Dingle Bay Hotel

... very pretty seaside town of Portmagee for a 45 to 90 minute crossing depending on what size boat you are in. Choose the faster boat. I was so scared at times looking at the size of the waves that I was having second thoughts about the trip. Swallow your fears and GO. This is one amazing site like no other on the planet.<br><br>The boats head for Little Skellig first. It is home to 28,000 breeding ...

... sat in the lounge. <br><br>The Swansons came back after dinner since the town was shut down except for the pubs. We talked a bit and they told us about the three years they spent in Germany. We all rode together to town and enjoyed the trad music for about an hour. They were tired from their drive and we wanted to check in with people at home, so we left. <br><br>It&#8217;s another beautiful night with the moon high in the sky--more promises of another beautiful day!

... obelisk with symbols) and a mysterious sundial. It had some remarkably intact carvings and very old as well as recent graves in the churchyard.<br><br>A stone ring fort was supposed to be nearby, and we drove up and down the same road twice before I spotted the name of the fort on a stone by the road. The fort itself was over a rock wall, so I waited while John explored a bit. We find the signage here to be somewhat of a challenge. When the sign (if there is one) has an arrow, the turn is ...

... quintessential Ireland--everything that is associated with Ireland is here, and it&#8217;s absolutely beautiful. There are castle ruins, over 4,000 years of history, vibrant green hillsides, tall brown mountains, monastic sites, cliffs, forts, and the beautiful ocean. We drove the peninsula with the Slieve Mish Mountains on one side and Dingle Bay on the other.<br><br>We wanted to walk the beach at Inch, which is almost five miles long, but ...

A complex of churches in this area. The ruined cathedral is from the 12th century. Two churches are in the graveyard - one is the Teampall na Griffin from the carving of the Griffin. (Couldn't see it due to maintenance, but got a photo from the exhibition).<br>A short walk away was another ruined friary.<br>

... 9 years ago it was stormy and the waves were crashing against the cliffs (I will have to dig out my photos when I get home). Hopefully this time, with the help of my blog, I will remember more of this trip.<br><br>By this point we decided we deserved an icecream.<br><br>From here we headed down to Killimer to catch the Shannon Ferry across to Tarbert, cutting out quite a lot of driving and time. So onwards through Tralee and along the coast and down to the town of Dingle for the ...

Quick brief of the Hike: Killarney to Black Valley (16 miles), Black Valley to Glenncar (11 miles), Glenncar to Glenbeigh (11 miles). Holy **** thats 38 miles! Without a doubt the hardest hiking of my entire life. Everyone was crying about thier feet, and Rebecca really had it bad with blisters.

... her twelve year old son to practice his Irish dancing for us. He was extremely good, but I&#8217;m sure the poor kid felt a little embarrassed at having to put on a circus act of sorts for his mum&#8217;s paying guests. And so on later reflection it turned out that this was to be our bronze medal winning accommodation, and for better or worse had just enjoyed our top three favourite Irish B&amp;Bs in three successive nights.<br>

... only a half hour to view this massive Norman-Anglo walled castle that sits on the River Shannon, we are skip the two story interpretative information center at the entrance, and head out to the courtyard where 16th century medieval tradesmen are to be explaining their crafts. Well, off-season means limited tradesmen, so we run and climb the stairs of the first cylindrical tower which offers the voice of King John ...

... words from the fast speaking announcer on the "Irish speaking only" station coming from the wall mounted T.V. We are seated right beside the sweet smelling peat burning fireplace. Life gets better as I ask for an iced tea and am told by a young re-patriot who lived in Boston that he would bring a pot of tea and a full glass of ice with a slice of lemon. The pub is tight and homey. The menu ...