COUNTY KERRY

Day 6 began with what we viewed as the start of the most exciting part of our trip...the southwestern coast and the long awaited 111 mile Ring of Kerry drive and trip to Dingle Peninsula and the Slea Head Drive.  We had evening reservations in Kenmare (at one end of the Ring of Kerry) and decided to drive first to Killarney located at the opposite end of the Ring of Kerry.  Unfortunately Killarney reminded me of Kissimmee (the access to Disneyworld) with its eateries, hotels and tour buses.  The town was colorful and cute, but with too many tourists.  Choose to stay in Kenmare rather than Killarney is my suggestion.

We quickly drove through Killarney town to Killarney National Park (NP) where we had a great afternoon, despite a continuous light misty rain.  So much to do in the NP and so worth a stop for more than an afternoon, including visiting the little cafe where we had yummy hot paninis.  We didn’t hire a jaunting car (Irish horse and buggy) which will take you all over the park, nor did we take a boat out on the lake to fish, or rent a bike, or tour the Muckross House or it’s farms.  We just wandered around the NP in the time we had and it was so enjoyable.  Misty fields and gardens, reed filled fishing ponds and lakes, bike trails, paved and dirt trails and the Torc Waterfall...I felt at times like I was in New Zealand it was so green with moss covered trees and wide open views.  Do not miss this NP!.

We then headed towards Kenmare along Moll’s Gap to see the Ladies View overlook and we were stunned by the narrow, twisting roads we had to maneuver, which left me closing my eyes at each hairpin turn, almost breathing in to try to help squeeze our narrow car around sharp turns, past tour buses, racing bmw’s, with overhanging rock walls to my left.  It was fun, but scary, and helped me understand why jaunting cars were initially used on these narrow roads.  We ended in the charming and colorful town of Kenmare, at a family run countryhome, the Shelburne Lodge, lovingly restored over the past few years by Maura, her husband and sister.  It was cozy but elegant, with beautiful floral arrangements made from plants growing outside. We had a large upstairs room with a comfortable king bed and could walk 5 minutes into town and I highly recommend this lodging.  In the morning, I remember having amazing poached pears and then local smoked salmon for breakfast.  Maura used to own a restaurant so the food was good.  We had a lot of high priced dinner choices in Kenmare, but we ended up eating in a restaurant named after a local hero and Arctic explorer Tom Crean, and had a delicious chowder and fresh sole dinner with beer and cider.  We took a relaxing walk through the quiet town, visiting a few shops and discovering an ancient stone circle and quaint homes with lawns filled with flowers, birdhouses and chimes.

The entire next day was spent driving the 111 mile Ring of Kerry clockwise, opposite the tour buses.  There are many cliff overlooks, glacial valley remnants, coves and beaches, abandoned famine villages and the ancient stone fort Slaigue Fort to view along the way.  If you have time, go over the bridge to Valencia Island where you can hike and stop at Skellig Chocolate Factory for free samples.  On a clear day, views of Skellig Michael offshore are possible (but not on this rainy day).  I was a bit underwhelmed by the Ring of Kerry in all honesty.  Maybe it was the rain which clouded our views, but I was expecting so much more.  Dingle Peninsula however was not a disappointment at all and was everything I expected Ireland to look like.  Stopping first at Inch Beach along the Inch Strand on the south east end, we had spectacular late afternoon views looking back towards the Iveagh Peninsula where the Ring of Kerry is located.  Surfers lined the expansive wavy beach, with mountains in the distance, and the waves and tidal flow left glittering streaks of water in the sand.  A pretty and peaceful sight where Ryan’s Daughter had been filmed decades ago.

We drove on to Dingle Town and the Greenmount House, situated high on a hill overlooking the Harbour and the adorable town of Dingle.  We had a ground floor room for our two night stay, with a seating area, a front porch looking towards the Harbour and easy access to our car...a large room with a king bed and a huge soaking tub plus shower in the bathroom.  Greenmount offered coffee, tea and cake in the afternoon and had an honor bar too.  They did our laundry for 12 euro a load which was perfect mid trip!  Breakfast was fantastic, a big buffet and a made to order entree!

