My husband and I traveled in Ireland for three weeks, and saw quite a bit of the country. But the highlight of our trip was our tour of Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Fourknocks and Tara with Michael Fox of 'Day Tours out of Dublin.'

From the moment we met Michael just outside our hotel in Dublin, we were wisked away onto a magical adventure into Irish history. Michael was extremely knowledgable, and tailored the day tour around our interests, the options available in winter, and the amount of daylight available. He knew the ins and outs of each location, made sure we were in the right line at Newgrange, and that we saw the triple spiral once we were inside (on our own, we would have surely overlooked it!) He took us all through Tara and gave us a very historically accurate account of the known history of the place. At another site, he taught us all about 'high crosses' and knew what all of the carvings represented.

One of the highlights of a fabulous day was our visit to Dowth - open one day a year, and happily on the day we were touring! We never would have known that it was open that day, but Michael made sure we were all there in plenty of time to get inside and to see all of the incredible carvings inside. And as for visiting Fourknocks after dark, by flashlight... fantastic!

There really isn't enough space here to adequately describe all that I learned that day... highly, highly recommended. If you have only one day to explore the Irish countryside near Dublin, take a day tour with Michael Fox. It will be a day you'll never forget.