Grand Hotel Tralee

... it - bless those Irish drinkers!

Lunch was in Dingle, a small fishing village. It's best known for it's resident dolphin - Fungie who hangs out with the boats all day. The village offers sightseeing trips and are so sure you will see him you get your money back if you don't!

Back into the bus and past the Lakes of Killarney and into Killarney proper. Before our bags were down we were on the horse and carriage which ...

... ships' which desperate people took to places like Australia and America, travelling for up to 7 weeks below deck with little fresh air and no sunlight. The situation got so bad that people stole things, only to get caught and put into jail so they would get fed!

He also filled us in on the origon of the term 'Sheila' used for Aussie girls nowadays. Evidently back when convicts were sent to Australia once your term was served you ...

... at the Railway Hostel,in a cute three-person room and just relaxed tonight...Because ours burnt out the night before, the first thing we needed to do was find a hair straightener when we woke up because heaven forbid Haley, Nicole and I not having a straightener while backpacking. Thats just how we roll while we're backpacking.

There are sooooo many rainbows here. We saw five yesterday. The sky is pitch black with a small ray of ...

... frozen treat. We had eaten some in Killarney, so I got my single scoop of chocolate whiskey and John got two scoops of strawberry. The grand total was a little over $12 US.

Back at the b&b, we were reading when another couple arrived. While Angela was showing them to their room, she asked where they were from. I heard “Ohio”, so I went into the hall and met them. Jim and Kathy Swanson are from Cincinnati, and very nice. They asked for ...

... to see again. As we went around one curve, we had water rushing across the road from the mountain above. The water went through two passages in the brick wall and tumbled down the cliff to the ocean below.

The rain and fog let up enough for us to drive down a very steep path to a beach while the drivers of two other cars decided not to chance it. The beach was a favorite memory, and the last time we were here, we also had it to ourselves. Part of the movie “Ryan’s ...

... we had dinner at a Thai restaurant and I must say it was just like home!! Well Thai they serve up in Australia. I did think and Amy agreed that Ireland was quite expensive, meals etc were quite dear. Accomodation seemed to be on par.

Drinks at our hotel.. there was a hunters annual general meeting going on when we arrived.. lol very funny, the members were not what I thought a typical hunter would be!!

... feeling after dark. Uh, duh . . . We left the castle and found our B&B for the night. It was a nice little place called Pineforest House B&B. It was a nice out-of-the-way place about a kilometer west of downtown Blarney. The house was located at the end of a rather long driveway, nicely set back from the highway. It wasn't brand new but it was still very nice. It had a nice conservatory for the common room and all the rooms were painted in rich colors with hardwood floors and ...

... our extremely kind and gracious hostess at the B&B, brought me ice for my swollen knee as well as a pot of tea with cheese scones. Bless her! She then went on being wonderful by offering to take us down to the village church/graveyard to have a look around and take some photographs. Rebecca opted to stay behind and relax but I jumped at the chance to do a bit of shooting. So Pauline and I walked around the churchyard together and then headed ...

... to an Irish pub here called Jinty Mcgintys and spent the night hanging out with Cork and Roscommon men from my Gaelic team. Then onto Frankensteins for a night with yes for some strange reason different Cork men, Thank god for them as they ran after Krista to give her back her wallet that she left on the table, yes we Black sisters are cut from the same cloth. There are some deep differences between us though as pointed out by Rachel. A fella in the street wanted some ...

... of the River Shannon. This benefited us in two ways; firstly by not having to drive all the way into and then back out of Limerick, and secondly by me not having to subject my nearest and dearest travelling companions to my rather impressive array of droll rhymes of the same name. After all, there’s only one way you can go when you start with ‘There once was a man from Nantucket’.

Once off the ...