Ireland as a Family of 4

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Our last full day in Ireland took us to Killarney, a 2 1/2 hour drive from Bunratty, to the Killarney National Park on Friday. This was the Ireland that Shaun and I came to see. Although the weather was bitterly cold, the 3 of us (Lisa stayed behind in Bunratty) walked along a trail beside a beautiful lake, eventually coming upon an ancient cemetery and the ruins of an equally ancient stone church. Finally, a great photo opportunity. Returning to the rental car, we continued along National Hiway 71 into the Ring of Kerry. The twists and turns of the park road were menacing! Fortunately, the amazing view was worth the treacherous roadway. Shaun's driving skills were impressive...... gear shift on the left, steering wheel on the right, driving lane on the left, sheer cliffs off the right shoulder of the road, oncoming traffic maintaining the 100km per hour speed limit.... that's 62 miles per hour, folks! Shaun frequently pulled off the road to allow the local speed demons to pass our little Ford Monaco. The scenery was breathtaking. High mountain peaks dropping off sharply into flat valleys with twisting streams criss-crossing the terrain. Two hours into the park, we decided we should turn around in order to return to Bunratty by early nightfall.

Meanwhile, Lisa was touring Bunratty Folk Park, and was checking out the gift shop when we text messaged her to discuss dinner plans. We all agreed on dinner at Durty Nelly's Pub, where the fish 'n' chips were tasty, but the sirloin steak was, as Shaun put it, a "scam". "I've had better steaks at Western Sizzlin'", he said, sarcastically. The Irish Coffee, was, however, excellent. We made an early night of it, as we had check in at the Shannon airport at 10am for a 1pm flight that slowly turned into a 2pm flight to Boston. The temperature on the ground when we landed in Boston on Saturday night was 16 degres Fahrenheit, with deep snow piled along the edges of the tarmac. We parted company with Lisa, who chose a different hotel from ours, and climbed aboard the hotel shuttle bus. The hotel staff recommended Boston's oldest Italian restaurant, Jeveli's, and provided round trip shuttle service to dinner. After requesting a 4am wake up call, we tucked ourselves in early. We left Boston this morning, grateful to escape the bone chilling weather, and made our way to ATL, followed by a 25 minute flight to Birmingham.

Our impression of Ireland is mixed. December is not the time of year to go; the weather was the needle that burst the mental balloon of what we thought Ireland would be. None of us liked the food; but the 3 beer drinkers REALLY liked the Guinness. Our train ride to Dublin was a highlight of the trip, as was the scenery at Killarney National Park. Bunratty was all but desserted the week prior to Christmas; a taxi driver from Limerick ask us why we would have come to Bunratty in December. He seemed baffled by our very presence. I don't know that we will ever choose to return to Ireland, but we are happy to have the experience.

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