Blogs from County Kerry, Ireland, Europe - page 2

Our seven day trip on the Emerald Isle started with a celebration of New Year's Eve in Dublin. Catching the bus into the city, we headed for the area of Temple Bar and stopped for our first smooth drink of Guinness at the Wild Duck. We walked around the streets of Dublin, soaking up the hustle and bustle and enjoying the festive lights still shining from Christmas. Buskers jammed on street corners, and punters sat in the steamy windows of the pubs. An 8.00 pm Covid-19 curfew was imposed across Ireland, so we headed back after dinner to get ready for our early start and road trip the following day! Leaving Dublin, we drove directly west across Ireland. The roads were quiet, and the scenery was primarily flat farmland and sparsely populated outside of the towns. ... read more

The weather looks promising this morning. Today we are headed for another beautiful Atlantic peninsula, the next one south of Dingle: the Iveraugh Peninsula and its famous RIng of Kerry drive. As usual, Tony entertains us on the drive with an endless stream of information and stories. He spends some time talking about Ireland's trees. Native species include ash, beech, oak, hawthorn and yew. Pretty much all conifers were imported to the island. With native trees under threat, there have been efforts to reestablish native species. But one experiment failed miserably, as ash trees imported from Norway turned out to have a fungus that almost completely wiped out the remaining ash. Tony tells us about the tradition of poitin (usually rendered as potcheen in English). This is Irish moonshine, made in small batches, traditionally from malted ... read more

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. In the category of combinations you never thought of, I have a caramel fudge-flavoured yoghurt. It's yet another drizzly day, unfortunately. We reach Limerick, Tony’s home town. Our first stop is alongside the Shannon River to see the Treaty Stone, where reputedly the treaty that ended the war between the Irish and William of Orange was signed in 1691. Under the terms, a promise was made to respect Catholicism, but the treaty was rejected by both the English and Irish Parliaments and its terms were ignored. Thus Limerick became known as The City of the Broken Treaty. We cross the river and stop on the other side of the Shannon, directly across from the Treaty Stone. We descend and have the opportunity for a quick visit to St. John’s Castle (1210) ... read more

Zaterdag 31/8/2019 – Vrije dag, zelf in te vullen. Gezien het slechte weer van gisteren opteerden wij voor een lange MH rit. Heen en terug van Cahersiveen naar Dingle 210km aan de overkant van de baai op het einde van het Dingle schiereiland. In vogelvlucht misschien 30km. Maar 100km langs de weg. Tot Killorglin een stuk 'Ring of Kerry' maar dan in de tegengestelde richting dan die aanbevolgen voor tourcars. Omwille van de smalle banen. Voor ons viel het nog te doen. Behalve dan op de terugweg van Dingle wanneer de GPS ons een zeer smalle weg (max3m) instuurt die uiteindelijk 20km lang blijkt. U-bocht maken kon niet meer. Dus gespannen dan maar verder, in de hoop om toch niemand te moeten kruisen. Gelukkig geen kat te zien. Wel mooi baantje gedaan. Maar blij wanneer het ... read more

Today’s journey began with the “Ladies View” adjacent to the Lake of Killarney on the Ring of Kerry. The rain was with us, as it has been for the last few days, and I chose to stay on the bus when we arrived at the Killarney National Park and the Victorian mansion Muckross House and gardens. An hour later, St. Mary’s Cathedral was waiting across the bridge in Killarney, the rain had subsided and I ventured out. The town’s 19th century buildings were beautiful and a few of us had some good Asian fusion for lunch. A little shopping, and back to the bus to continue our trip around The Ring. Beautiful, stunning cliffs and although the rainy weather didn’t promote great photos the experience was exhilarating. When we returned to Sneem, Kerry went for a ... read more