The town of Dingle is colorful and alive, with technicolor buildings and wonderful restaurants and bars filled with music.  We had two delicious dinners at cosy Ashes Bar and trendy Chart House and spent some time wandering the streets, visiting bars filled with Irish music and enjoying Murphy’s Ice Cream!  A fun destination, but not impressed with the actual harborview.

Loved our full day drive along Slea Head, touring Prehistoric Beehive huts, sunning on rocky outcrops and cliffs overlooking the crashing sea below, hiking up to Dunmore Head and down to the beach below with expansive views of the Blasket Islands and finally exploring a cool old church.  Fewer tourists and tour buses than the Ring of Kerry.  Just a fantastic day with cool breezes, shining sun and bright blue skies.  Mountains and valleys covered with fields of brilliant green, filled with sheep and with rows and rows of stone hedges.  Do not miss Dingle Peninsula and choose it over the Ring of Kerry if you have limited time.  We even had views out to Skellig Michael the skies were so clear.

Next we’re off to the famous Cliffs of Moher and the Burren...

Dublin and the South Coast

Finally, I got some sleep on a plane!  Our Aer Lingus overnighter from Miami left about 1.5 hours late at 10:30 pm, but I was able to close my eyes after the dinner service ended around midnight, and we both got 4 hours sleep (a miracle) which makes a huge difference on the first full day of international travel.  Customs on arrival was quick and easy BUT beware...for departures to the USA, you go through US customs in Ireland before you depart, so give yourself plenty of time on the way home for this surprising step!  We were lucky to quickly buy automated tickets ($7.50 pp) for the Airbus into Dublin which is a lot less costly than a taxi, and caught a bus 5 minutes later into the heart of downtown near our hotel.  We stayed 3 nights at the recently renovated Renaissance Shelbourne Hotel, located at St. Stephens Green (ie: Central Park), which turned out to be a terrific location...within walking distance to all Dublin’s shopping and sights, but away from the noise and bedlam which IS the touristy Temple Bar area.  While we waited for our room to be ready, we had a quick bite (should have taken it to go) and then walked around the well-manicured public park filled with Saturday picnickers, lakes with swans and ducks, and (surprise)Japanese Cherry Blossom trees and tulips of all colors in full spring bloom.  Our rate included a delicious breakfast buffet, plus made to order entrees and coffee drinks, and our room was luxurious and massive and had a big marble bath with a shower and soaking tub.

In no particular order, here are the things we did in our 3 days in Dublin...

*met our “British daughter’s” sweet mother from Bristol, England, who flew in and traveled with us for 2 days and it was a joy to finally meet her and explore Dublin with her!

*took a “free” walking tour on the morning of the first day for 3 hours where we saw all Dublin’s key sights and heard historical stories about the city, it’s buildings and monuments like Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Church, and the clash between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Our guide Peter owns the company and he was funny and engaging (working for tips only) and we enjoyed him so much we decided to join him for the evening at...

*a Pub Crawl for $20 pp where we went to 4 “locals” pubs to taste and learn about local craft beers (IPA’s, less hoppy Pale Ales and Stout), Guinness, Gin and Irish Whiskey and Irish music.  We had dinner at one of the pubs which was optional.

*shopped on pedestrian friendly Grafton Street (loved Avoca) and all along the quaint streets and alleys of Dublin.

*ate at Klaw, a one room eatery where I had a fresh lobster roll, historic Leo Burdock’s Fish and Chips where you are given delicious, thick, hot, lightly-breaded cod and French fries in a takeaway box to eat outside and The Old Storehouse in the Temple Bar District where we had Guinness Stew, fresh crabs, Guinness and alcoholic Apple Cider and listened to an Irish soloist at a high top near the bar.

