| Tuesday May 1st |
| This morning we woke up and had a very nice breakfast served by Margaret our hostess. We got in the cars and drove to Charles Fort near the inlet to the bay. After this, we went back into town to tour and, what do you know, Dad finds a bakery! We had a good cup of coffee and a nice piece of cake. Peter, the owner and baker, treated us very well. |
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| Kinsale is known as the Gourmet Centre of Ireland and they certainly proved that with us. More notably however are all the fine views that abound in and around the town. This was a good place for some of us to use the internet cafes and touch base with home while others walked around to visit various sites. |
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| We left Kinsale late in the morning with plans to drive down the southern coast to the little town of Glendore where the ancient rock formation called Dromberg cirle was to be found. Unfortunately we were unable to view it because of the Foot and Mouth quarantine. It turned out to be an excellent oportunity to stop by the local inn for the traditional toasted sandwich and a Guinness. From there we continued along the coast to the town of Bantry, over the Caha Pass and through the winding Muckross Pass to Killarney. |
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| The next day Maureen Fleming made us aware that the Foot and Mouth restrictions were still in effect and many of the sites were closed. She told us we should take the Dunloe Pass tour to find our way to the town of Kenmare. First we would have to have good nutritional input to assist us. She provided us with the best breakfast we had since being here. We had the traditional meat plate but also had hash browns which the Irish don't ordinarily eat for breakfast. We enjoyed the food and the people that were here that we had met at the previous stops we made. After this we drove to the Gap of Dunloe. From the base it is five kilometers to the top of the divide. At the bottom Dad, Steve, Tom , Bob and Art decided to hire a horse and buggy to take us to the top. Well, almost to the top. The buggy could only hold four people so Bob and Art took turns riding a pony tied to the back of the cart. This was an extremely bumpy ride! About halfway up we all split up. Ken, Brian, Chris and Art went to the top. Dad, Tom, Steve and Bob went back down and took the long road to Kenmare. The rest of us would meet them later on that afternoon by continuing to go over the top on a shortcut to Kenmare. |
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| We spent the next two nights at the Shraheen House with Maureen Fleming as hostess. Tonight we had went into town for dinner and went to an Irish Pub called Danny Manns. This pub was pretty lively but obviously a very touresty place with a great amount of people that came here on tours. While we enjoyed the entertainment it was obvious it was put on for the visiting firemen. In standing back by the rear doors I was able to make friends with the owner Eddie Eviston. We had a wonderful conversation in which he told me about his various travels to the U.S. Before we left he asked me to wait and went off to fetch me a CD of real Irish music as opposed to what we were hearing. What a wonderful night !! |
| Wednesday, May 2nd |
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| Thursday, May 3rd |
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| After 2 fun packed days in Kilarney and Kenmare it was time to leave but first we had to stop at a travel agent so that Ken and Art could make plane reservations to travel on to Scotland on Sunday morning. We then proceeded north to the town of Tarbert. It was our luck to arrive there just as the ferry to Kilrush was about to leave. The trip across the Shannon river was quite picturesque but very windy. In Kilrush we had lunch at a pub (imagine that, a pub). From here we went on to the Cliffs of Moher. If we thought it was windy & cold on the ferry this was considerably more windier. It was time to open the car trunks and get out our heavy coats and hats. In the previous months before leaving I had talked a lot about the cliffs. Everyone agreed they were simply awe inspiring. The afternoon was wearing on and we had to make Galway by nightfall for our B&B but first I had to stop by and show the boys my favorite town, Doolin. On arriving we went straight to O'connors pub for a Guinness and to inquire about a B&B for Saturday night. |
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| It turns out that this weekend was a Bank holiday and since the town of Doolin is known far and wide as a great place to hear good Irish music there were no rooms available. The barmaid called all over trying to find space for us and finally suggested that we go up the street to a new B&B that was being built and see if they were ready to open. Great luck we could all stay there and we would be the first patrons. Well it was getting late and time for us to get to Galway and see if we could find the Ard Mhuire B&B. |
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