by telephone. . .

January 29, 2022

Hour 1 Guests: Rita Simmonds, from New Zealand, and her Partner, Ciaran Marron, from Belfast, Finders of a Message in a Bottle on a Donegal, Ireland Beach, Residents of West Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.

Hour 2 Guest: His Excellency Keith Azzopardi, Ambassador to the United States from Malta.

Ambassador Azzopardi joins travel expert Stephanie Abrams for a chat about the features and benefits of visiting Malta, a destination that has been regularly on Stephanie’s radio shows and was featured in Episode 1 of Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams: Magnificent Malta: Gem of the Mediterranean which is archived, commercial-free, at sAbrams.net.

Hour 3 Guests:

Stephanie Abrams starts the hour providing travel tips followed by:

Neville McConachie, Visitor Experience Supervisor at Giant’s Causeway, Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Neville can be counted on for wonderful stories about Giant’s Causeway including scientific informtion and mythology associated with the Irish Giant, Finn McCool, his wife, baby and Grannie McCool! UK. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway

Betty Statter Beber Danzinger, travel expert Stephanie Abrams’ mother and a Rosie the Riveter airplane welder and aircraft builder at Glenn L. Martin, an aircraft company in Baltimore, Maryland, during WWII, shares her unique experiences participating in serving the War Effort. Her unique insights into the patriot efforts of Americans to support the country and US military personalize the experience of the average American. You won’t want to miss this! www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/rosie-the-riveter

Aimee Banks, Soprano from County Galway, Ireland, who represented Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Competition when she was 13 years old,.

Stephanie shares her Aimee and her incredible talent with her audiences after having met Aimee at a SKAL Galway Christmas party where Aimee was invited to sing. At the event, Stephanie asked Aimee and her mother, Alyson Banks, to come to the US to meet the artistic director of the Boston Pops and to perform at the Whitney Center for the Arts in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. You’re in for a special treat meeting Aimee in this hour of Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams! www.aimeebanks.net/news

Guest: Cal Sheehy, Mayor of Lake Havasu City & General Manger, London Bridge Resort, Lake Havasu, Arizona, USA. www.londonbridgeresort.com

January 22, 2022. . . Show ID 1833

Hour 1 Guest: Cal Sheehy, Mayor of Lake Havasu City & General Manger, London Bridge Resort, Lake Havasu, Arizona, USA. www.londonbridgeresort.com

Hour 2 Guest: Gerard Mulligan, Irish Musician, Entertainer, Humorist, Radio & TV Personality based in County Kerry, Ireland.

Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams remembers this interview with County Kerry’s Gerard Mulligan as one that had her laughing often and smiling through out. “Gerard Mulligan is the kind of person you want to spend, no, invest time with! He is a total delight and so funny. But under that humor is a serious philosopher and a very talented man!

Hour 3 Guest: Peter MacCann, General Manager, Merrion Hotel, Dublin, Ireland. www.MerrionHotel.com

Travel Expert Stephanie Abrams decrees that, “Peter MacCann, General Manager of the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, is the quintessential prototype of what a hotel general manager should be! He needs to be bronzed and placed in the Smithsonian as an example of perfection in hotel management.” Peter has been a guest on Travel WITH Stephanie Abrams going back to 2002 when the show first debuted on radio. He is also featured in the Vlog Episode called, “Desserted Dublin,” part of the nine episodes called “Stephanie’s CoronaVoyage” produced during the March 16-July 20, 2020 period when Stephanie’s February intended three-week trip to Ireland was caught in the lock down. Stephanie and her husband, Mark, were guests at the Merrion Hotel form March 3-5, 2020, pre-Covid lock down, which Stephanie refers to as “lough down,” during which time they created video features on the hotel. “Desserted Dublin” gets its name from Stephanie’s visit in the middle of the night in the hotel’s Pastry Kitchen where their Head Pastry Chef, Paul Kelly, maker of the finest croissants outside of France, presented a fine array of sweets and treats being prepared for breakfast for hotel guests and corporate meetings on the day’s agenda. You’ll find “Stephanie’s Corona Voyage” archived at sAbrams.net. Meantime, sit in with Stephanie as she talks with Peter MacCann!