Dream trip....

This is our second night in Killarney, so we could spend a bit longer doing some exploring of the area today. We left the car parked and took a tour of the Ring of Kerry today. What a variety of scenery in a relatively small area! Lots of little farms with stone fences keeping the very wooly sheep corralled; charming cottages, often built with stone and with slate or thatch roofs and lots of chimneys; marshy bogs over most of the lower lying area with piles and piles of peat chunks stacked and drying to be used for fuel as it has for centuries. These are the same peat bogs where ancient, well-preserved bodies have been found at intervals over the years. Sadly, the economy here has been as devastating as in many parts of the States. Entire "downtown" areas of several of the tiny, colorful villages we passed through were shut down with even the local pubs closed down. This is a very important area and tour for the tourist trade here! As people are losing their homes and businesses are being shut down, the draw for these tours will be dropping..... and the vicious cycle will continue! The pain in our tour guide was palpable as he told us that some of those shops were open just last week still, but today were closed and it had a very permanent appearance. Sad.....

A beautiful rainbow after a shower lit the already stunning landscape, and it was easy to see the exact spot where the rainbow came to earth just across the river from us. We snapped pictures and joked about finding that pot of gold to give us all financial freedom. But no leprechaun appeared, and none of us wanted to ford the river..... ;)
 
After the Ring of Kerry tour, we bundled up with blankets tucked around us on one of the "Jaunting Carts" for an hour exploring the town and park right here at Killarney. What fun! Robbie was pulling our cart, and it was obvious he was training our driver well. He took us around to the cathedral, past a stunning example of the amazing thatch work, and out through a park area to the Ross Castle and it's lake and deer, then back into town. Dinner (fish and chips tonight) in one of the local pubs, and now back to the hotel. Only in an Irish pub would you find a sly fox hunting pheasant..... :D
 
Today was another unique and wonderful day. We checked out, loaded the car, and headed to the west coast to follow the coast up to Galway. Temperatures were mild, but there was a stiff wind all day that kept us happy to have warm jackets any time we were out of the car! The coast of Ireland is NOT straight so we cut about 90 minutes off the drive by crossing a large inlet on the Shannon Ferry -- a 30 minute ride on an open ferry that was just another wonderful experience to add to the ongoing list. Everywhere we go we see ruins and evidence of ancient habitation right beside homes and stone barns and sheep pens. :D
 
It seems Ireland is just an ongoing series of postcard pictures! You look in every direction and there are more gorgeous, peaceful, or dramatic scenes. The cliffs of Moher are on the dramatic side. They have managed to preserve the entire scene in it's natural grandeur by tunneling into the mountainside and putting gift shop, bathroom facilities, and restaurant services underground with glass front to the walkway. But once you reach the top, all you see is the ancient tower at the top and the incredible cliffs with waves rolling in and crashing against them far below. But the wind was so strong that the spray was brought all the way up and over us at times on the walkway above!

From the cliffs we wound down what looked like a farm track past old, old cottages to the tiny town of Doolin for some hot soup in the local pub and some local sweater shopping in a local shop.
 
Lucky, I knew you'd be happy to see the ferry! Posted that picture just for you :D

Galway is an interesting place -- there is a lot of the hustle and bustle of a small city, and we have enjoyed walking around and learning some of the history. But other than a few limited locations, it seems most of the old buildings have been replaced over the last 50 years. So some of the visual "charm" of the other towns we have pass through is missing. But we have had a great day anyway.

We visited a wonderful old Protestant church that is documented as being visited by Christopher Columbus in the 1470s. Galway also has the last Catholic cathedral built in Ireland, and it has fascinating ancient and more modern history in addition to being stunning visually. Before the cathedral was added, the building was the location of the old jail and place of execution for this part of Ireland. The stories of the abuse of the Irish by the ruling British at the time, and the resulting deaths at that spot leave tales of haunting and mysterious sightings there now. More recently, JFK visited Galway briefly (literally was helicoptered in and out and had a brief 1-hour visit in the town just about 4-5 months before his assassination in 1963). Cardinal Cushing was in charge here at the time, and as a great friend of the Kennedy family, he had a memorial to JFK put onto the wall inside the cathedral in mosaic! The current residents of the town seem to find that terribly entertaining, and we were told with a big grin that they have nick-named the mosaic "the holy trinity" as it includes a saint, JFK, and a well known criminal whose name I don't recall. We had several different folks tell us we must make a point of finding that spot inside, although the current church leadership feels a little embarrassed by the picture ;).

The old Protestant church, and all that is left of the old medieval town, with Mike and our son-in-law studying the old walls and doors along the alley:
 
The food has been awesome! Haggis is in Scotland, not Ireland (at least we haven't seen it here). But Irish Stew, Shepherds Pie, Corned Beef and Cabbage, the most wonderful soups ever, Fish and Chips, and more and more. No complaints from me :D
 
The food has been awesome! Haggis is in Scotland, not Ireland (at least we haven't seen it here). But Irish Stew, Shepherds Pie, Corned Beef and Cabbage, the most wonderful soups ever, Fish and Chips, and more and more. No complaints from me :D

My geography needs a little work :blush:.
 
We've spent the day in Dublin. We took the green double-decker city bus "hop on and off" tour since we only had one day here to see all we could. We hopped off at the Dublin Castle, Trinity College where we took the tour and saw the incredible "Book of Kells" .... WOW!, then the old Gaol, and of course the Guinness brewery tour. Since Guinness is DEFINITELY not to my taste, Mike and Rey were happy to accept my samples :D. We had lunch at the top of the Guinness building, and it was delicious.

This afternoon was the Scotland vs. Ireland rugby game here in Dublin. Ireland won, by the way. We walked down through town to find our last feast of great pub food for dinner and the streets and pubs were filled with celebrating Irish and Scotsmen in their kilts drowning their sorrows..... made for a VERY fun night of people-watching! LOL.

Sadly, our wifi isn't very good in this hotel, and I am unable to load any pictures, but will add some tomorrow in the airport. We fly back to NYC tomorrow and then home Monday morning. This has been an absolutely wonderful vacation, and I'd come back to Ireland in a heartbeat!
 
Looks like your having the time of your life, your pictures stirred up alot of memories for me, I got the itch to go back to Ireland now.....
 
Looks like your having the time of your life, your pictures stirred up alot of memories for me, I got the itch to go back to Ireland now.....

You wouldn't regret the trip, tis! I've travelled a lot, and without question, the Irish are the warmest, most welcoming people and country I have visited. I will definitely want to visit here again.

We are at the airport and will soon be going through security. I will try to get pictures to load from yesterday once we get to the gate.
 
At the Guinness tour, and overlooking Dublin from the cafe at the top of the Guinness building:
 
The good news is: we are home again safe and sound :D

The bad news is: our wonderful time in Ireland is over :(

What a wonderful trip we had! I would highly recommend a week in Ireland for any and all of you. You will feel welcomed and be treated royally everywhere you go! I sincerely hope to visit there again in the future.
 

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