Any Excuse to Travel

Stories from travels in

Mary Murphy

Ljubljana, Slovenia: Revisited

It’d been a while since I’d been in the capital of Slovenia. There was much I didn’t remember. I only had six hours back then

Opatija, Croatia – Revisited

We did something we wouldn’t normally do. We booked into a posh hotel. The second-oldest hotel on the Adriatic – the Scessionist-style Heritage Hotel Imperial.

Small stone with the writing: Thank you Michael written in blue between a red heart and a green, white, and yellow flag. In the top left of the photo is a gold coin

Béal na Bláth, Co. Cork, Ireland

One of the many joys of road trips (that way offset the possibility of a breakdown, because, let’s face it, that’s just a possibility) is

The Kingdom of Kerry, Ireland

Back in the first century AD when the O’Connor clan took over the tract of land between the Shannon Estuary and the Maine River, the

Sneem, Co. Kerry, Ireland

The village of Sneem in Co. Kerry is the knot (an tSnaidhm) on the Ring of Kerry. It’s a happening spot, replete with the colourful

Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Kenmare, with its iconic hotels, colourful facades, and thriving restaurant/bar scene, is a gem of a town in the southwest of Ireland. It’s giving nearby

Derrynane, Co. Kerry, Ireland

There’s no better beach in Ireland, he said, than the white sands of Derrynane. It was a wet day; that damp wet that is so

Yellow signpost with black letters spelling JERUZALEM above a circular sign with 40 written on white with a red circle. Standing at the edge of a village.

Jeruzalem, Slovenia

As the story goes, Crusaders, on their way to the Holy Land, stopped off in northeastern Slovenia, in a village on top of the highest

Ptuj, Slovenia

It was our second visit to Slovenia’s oldest town. The last time barely counted, as we were simply passing through. This time, we stayed a

Person wearing a kurent costume - horns, devil mask with glowing eyes, wool hair - like a sheep's fleece. Gruesome teeth barred - smoke in the background

Ptuj, Slovenia: Kurentovanje

Shrovetide carnivals like those in Rio de Janeiro, Venice, and New Orleans, need little by way of introduction. They’re well-famous, days-long festivities in the lead-up