Blogs from County Kerry, Ireland, Europe - page 37

Hopefully the journal entry will appear soon.... read more

Today we have seen a lot of the Irish Countryside. This country has really spectacular scenery a lot of the film Ryans daughter was filmed in this area. You travel around the mountains and the coastline along narrow winding roads I must say the coach drivers here really earn their money as the roads are very narrow even for a small car. We are off to a meet the locals Irish music night and tomorrow its off to Limeric and Galway Bay We really love Ireland and think everyone should come here for a visit... read more

As if last night's dinner wasn't spectacular enough, the Gleaneagle Hotel outdid itself with this morning's breakfast. We walked into the same dining room where dinner had been served. At first all we saw was a line at a big buffet table. We immediately got in line. We got juice, choice of cereals (I got oatmeal), lots of fruit and rolls and various spreads. When we sat down at our table a waiter asked if we wanted eggs. "Of course" said I and ordered sunny-side up with home fries, bacon and toast. That's my idea of a healthy breakfast. After breakfast while we waited for everyone to meet before boarding the bus, Gail had to listen to the usual first day complaints: "My room was too hot", "My TV only picked-up one station", "It was noisy ... read more

Day 25, Friday June 16: Dublin to (London)Derry On Friday, I met up with my new backpacking group and we headed to Northern Ireland, officially part of the UK, not the Republic of Ireland.. This is obviously a tense political subject with the people here and as recently as 1998, there were regular killings and bombing in N.Ireland, until the cease fire agreement.. Quickly it comes down to Protestants vs Catholics, or the British supporters vs the Ireland supporters. Both feel very strongly about who they should be ruled under and show themselves (Derry is divided by the river), British flags wave on one side, Ireland flags on the other. We received a tour of the city from a Catholic, who believes that he is Irish, not british, and actually holds on to an Irish Passport. ... read more

Today we headed to Killarney and spent several hours at Killarney National Park, including Muckross House, Gardens, and Traditional Farms. The park encompasses more than 25,000 acres and was Ireland’s first National Park. When we toured the Manor House, we missed the English-speaking tour, and rather than wait for the next one, we tagged along with the French-speaking group. My French is a bit rusty, but I was able to understand much - maybe even most - of what the guide said. One of the things that stood out in my recollection of her tale was that the estate was purchased by a wealthy American as a wedding gift for his wife. When she died an untimely death, he was too grief-stricken to stay at Muckross, so he donated the entire estate to Ireland for the ... read more