Bunratty

The clip clop of jaunting cars talking past woke us up this morning.  They were all on the way to Ross castle down the street. We up and showered and went down for breakfast, the food was so good.  I had a bowl of oatmeal and it came with a shot of Baileys to stir in- what a brilliant plan.  The girls had waffles and a whole lot of fresh fruit- Illene was a great hostess and I would recommend the Mountain Dew B&B if you are ever in Killarney.  Then we were off- Limerick bound.  The drive was not to long, we saw a few sites along the way- stopping at Adare, the castle here look amazing; unfortunately it was closed for the Winter.  We walked up to the Abbey and walked in on mass (oops), then did a little walk up the river- taking in the lovely Irish Countryside.  Back on the road to Limerick and we were there in no time.  Trying to get in to the Centre was another story- the roads were all blocked the Garda- seems there was a parade of sorts on. We got tired of trying to get downtown and decided to head to Shannon instead.  We had booked dinner at Bunratty and decided to check out the little town that is Bunratty- we turned in and saw a few B&B signs, none of them could we find, except one and she didn't have a family room.  Across the road the Bunratty Manor looked expensive but we gave it a shot- not too bad 100 euros, so we checked in and had a chill afternoon.
At 5 we headed towards the Bunratty castle as we were due at our Medieval Feist at 5:30.  We were treated with a glass of Mead and some wonderfully costumed actors.  After some songs and crowning of the earl and duchess- we headed to the main hall for dinner. Sitting at long banquette tables we were told the only utensil we had was our dagger (knife) and our fingers. There were jugs of wine not the table, bread and water.  First up was a bowl of potato soup - we sipped these, it was really quite delicious.  Next up were pork spare ribs- finger licking good for sure.  The main course was chicken and veggies- with a red wine reduction - truly a great dish.  After all the wonderful food we were served and apple pie of sorts for dessert.  Then the "lords" and "ladies" sang and played some harps music- it was a wonderful experience which I would highly recommend.  Before we knew it 2.5 hours had flown by and it was over.  We went to the lower hall for some coffee and then walked back to the hotel.
The girls were pooped, but Frank and I headed to the main dining room/pub for some live music and Guinness and Baileys to end a really great day.
On a sad note- it seems I have lost my battery charger for my camera- so I have 2 bars left and don't want to waste the charge uploading my photos.  I hope to find a camera shop in Galway that might give me a charge. (PS - I did find one- whew!)

The Ring of Kerry

Despite our early bedtime we still only woke at 8ish!  But we upped and showered and then to the dining room for breakfast.  I had a traditional Irish breakfast- which included black pudding (!?)  Then with directions in hand we were on our way to Killarney and the ring of Kerry.  The roads here are so narrow and Frank is not used to driving on the right hand side of the car, hence he drives too close to the shoulder, which is non existent and so my heart was a flapping a lot on the small back roads!  But despite the small roads we made our way to Killarney- via Bandon and Macroom.  The roads and direction are pretty well marked- although you do have to be on the look out for them as if you blink you will miss a turn. (this only happened once in Macroom).  An hour and a half after we started we were in Killarney- we headed to the tourist info booth and they showed us in the direction of some B&B's- the first 2 didn't have room - the 3rd had 2 rooms for 100 euros so we took it, dropped  off our bags and were on the road to the ring of Kerry.  We had a small map but no real detail, so we were hoping the signs along the way would tell us where to stop.  The first sign pointed us the Gap of Dunloe- off we headed, but when we go there it was a horse and carriage ride for an hour to the gap- seemed like a wonderful plan, but being that we had a late start- we deiced to give it  a miss.  It was already after noon and we had heard it was about a 3 hour round trip - we didn't want to miss a thing.  Off we sped (the posted speed is 100km's/hour, there is no way you can maintain that!) Next was the lake of Caragh, so we headed down and some how missed the lake! Yikes we are going to have to get better at this. We found our first little town at Killorglin and hunger had set in.  We stopped outside a Eurospar and they had a lovely selection of sandwiches- we ate, stocked up on some snacks for the road, grabbed a Tim Hortons coffee (yup a Timmies on the Ring of Kerry!) and then we were on the road again (after trying to find a map of the ring to no avail!)
Next was Glenbeigh and the signs promised a beach- so we turned down to the the beach of Rossbeigh- wow the most incredible beach it was at that.  The waves were wild, but it was beautiful.  We had expected this Irish coast to be so much colder but we barely needed a jacket at all.  After the wild wind in our hair, we were off looking for a castle as the signs promised. Cahersiveen and we turned to the castle- when we got to Ballycarbery Castle we were not prepared for the amazing castle that it was.  Apparently built in the 1300's, the remnants that stand are amazing- we climbed all way around this castle- it was just amazing and not another sole in site- we had it all to ourselves.  That was worth the trip all around!  A little further down the road were these round stone forts- we hiked up to one and once again the craftsmanship of those stone towers built over a thousand years ago is incredible.  We could have stayed at both these sites longer, but it was 3 and we weren't even half way around the circle. Next big town was Waterville- enroute there were so many pull outs (taking our lives into our hands as most people are doing the post 100km's) we took in as many scenic points as we could.  Waterville we were back down on the ocean after being quite high on the cliffs.  This town is were Charlie Chaplin and his family used to holiday so there are signs of him all over the town.  A brief stop and we were moving on to Caherdaniel another cute town, but we didn't stop as we were running out of daylight!  Sneem the next major town and once again stops along the way had the most gorgeous views of the ocean- the Wild Atlantic as they call it. Between Sneem and Kenmare there was not too much to see- the ocean peeked through here and there and we dodged a few sheep on the road. (Although in Sneem Frank had me take a photo of him outside a pub that we swears there is a pic of in the St James' Well in Port Moody) At Kenmare- which looked like a gorgeous little town we popped in to see the ring of standing stones that they had there- small.  Then we were on the last stretch back to Killarney- it was getting dark by now and we had 30 minutes of daylight left- we stopped for a quick pic of Molls gap and then the winding road back to Killarney.  Thank goodness we got back before dark as that was some crazy, twisty road (Road to Hana like) and with random sheep on the road a night drive would not be fun.  Sure hope we didn't miss too many sites long the way.  Whoever said we could to the ring in 3 hours was very wrong- we took over 6, going at speeds of 70-100 and we didn't stop at all the sites to see.
Back at the Morning Dew B&B we freshened up and then walked into town for dinner- we ate at O'Learys which has highly ranked on Trip Adviser- the Irish stew and Guinness were good. A nice amble back and bed by 11. What a day of driving!

