Blogs from Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland, Europe - page 6

July 11 Colorful, that is the word best used to describe Ireland. The scenery, as we have sent is great but the villages we go through are every color of the rainbow (and extremely clean). In the blog today, I am including some pictures of the villages we have biked through and stayed at. Overall the economy seems to be doing well and talking to the locals the improvement since the mid 1980’s is significant. They, like us, are now experiencing a downturn; home prices have dropped 7.5% in the last year. There is much talk about cutting 1,000,000,000 Euros from the national budget for next year. We biked in the rain this morning but the sun came out and was shining brightly for the afternoon. We traveled from Bantry down the Beara Peninsula to Castletown ... read more

DAY 3 Galway to Dingle No Breakfast… boo, we’d be sorry later! Drive to Shannon Ferry, price scare- WE took a ferry from galway to dingle, andat first thought it was going to cost 120 euros- not so good since we had been in the car for over an hour at this point and to turn around would not be fun. Then, we realized that included return trips and it wasfor the entire week. Our cosr would only be 17 euros. Surf Lessons canceled- the beach had little//no waves, it was cold and it was raining. We’re thinkingit would be better t o learn tosurf in warmerwater. Rainy and windy Good lunch at Bistro- first slice ofirish pizza- not bad! Gas Prices- just as bad to purchase in the us! Especially since it’s sold in liters ... read more

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Dingle Town & Peninsula, Ireland After dining on Tuesday evening at the Adare Manor Country Club, I awoke ready to play some golf. We hurried through breakfast, checked out of our nice B&B and headed for the course. Upon arrival we discovered that there was a junior competition about to start and the course would be closed until 10:00am. A late start would delay our drive south so that was out of the question. A second problem was also developing. Rain! We decided that it might be better to move on and play golf somewhere else or not at all if the rain continued. So, we drove towards the Dingle Peninsula. We had not yet decided on where we would sleep but we wanted to see the town. We would decide later ... read more

Another beautiful day, no rain and mid-sixties with sunshine. We drove 1-1/2 hours to the small town of Dingle, via Connor’s Pass. There are two roads which lead to Dingle; the main road which can accommodate the buses full of tourists and Connor’s Pass. Connor’s Pass is full of winding turns and many places where the road narrows to one lane. Yesterday was a clear day, so the views were amazing. Along the way to Dingle, we found a sandy beach at Castlegregory. John had some fun with a dog who just loved to play fetch with rocks. We spend the afternoon walking around Dingle, enjoying a lunch of fish and chips and an ice cream sundae. We checked into our Bed and Breakfast and I took a nap as I am still fighting this head ... read more

Greetings friends, I had hoped to write earlier, however we have traveled to some of the more remote areas where they have not yet invented internet:) Here is a summary of our trip so far: There are 11 people in our group. There is 1 from Scotland, 2-Boston, 2- Penn, 1 from Germany, 2 from Austria, and myself. Ages range from early 20's to 50's. Since leaving Dublin a few day ago we have visted Kildare, Portlaoise where we vistied Dunamase Caste, and did some hiking. We traveled through Durrow, to Cashel where we visited one of Ireland's most spactacular structures- The Rock of Cashel. We then traveled to Caher to see Cahir Castle. From there, we traveled to Cork, which is the second largest city in Ireland. There I was blessed with the "gift of ... read more