Our Ireland Adventure Day 7

Ring of Kerry Tour

 

Although Paul and I are really not tour people, Sonja had scheduled us for a tour called the “Ring of Kerry” with the Wild Kerry Daytours. They picked us up and dropped us off directly from the Cillcearn House which was very convenient. However those vans were pretty dirty and very smoky.

The Wild Kerry Day Tour’s bus was a bit better. The Iveragh Peninsula which contains Ireland’s most spectacular mountain road – the Ring of Kerry – is situated in the south west corner of Ireland. Our driver, John, was very friendly and talked for almost the entire six-hour tour about history, geography, culture, stories and folklore. John even sang to us.

Our tour went in an counter-clockwise direction along the banks of the River Laune to Killorglin, via Glenbeigh, Kells, Caherciveen, the southern shores of Dingle Bay, Waterville, along the coast via Coomakista Pass, Derrynane, on to Sneem, up the mountain road to Molls Gap, and finished up at Ladies’View.

It filled our day and we did enjoy the tour. Unfortunately, a screaming toddler and two non-stop talking young ladies directly behind us reminded us why we are not keen on guided bus tour.

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Our Ireland Adventure Day 6

We left the Ardfield Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast around nine-ish and headed towards the Old Midleton Distillery area in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. The Jameson Experience, Midleton,  is an Irish whiskey tourist attraction which opened in 1992. We had a great time, but the tour was not as fun as the Jameson Tour in Dublin. Nevertheless, unbelievably, I learned even more about the Irish Whiskey. 

Our GPS Coordinates took us close to our next Bed and Breakfast, Cillcearn House on Ballycasheen Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry. It was easy to figure out where it was though. Our host Tom, should be an Ireland national treasure. He could not be friendlier nor more informative. He even took the time to teach us how to use our AT&T cell phone in Ireland!!!

Our room was spacious and well-kept. Most importantly, the internet worked in our room and was very fast. Yeah I was able to catch up on my work a bit.

After setting in, we drove into town for dinner. We happened on the Family owned and run Cronins Restaurant. Again the food and service exceeded our expectations. They made Paul a hamburger minus the meat that was scrumptious. My Turkey and Ham dinner special was also very tasty. Everything was extremely reasonably priced.

We bought some groceries at Glesson's Spar and called it a day. 

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Our Ireland Adventure Day 5

Happy Birthday Opa. Unfortunately, we did not get a good night’s sleep. We found out that the heat was turned off at night consequently, our cold room and hard beds made it a jagged night. Nevertheless after a hearty breakfast and great conversation with fellow “bed and breakfasters” we were off to explore the County Cork.

Today was a day of long narrow steps. We started with the Blarney Castle. What a gorgeous old homestead. We walked up the steps to the top of the castle and kissed the Blarney stone. Not as easy as it sounds. You have to lay down and bend over backwards to reach the illusive stone. Not to be left behind, both Paul and I succeeded; now we both will be endowed with the gift of the gab.

We also visited the ground’s poison garden which included a marijuana plant. Then we explored the castle caves. Blarney is a very nice national treasure to view and learn about. 

Then we were off to the Bells of Shandon. Driving a car down those impossibly tapered streets was a challenge. St. Anne’s houses the 18th Century Bells and is a beautiful little church. After climbing up the steps you can pick a song and ring the bells yourself. Not as easy as it sounds (again), you have to give quite a tug on the ropes. I played George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun.” 

We headed towards Kinsale for our lunch at Fishy Fishy. Everywhere we eat, the cooks take special care to accommodate Paul’s “no meat” diet. They made him a huge salad with a side order of “chips.” I had Fish and Chips. Everything was yummy.

Our shopping turned successful when I found the perfect Aran sweater coat at “Kinsale Woollen Mills.” So much to choose from and the sales assistants were very helpful. 

It was still a bit early to return to the B&B, so off to Fort Charles we drove. I am so glad we did. The estate was fantastic and the weather mild. I think that the sun even peered out for a second or two. Again flooded with history, this relic is the perfect spot for urban hiking. All in all, Paul and I trekked over five miles and worked up quite the appetite.

We eat at Viaduct Inn, a family restaurant. Again the service was enthusiastic and food very good. Tonight is our last night at Ardfield Farmhouse and we would give it four out of five stars. The lack of the final star due mostly to the sparseness of internet availability. So if the internet is not important to you and you can stay under your covers at night, you will probably find Ardfield Farmhouse to be a five star. The farmhouse is centrally located and close to almost everything you might want to see. 

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Our Ireland Adventure Day 4

Paul and I arose early and enjoyed the Hawkeye Falconry Experience right in front of our hotel, the Faithlegg House. You can see from the photos below it was an awesome exciting and informative experience of the ancient sport of kings, falconry. John the falconer was personable and wonderful. We interacted with two Harris Hawks, (Dennis the Menace and Rodger Dodger) and a Barn Owl named Riley. I am not sure how we are going to top this.

Since many of our destinations in Ireland do not have an address, I learned how to use longitude and latitude coordinates with the GPS. Our first stop was the world famous Waterford Crystal Factory. This was truly a must-do attraction. The history and exquisiteness of this crystal was astonishing as we were guided through the different craftsman’s work posts. Paul even held a glass football valued at 2,800 euros. It was difficult to leave without making a purchase, but we did it.

Our bed and breakfast for the next two nights, Ardfield Farmhouse was a tad disappointing. Bernadette is a gracious host and the room was small but nice. Unfortunately, the advertised free Wi-Fi was non-existent. Now for me that is a huge problem. My daily work tasks requires me to have internet. After spending an hour walking around the house searching for a connection, it became clear that I would be off-line. The beds were also a bit uncomfortable.

We met a very nice Irish couple at Kirby’s Corner where we had supper. They suggested we go to Blarney Castle and the Bells of Shandon tomorrow. We will follow their advice.

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