I have the wanders

Classic Adare We have arrived safe and sound! The flight was very fast and smooth. I swear I may never fly to Europe another way again. We arrived at about 530am, which was early, got off the plane to be greeted by the freshest crisp morning air. It was not warm. It was dark when we arrived so by the time we got to the rental car the sun was just starting to come up. The sunrise was unbelievable, (I of course took a bunch of pictures). I got in the car to move it away from the fence so we could put our bags in it, and let me tell you that there is no other experience like getting in on the right side and sitting behind the wheel. My mom drove after that, and it takes a little getting used to. There is pretty much one rule, when in doubt keep left. Today is my day to drive and from the looks of it, aka, my mom and aunt, the learning curve is pretty fast, so good luck to me.

Since it was so early and Ireland on the weekend doesn't start moving until around 9 or 10, we mosied down to Adare and had a walk around. We did a little grocery shopping and kicked around for a little. By the time we left Adare it was teaming with tourist buses. I swear I have never seen so many Americans outside the US, or tourists in general now that I think of it. It was the smallest town and it was overrun by tourists.

 From Adare we went on to Blarney, about an hour plus drive, on which I promptly conked out. I didn't sleep the night before we left or on the plane so I was barely functional at that point. Feeling a tad bit more rested I woke up and we were in Blarney. Yes I did kiss the stone and all of its germy-ness. My mother and I waited in line, all the way to the top, it was slow moving, but the view alone was worth it at the top. The actually laying down and kissing occurs so fast you don't have time to realize that you are hanging over an open hole at the top of a castle holding on to two bars. The grounds/park of the Blarney castle are beautiful and you could spend a day there just picnicking. We hit the woolen mills while we were there and then went on to Cork and Kinsale.


Kinsale is a small fishing village that is classic Ireland, beautiful coastal and mountain views and small streets. We stopped for dinner and then headed off to Killarney where we were to stay. It was not a short drive. When we arrived at "Killarney Villa", the guest house we were staying at, we were greeted by none other than PJ O'Sullivan, one of the most pleasant senior citizens I have ever met. We settled in, had some tea and crashed. In the morning we were greeted by his wife, Rosaleen, who he had told us the night before "is the boss." Just as nice as he was, she served breakfast and some great chat. We couldn't have stayed in a better place for the first night.

Kinsale

Kinsale

Killaney Villa B&B

Yesterday we drove the Dingle peninsula which contained some of the smallest two way streets I have ever seen, which is saying a lot considering some of the ones we drove on through the mountains of Iran. It was well worth the treacherous roads. The view of Slea Head and the ocean were unreal. We stopped at "Inch Beach" which had a view of Kerry on one side and Dingle Peninsula on the other. I couldn't get enough of this beach.

Inch Beach

Inch Beach

Inch Beach

Slea Head

Dingle Peninsula

Eventually we made our way through Tralee and on to Tarbert where we took a car ferry across to Killimer and cut out 90 miles of driving. This ferry was quite the operation, literally drive on drive off. The whole thing took about 20 minutes. We finally arrived in Galway last night and got a great nights sleep. Today we are off to the Cliffs of Mohr and whatever else ends up coming our way.