The Second Half of Ireland

Our first day in Killarney, we decided to drive around the Ring of Kerry - a loop that drives along the coastline of the Iveragh Peninsula.  At this point I was feeling quite comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road and with the steering wheel on the right side of the car but the road got quite narrow in places and as we would pass busses and other cars I could tell Julie still had a ways to go before she was comfortable as a passenger!  The scenery along the drive was very beautiful and we took a secondary loop towards the Skellig Islands where we caught some breathtaking views of the Cliffs of Kerry and stopped at the Skellig Chocolate Factory for free samples - the chocolate was so good we ended up buying several different kinds!  The end of the drive took us through the Killarney National Park where we stopped at the Muckross Waterfall and decided that we needed to spend at least part of the next day hiking in the park.  After returning to the B&B we headed out in search of the perfect place to celebrate Arthur's Day (commemorating the birthday of Arthur Guinness).  We each received a free pint of Guinness and participated in the toast at 17:59.  It was a lot of fun and we feel lucky to have found ourselves in Ireland for such a fun "holiday".

The next morning we headed back to Killarney National Park and walked a large loop which gave us spectacular views of the lakes just outside of town.  After hiking we got back in the car and headed for Dingle.  Our taxi driver the first day told us that we had to take Connor Pass if we went to Dingle, so we made sure the GPS was programmed to go that route and off we went.  Just before the pass we came upon a large stretch of sandy beach and pulled off to enjoy lunch (Nuttella sandwiches, apples, and cheese and crackers) and we were treated to watching some gliders land on the beach right in front of us.  Another glider tried to take off by getting pulled behind a Range Rover, but the conditions must not have been in his favor because he landed back on the beach almost immediately after getting in the air.  We finished up lunch and once again started driving.  Connor Pass provided some stunning views, but also some of the narrowest road we had driven on up to this point - add to that sheer drop offs and crazy locals who drove 120 km/h and we had a very exciting drive!  We got into Dingle in the early afternoon and managed to catch a boat to go out in search of Fungi, the Dingle Dolphin.  We were lucky enough to see Fungi and also somehow managed to avoid the rain that seemed to be coming down all around the bay.

Our plans to take a ferry out to Blasket Island were spoiled when we were informed that the swells were too large to sail, so we settled for a walk along the coast.  We were able to see Fungi again from shore and also got some exercise as we walked for almost 3 hours.  We started the afternoon with a drive around the Dingle Peninsula before checking out the tour at the Dingle Brewery and eating dinner  in town.  Dingle was probably one of our favorite little towns in Ireland.

We woke to rain the next morning and took our time getting ready to go.  We headed towards the town of Doolin, where we would be staying for one night, which is close to the Cliffs of Moher.  We checked in to our B&B and went out in search of a footpath we had heard of that would go all the way from Doolin to the cliffs.  Although the trail ended before reaching the visitor center and commercialized portion of the cliffs, we got to see some amazing views that most tourists miss out on when they just go to the "official" spot.  We were entertained with traditional irish music in one of the pubs in town that night and the next morning we drove to the commercialized spot, where we paid our 12 Euros to go look at the cliffs.  Although we were spoiled by the wall free and not crowded views from the day before, the views from this spot were also quite breathtaking and we are glad we went.

Our next night was to be spent in a castle, which I was excited about.  We drove there not really knowing what to expect, but when we pulled up to the front of the Kinnitty Castle Hotel we were not disappointed.  The castle was built in the 1200's and was in spectacular shape.  We stayed in the Hutchinson Suite - which meant our room was enormous.  Like the rest of the hotel it was furnished with antique furniture, probably from the 1800's, and the whole place just had an awesome vibe.  We went for an 8 Km walk that afternoon to go see the ruins of an original castle built on the property.  The ruins were most unimpressive (one very small wall) and we ended up getting absolutely drenched in a rainstorm about 30 minutes before getting back to the castle.  We dried up and ate dinner in the Library Bar.  The food was outstanding (we split the baked fish of the day) and the atmosphere was awesome, despite there only being a few people in the place.  Breakfast the next morning was equally good and we were both disappointed that our plans only called for one night there.

The last two nights in Ireland were spent in Dublin.  As we drove into the city we planned to drop our luggage off at the hotel before returning the rental car.  Little did we know that the GPS would be of absolutely no use in the city (telling us to drive on streets that no longer existed and wanting us to go the wrong way down one-way streets) and when you add that to fact that people and bus drivers there are absolutely nuts it made for a very frustrated driver and passenger!  We made one attempt at finding the hotel (which was in the middle of the city center) before giving up, heading to the rental car place, and taking a cab.  Dublin was having an Oktoberfest celebration, so we checked it our our first night in town.  We spent the second day touring around the city where we visited the Guinness Storehouse and Kilmainham Gaol (pronounces jail).  The tour was neat and we got a good feel for the history of the city and Ireland's path to independence. We went out our last night in town to find some traditional irish dancing, and although we had to stay up later than we would have otherwise, we were not disappointed by the show.  It helped that we got to set at a table where there was a Guinness Tap and we could pour our own pints all night!  Julie especially enjoyed trying to make designs on the top of each beer she poured.


To check out all of our pictures from Ireland click here