Dromberg Stone Circle, Bantry House, Ross Castle
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2009
1
5
12
Trip End
Jun 26, 2009
Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland
Friday, June 19, 2009
We were next off to Mizen Head Cliffs. I had originally waffled on whether or not to stop here when I was initially planning the trip, but it turned out to be the best stop on our entire trip
Dromberg Stone Circle
! The road to Mizen Head was a narrow, paved country road that could fit about a car and a half. Whenever someone was approaching, one car had to pull over so the other could get by. I thought this was strange to have such a narrow road on what seemed to be a pretty popular tourist attraction. Mizen Head is a lighthouse located on the cliffs on the most south-west point in Ireland. This lighthouse is the last lighthouse ships see before they cross the Atlantic and the first one on their way back. The lighthouse is out on the cliffs and the water is crashing all around. There is a little bridge we had to cross to actually get out to the lighthouse itself. Once out there, the views were magnificent! There also happened to be a young Irish lad who was checking the tickets at the lighthouse that we, but mostly Mom, had a conversation with. He was taking the job to work his way through college. The lighthouse was not packed at all, which made the visit even more enjoyable because we practically had the run of the place. We then walked back to the visitor's center for a quick lunch and were off!The next stop was Bantry House. Bantry House was a beautiful residence overlooking the Irish coast. It had been in the same family for many, many years. The owner was actually the one who greeted everyone at the house. He was an old man and had to show the house to be able to afford to keep it in the family. The residence was not very large so it did not take very long to look around
View from Dromberg Stone Circle
. The inside of the house was very ornate with a lot of old furniture- kind of Victorian. The gardens were very nice and detailed and the view of the coast was amazing. We made a lot of stops to take pictures along the drive today because the countryside was just so beautiful and so green- many shades of green. We also got a little taste of the Ring of Kerry an we had to get on it for a little bit to get to Killarney, but we were saving the entire Ring of Kerry for the next day.
On our way to the hotel in Killarney, we also stopped at the Ross Castle. It had just closed, but we were still able to walk the outside of the grounds and the water that it bordered. It was located right on the outskirts of Killareny, so we decided just to proceed to our hotel.
The hotel was defiantly on the outskirts of town in the middle of the country. It was really a place where golfers stay, because there were a lot of golf courses in the area. The accommodations were actually more of a bed and breakfast, but there was plenty of room and it had privates bathrooms, which are always key. There were no elevators so I carried all of our luggage upstairs. We looked at the menu for the little restaurant there, but it was overpriced and didn't really have any good food, so we decided to head back in to Killarney for dinner. Great choice!
Killarney was buzzing with energy. We ate at a cure little Italian restaurant and then decided to walk around the town. There was a little street fair going on. The was band of musicians playing Irish music and occasionally doing Irish dancing to the music. Then, out of nowhere, a little old man from the crowd went right in front of the stage and started doing a little jig. I couldn't tell if he was drunk or just enjoying himself. I would hope the latter. The Irish music was the highlight of the town, but we did get a pretty good feel for the atmosphere by just walking around. Definitely a cute town!