The Emerald Isle

Friday the 13th- and 6am came way too quick!  We were up and packed and ready to go for our 6:45 pick up.  We had to say goodbye to the Sandoval’s (thank you for an amazing stay!)  Then we were off to Heathrow.  The drive was uneventful and before we knew it we were checking in with Aer Lingus.  After the security check we were in search of breakfast- we found a half decent hot brekkie and then the plane was boarding!  It all seemed to fly by.  After boarding - still exhausted I fell asleep and woke up as they announced our decent into Cork.  They flight was only 55 minutes long but what a change in landscape. London’s bricks, smog and concrete had given way to green rolling hills and sweet fresh air.  We checked in at the Avis counter, and despite the horror stories we had heard about Irish car rentals we had our car in no time.  Blarney Castle here we come.  

A brief 20 minute drive from Cork we found the stunning Blarney Castle- what an incredibly picturesque castle.  We explored the grounds and then headed up to the top and the Blarney Stone.  I got down and kissed the stone- no-one else wanted to.  Frank has heard from Gary that the locals do all sorts of things to the stone knowing that people are kissing it- he was having no part of that.  I on the other had can feel my new found eloquence shining through :) (I did slather my lips with chapstick before hand too!) The castle was a small one, but yo could really visualise a family or families living there.  The stonework is so well persevered for a castle that is so old.  We walked to what was once the dairies and had a light lunch of sandwiches.  There was a small stone circle on the grounds too- there seem to be a lot of circles in and around Ireland.

After the amazing castle and grounds- we headed back to Cork, but past it and on to Kinsale.  Arriving in the beautiful little town, we were in search of a B&B or hotel.  Both hotels we checked did not have a family room and 2 rooms seemed costly.  Frank walked in to the local grocery store and had the owner on the phone finding us a place in no time.  The Friar’s Lodge had a family room, free parking and breakfast included for 90 Euros- sounds good to me.  We checked in and then headed into this colourful little town on the bay.  What a beautiful town, we walked the streets and alleys and explored lots of little stores.  6pm and dinner for the girls found us a “the Shack”  they both had burgers that were yummy.  Frank and I still weren’t too hungry - so we all walked around a bit more and then we all entered the Jim Edwards.  I had a to die for fish pie au gratin and Frank a burger and Guinness of course.  They girls and a fudge pie!  After all the late nights and day of travel we have turned in early and are now watching Bear Grills on TV- an early night for all.

Shopping anyone?

Thursday we woke up late and did a little laundry- a later start.  We all headed to the tube- the girls and i were headed to Harrods- Frank was going to see the place were Bon Scott (the original ACDC singer) had died.

We got off at Knightsbridge and into Harrods- what a store!  There is so much to see- the food halls has us captivated (there were Easter eggs on sale for 8000 pounds!)  We found the statue of Princess Diana and Dodi in the basement and signed the huge book there. Of course the girls were hungry- so we had a quick lunch in the Disney cafe on the 4th floor.  Then we were off to the Natural History Museum - just a short walk from store.  Frank was there to meet us.  This is one incredible museum- we were greeted by a huge Brontosaurus replica.  We toured the dinosaur exhibit- which was impressive.  Then we moved on to the human body halls- that was fascinating - I think it was Delaney’s favourite.  After this we made our way up to the Volcano and Earthquake exhibit.  We experienced an “earthquake” in japan- sure hoe we never have to go through one of those. We had been at the museum for close to 3 hours and Frank and I were starving. Onto the tube and we got off at Sloane Square- we walked down Kings Road- window shopping at all the wonderful stores.  We ended up at Kurabota Chelsea - Andrew joined us for a late lunch here (that kale salad and those pork belly buns!)  It was 6pm by this time and we had promised Steph we would be home by 7 so that the girls could put Gabe and Leo to bed (the boys had requested this!)  The bus was closed by- we hoped on and it took us back up to Sloane Square- we were on the tube and homeward bound.  When we got off for the last time at Kilburn- our Oyster Cards were empty- a perfect car for travel in London.  I got the 5 pound deposit back for each card and then the girls head to Tesco for some British Candy to bring home.  We made it home and Danica & Delaney got to put the boys to bed and the adults headed down to the pub down the street for a quick last drink.  The girls packed and headed to bed- we had last drink at the pub and then Steph and I headed back for 11:30pm.  I had to pack as were were being picked up at 6:45am.  Frank and the boys didn’t get back unit well after 12:30- silly boys, they will be tired tomorrow.