Ireland Adventures Sept 8 - 9

Once we arrived into Cork airport, we picked up our lovely rental car and got organized. Our two mascots - Shelley the Turtle and The Tiger both approved!! Yes Nick rolled his eyes too when he discovered I packed both creatures into my backpack for a 5 month journey!!

The rain was a bit extreme for the first few days but we made the most of it. Whenever the sun hinted at coming out - we went on hikes and explored the small villages. On the first day, we drove north from Cork to Limerick on all small roads so we had to wait for sheep or cows to cross the roads which makes life interesting. We stopped at Desmond castle in Askeaton and walked around the village to see many sites including the Knights Templar Tower. It was right beside a school and all the students had just finished their day. We then travelled the coastal roads, then south to Listowel, which we'd like to get back to one day to explore more throroughly. We needed to get to Dingle so no more stops could occur and we drove the most efficient route - i.e. no Connor Pass!! Dingle was our chosen destination for two nights. We stayed above Gavin's Travel Agency on Main Street - the name of the bed and breakfast is Sraid Eoin. This is our second visit and it is a wonderful place to stay - Maurice and Kathleen are excellent hosts!! Nick loves the full irish breakfast!! It is so central and easy to park the car on the street.

The first night we went to Benny's Pub and enjoyed irish fare and live irish music!! Awesome!! The next day we took a tour, as recommended by Maurice, of the Dingle Peninsula. We have driven the peninsula several times before but this tour gave us a whole new perspective. It was given by Timothy Collins of Sciuird Archaeology Tours. We went to several sites along the peninsula and stopped and learned the history, of which I was greatly exicited!! It is nice to be a student for once!! The weather was awful - gale force winds - but we all survived!! At a beautiful beach, despite the cold rainy weather, a group of Aussies went swimming!! Just watching them - made me freezing!! The beehive building shown is the Gallarus Oratory - built about 1300 years ago - it is one of Ireland's best preserved early Christian churches. It is shaped like an upturned boat. It is waterproof due to its finely fitted drystone walls. Overall all the sites and stops were amazing!! Nick and I sat in the front with the tour guide so enjoyed a running commentary. One expression I loved was Tim's description of white caps in the Atlantic Ocean - he called them 'white horses'!!

This is us on the tour of Dingle Peninsula!!

Once we returned to Dingle, Nick and I wandered into the shops and then Nick went to Murphy's Pub for a cup of tea - did I mention how cold and rainy it was? - while I went shopping!! Later on in the afternoon the sun came out, and we knew this was our chance to drive Connor Pass!! You need clear views or it is not worth the effort. It was an amazing drive - stopping along the way for kodak moments.

Nick and I absolutely loved Ireland once again!! It is a relaxed country with beautiful views of the seaside. Our favourite part of the journey is finding the smallest road to drive on and see what new things we can discover!!

In Dingle - if you can believe it??? - We went into a SPAR which is a convenience store and found a display of Tim Hortons coffee and doughnuts!!! We were gobsmacked - as Nick would say!! We asked the clerk who informed us that the coffee has been available for about a year and the doughnuts were new spring 2008!! Sadly though, we did not have any - we don't miss it enough yet!! We did see a discarded coffee cup in a window sill which greatly disappointed me!!

We have lots more adventures to tell you about in Ireland and I'll continue on in another post!