*spent a fun few hours wandering through rowdy bars in the Temple Bar district watching intense male bonding and drinking, and listening to fun lyrics sung by “Irish country singers”.

*walked along the Liffey River and crossed the famous cast iron Ha’penny Bridge at different times of day and night...plus saw the statues of Molly Maguire and patriot Daniel O’Connell and listened to street performers all over the city.

* visited Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells and the Old Library (reserve in advance online).

*tried to go to the National Museum of Ireland, but it was closed on Monday (big miscalculation).

*walked around Merrion Square and saw the pretty doors and statue of Oscar Wilde.

*missed the deKilmainham Gaol (jail) which was too far to walk to, but we heard was great (reservation also needed).

*avoided the touristy Guinness Storehouse (because there are lots of distillery tours elsewhere in Ireland).

And on the morning of the 4th day, we took a cab to the Hertz dealer, renting the second smallest car possible for under $500 for our nearly 2 week road trip.  (FYI, we drove 1600 miles and spent $188 on gas.)  With great trepidation getting out of Dublin in morning rush hour, driving on the left side with a left handed gear shift, we headed south towards the Wicklow Mountains to Powerscourt Estate and Gardens, a sculptured English Garden with massive trees including Redwoods, a Japanese Garden, beautiful lakes and fountains, and blossoming spring flowers ($10 pp).  If you are going to Ashford Castle or Kylemore Abbey in the Connemara region, you don’t also have to also go to the gardens of Powerscourt because they are all similar in some ways, but it was beautiful and we enjoyed it.  We then drove over scenic Sally Gap, a military trail through misty mountains and along bogs and peat fields which looked like we were on another planet, and then to a wonderful deserted old monestary called Glendalough.  It was raining and dreary when we arrived, but we loved wandering through all the old stone ruins and exploring the massive graveyard filled with toppling Celtic crosses covered in moss and shrouded in mist at times.  A photographer’s dream, especially with all the rain and mist. There are 2 lakes to visit here and hiking trails if weather permits and no admission charge to see this historic site.

In the early evening we arrived at our first colorful Irish town, Kilkenny, where we stayed downtown at the Zuni Hotel and ate dinner at the restaurant.  We visited a fun bar, Hole in the Wall, which it was...tiny and owned by a cardiologist by day/aspiring musician by night. The hotel was perfectly located in the heart of the city, but in need of room renovation, and was our least satisfying Irish lodging, but it was clean, with free parking and a friendly staff, and the dinner and made to order breakfast were very good.  In the morning, we wandered around the colorful town and to the river and walked around the massive Kilkenny Castle (1195), but decided to head on our way before it opened.  It is a castle which is really beautifully restored and may be worth the stop if time permits.

On the road again on Day 5, we headed to the Rock of Cashel and neighboring Hore Abbey which is definitely worth a stop and one of our favorite destinations.  The Rock of Cashel (1101) is a spectacular castle ruin on a hill with sweeping views of the region and we were lucky to arrive on the first Wednesday so admission was free and we arrived just in time for the interesting and funny tour.  We hiked 20 minutes down to Hore Abbey at the bottom of the hill, currently inhabited by cows, and explored these interesting ruins with great views looking back towards the Rock of Cashel (and then hiked back up to the parking lot).  We decided against a stop in Cork, or a visit to Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone and headed to the seaside towns of Cobh and Kinsale.  Both are very colorful and picturesque, have historical maritime significance and are worth a visit just for the cuteness of the cities.  There is a car ferry that connects the towns which straddle the inlet, but we drove around, so take that into consideration in your planning. Cobh was the final departure port for the Titanic and most Irish immigrants heading to America, and the old buildings remain and metal plaques for the White Star Lines and Cunard Lines are still posted. The Lithuania sunk just off the coast of Kinsale and survivors were brought to Cobh and there is a memorial to lives lost there.  We stayed at the Old Presbytery B&B in Kinsale with a distant view of the port in the heart of the cute city and had a tasty fresh fish dinner near the port at Fishy Fishy. Nice innkeepers, wine and cakes in the afternoon and a good breakfast in the morning, so a good lodging choice.  Since we arrived late in the day, we couldn’t visit the shops, so also take that into consideration when arriving in these small towns.

