Killarney Oaks

... boat are weather-dependent. Added to that is the fact that a woman from Rochester fell and died there three weeks ago, there are no railings or handholds on the 656 steps, there are no restrooms either on the island or the boats, and now I would be happy with just a ride past it. The cruises around it were cancelled for today due to rough swells, so I was content to visit the center, see the exhibits, and watch the film. We’ll see beehive huts on Dingle ...

... Pass. I took a picture of MacCarthy’s Bar which is on the cover of a book by the same name before we left town.


By the time we reached the turn-off for Healy Pass, the rain was gone, and the sun had come out. We climbed, this time from south to north, saving the best part of the pass for last. On the way down, we passed a small waterfall that had been insignificant yesterday, but the recent rains had made it a somewhat worthwhile stop.


Back at the b ...

... of Bantry Bay. The island had been privately owned until the early 1950’s when it was deeded to the people of Ireland. It’s a very beautiful place, and there were just a few of us walking around. I imagine in the spring and summer that it looks like paradise with all the plants and flowers blooming, but there was still some residual beauty for us. We walked around the entire island, then stopped in at the little tea room for a sandwich while we waited for the ...

... started coming across the buses!!!

We made our first stop just outside of town and got a horse and carriage that took us along Lough Leane past Muckross house and the old Abbey and to the Toc Waterfall. On the way around we say a huge wild strawberry plant, more like a tree than a strawberry plant and a huge Rodadendrum TREE.. lol. it was a chilly day and rained a bit on our trip around the place. Jackie ...

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).
A short walk away was another ruined friary.

... water and loo. It was about a 2 ½ hour drive in total. My favourite stop was when I was struggling to stay awake so we stopped at a hotel so I could get a coffee. It was about 11am and I met my first drunk Irishman! He was at the bar and mumbled bla-dee bla-dee bla-dee drink? To which I responded with a puzzled look! He repeated himself a couple of times before I realized he wanted to buy me a drink! At 11am! He could barely stand up the poor old bugger. Obviously ...

... the whole day which is quite good for the 180 or so kilometres that you have to drive.  The roads are quite narrow so it can get a bit hair raising with the tourist buses.  It's a lovely drive and we visited a few castles and forts on the way around.  I think for Peter the highlight of Killarney was the massive piece of chocolate cake he got to eat at one of the local cafes.  This time chocolate won over steak.  Next steak eating location: Ennis.

... went back to Cork and shopped a bit. I bought a new external hard drive to replace mine that died somewhere between Portugal and Barcelona☹. And we enjoyed a pint of Murphy's at a local pub across from the train station while we waited. (What a great idea, a pub across from the train station. I wouldn't mind missing a train if they all had this feature...) Very late into the evening we rolled into Dublin, completely exhausted, found the hostel and went to check ...

... the street. They are exactly what you would you see on the movies from Northern Ireand. Weird for us but a normal way of life for the locals. The vans are like an Armouguard Van you would see in Sydney. (The Police stations also have huge fences and barbed wire fence around them). It is such a culture shock for us but it is a normal way of life for locals. Day 3: Derry to Galway Today we woke up and the weather was again rainy and cold. We drove down along the ...

... to Dúnbeg- a fort overlooking some cliffs. The ocean was just beautiful crashing up onto the rocks. I almost got left there because I took too long. On the walk down to the fort there was a pony and a donkey right next to the path- it was very cool. So after that, we headed to a beautiful beach where we ate lunch. The weather was sooooo nice. This time we were allowed to stay as long as we wanted, but of course the goofy people we are with don't enjoy things. They just want to take ...