Home at last...

Trip home was uneventful.  Flew Dublin to London and then on to Vancouver.  Beautiful day in Vancouver when we arrived.  My sister picked us up at the airport which was lovely.  Always love returning to Vancouver.  Brought a little of Ireland home with me!

Last night...

This morning we pack up and leave wonderful Caherdaniel.  We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to stay at this wonderful house.  Brendan and Patricia are so generous in sharing their little slice of heaven.

We manage to get away at 10:00 and head along the Ring of Kerry towards Dublin.  The weather is good.  Cloudy but warm.  The sun keeps trying to poke through the clouds and is successful thoughout the day.  No rain.  We make excellent time.  No lunch.  Just munching on cookies that were given to us at the Culture event last night.  So good.

We arrive in Swords at 3:30 pm and locate our B&B with just a little difficulty.  Names of roads are not provided and if they were it would still be difficult as most roads don't have signage.  We ask and you get directions such as "go to the roundabout, take the 3rd exit, drive for about a mile and you'll see a yellow wall, that is where Glenmore House is located."  Well aside from the fact that the yellow wall is actually green we find it.  Very close to the airport.  It is perfect for our last night.

We settle in and walk approximately 10 minutes to the pub where we have dinner.  It's the carvery again.  I'm sure I've gained weight this trip.  After a pint of Guiness 

I manage to finish a platter of roast beef, stuffing, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, cabbage and turnips.  All smothered in gravy!

We waddle back to the B&B and sit in the lounge area drinking our red wine that we picked up at the gas station as we catch up on email.  We head out tomorrow at noon with our first flight to London then on to Vancouver.  Home before we know it!

Friday....walk the Kerry Way

Today it is raining so we are having a relaxing morning.   Just before noon the showers stop and we decide to take advantage of the break in the weather to go for a walk.  There is an entrance to the Kerry Way just down the road from where we are staying.  We stop at Freddy's (the local store) and pick up the essentials (chocolate) for our walk and then head off.  

It's a perfect day for a short hike.

The heather is blooming.  It's so pretty.  We then drive to the nearby village of Waterville where we have lunch at Smugglers.  It's right on the water and Mary and I share a wonderful platter of seafood.

Then it's back to Caherdaniel to curl up with a book and get ready to leave this magical land for home. Tonight is Culture Night at the local Community Hall in Caherdaniel.  There is singing, music and a play put on by the children.  It was wonderful.

Tomorrow we drive to Dublin and fly home on Sunday.

Thursday....off to Kenmare

Today we are going to the village of Kenmare.  It's about 40 mins. from Caherdaniel.  Kenmare is very picturesque.  Lots of shops and pubs.  We start with a great cappuccino from a street vendor and then look in several of the shops.

We then decide to go about 14 kms. out of town to a place called Molly Gallivan's.  

This was the home of a woman that lived here approx. 200 years ago.  After her husband died leaving her to raise 7 children alone she was very clever in finding ways to support her family.  Part of her income was from making and selling moonshine which was called Molly's Mountain Dew.  

It must have been such a hard life.  No modern conveniences.

Peat bricks for fuel.

We stop and have home made soup and brown bread.  A pot of tea tops it off.

These are the remains of a 'famine cottage' that a family would have lived in around 1840.  So many people starved to death during this period of time when the potatoe crops failed two years in a row.

Beautiful country.

Tonight is the night for live music at the Blind Piper pub.  Very impromptu and casual.  

We run into a couple of women that we had met before at the pub.  They are on holiday from England.  Linda and Barb.  Was a good evening.

Wednesday.....Shopping in Sneem

Well the weather has changed!  I really can't complain as we have had glorious sunshine since I arrived in Ireland.  This morning we wake to gusting winds, grey skies and rain.  It gives us an excuse to sleep in and read in bed.  Mary makes coffee with Irish Cream (we're talking Baileys here, not milk!) and we read in bed while sipping our coffee.  Glorious!  Around 11 we decide we should get mobile.  So glad we went to Dingle yesterday while the weather was good as the views of the sea were amazing and today it's socked in.

After breakfast we decide to go to the village of Sneem.  It is only a 20 minute drive.  

Lots of tour buses in the afternoon but when we arrive it's fairly quiet.  We shop for an hour or two and then pick a pub for lunch.  We've been having our main meal in the afternoon and it's been working well.  The meals are substantial and add a pint of ale and I'm so full I don't need much in the evening.

Quite picturesque!

 It's quite pleasant out.  The rain has stopped and it's still 21 degrees out so very pleasant.  Bought a few gifts and then it's time to get back to Caherdaniel.  We were looking for the Community Hall as we have discovered that this Friday night is culture night and they have a great display of music, singing and dancing.  So looking forward to it.  That is if we find the hall.  Apparently it's not marked.  In these small villages everyone just seems to know.  When we ask where it is you're told "ach, just around the bend, you know?  The wee yellow building next to the church.  Can't miss it". Oh yeah?

Tuesday....the Dingle Peninsula

We head off this morning to go to Dingle.  A small village on the Dingle Peninsula.  The weather is beautiful again and the scenery is breathtaking as we snake our way along the Kerry Ring.

Using a GPS to get us places works so well but every now and again Doris (nick name for our GPS) decides to take a short cut.  All of a sudden she says turn here and we are off down a back road.  If Doris wasn't guiding us I would have no idea where we are.

But lo and behold, we arrive in Dingle.  Beautiful spot.

We have some lunch at a great restaurant called the Chowder Cafe.  It was delicious!

Dessert anyone?

After a little shopping we decide to leave the crowds and drive to the end of the peninsula.

We stop to view some cottages that the poor people lived in during the famine in the 1800's.  What a rough life they had!

These are Ogham Stones.  The writing dates back to 500 AD.

This guy wasn't lacking in food....we even got some food at the gate that we gave him.  Pretty handsome guy!

Then we head for home.  It's been a long, enjoyable drive.  It's nice to return to a home base of Caherdaniel.

Monday....day in Caherdaniel

Since we have spent so much time in the car we decide to do a day locally.  After enjoying our morning coffee on the front patio we go for a walk down the lane that our house is situated on.  This runs along the ocean and ends in a dead end where a pier is located.  It is so quiet and beautiful.

We are going to visit Derrynane House which was home to Daniel O'Connell back in the 1800's.  Daniel O'Connell was an important figure in the independence of Ireland.  The home is situated across the bay from where we are staying.

We have lunch in the courtyard and it is delicious.

After visiting and touring the house we walk out on the beach and make our way to Abbey Island where there is the cemetary and the ruins of the Abbey.  It is low tide so we are able to get over to the island with just a little wading in the water.  

We couldn't ask for better weather.  Warm and sunny.  Everyone we talk to remarks on how unusual this lovely, long streak of good weather is.  We'll take it!  

We finish our day with a pint of pale ale (Smithwicks) at the Blind Piper.....

then home to watch the sun set from the front patio.