Have I mentioned all the beer and cider we have consumed so far?  And smoked salmon, fresh fish, brown bread with Irish butter, scones, and the beer and cider...the food has not been disappointing!

Now off to the southwest coast...Kerry and Dingle...

THE EMERALD ISLE...our trip begins...🍀🇮🇪🍺🐑

Our road trip around Iceland last May was so enjoyable that we decided upon another road trip, around another northern Atlantic Ocean island...IRELAND.  Time to dust off your map of the Emerald Isle so you can track our 2 week trek.  We are traveling in the off-season to try to avoid tourists (haha).  Springtime (and Ireland generally all the time) is wet, cool and misty with May temperatures ranging from 40-60 degrees, but luckily we have all the gear after our last wet, cool, misty trip to Iceland.

We start out on an overnight direct flight on Aer Lingus, Miami to Dublin, where we’ll spend 3 nights at the recently renovated and historic Shelbourne Renaissance Dublin.  In Dublin, we’ll take walking tours and visit ancient prisons, churches, libraries and universities, see ancient manuscripts (ie: The Book of Kells), enjoy breweries, pubs and Irish bars where we’ll drink lots of Guinness, ales, meads and cider, and generally wander through cobblestone streets, markets and parks in this old and exciting city.  We pick up our very tiny rental car on day 4 and begin our travels through the backroads of rural Ireland, spending nights at assorted castles and charming manor homes and B&B’s generally found through Karen Brown travel guides (which we’ve used for European travel for decades) and Booking.com/Trip Advisor/friend recommendations. Our daily schedule is very flexible, but I like the security of having a guaranteed destination and place to sleep every night.

Once we figure out how to drive on the opposite side of the road, in a manual car with the gearshift on the left, on very narrow winding rural roads, we begin to travel south through the Wicklow Mountains (supposedly the site of my favorite romantic movie PS, I Love You) visiting an old monestary with gorgeous gardens and the Smithwick/Jamison brewery, and ending our first driving day in the medieval town of Kilkenny.  The next day we travel to the mystical castles Cashel and Hore Abbey, passing through Cork, waving at the Blarney Stone, and spend the night at the quaint village of Kinsale, close to the port of Cobh where the Titanic departed on its fateful Atlantic journey.  We continue on the coastal road heading west towards the charming towns of Kenmare and Killarney where we’ll drive the scenic Ring of Kerry and explore Killarney National Park.  Heading north on the western coast, we spend 2 days exploring picturesque Dingle Peninsula.  After hiking the dramatic Cliffs of Moher (please pray for good weather), we head towards the barren Burren and spend the night in County Clare at Ballyvaughn.  Weather conditions and timing will decide whether we visit the isolated Aran Islands off the western coast (and try to see the elusive puffin we missed both in Iceland and Maine).  Unfortunately, Skellig Michael, a dramatic rocky island where puffins also reside, probably isn’t an option for us this time of year because the ferries aren’t necessarily ferrying in May.  We stop for a night at the drinking and shopping town of Galway and then enjoy our splurge night at the 800 year old Ashford Castle.  After relaxing at the expansive gardens of Ashford Castle, we head west to the coastal town of Clifden and enjoy the Connemara as we drive north to the unpopulated Donegal Peninsula in the far northwest.  Our final days are spent in Northern Ireland, where we’ll see the Giants Causeway, some GOT filming sites and enjoy the Bushmills bourbon distillery, before heading south through scenic coastal towns along the eastern coast as we head towards Belfast and finally back to Dublin airport.

We plan to see endless rolling green hills along narrow roads, rocky cliffs with crashing waves, ancient burial sites and lots of strange stone formations, and sheep, lots of sheep.  Did I mention the roads are very narrow?  Follow our travels, ok?