Jun 9, 2017 - Day 14 (Friday)

This is the last day of the tour and starts with the trip to Blarney Castle and Gardens.  I didn't kiss the Blarney Stone, because it's accessed up a circular staircase of well-worn stone.  I'd done well with the knees since the last fall, and didn't want to chance a fall. The grounds of the castle, though, are really quite extensive and our stop was long enough to see the various gardens.  There was a Fairy Garden, with smaller plants, a Poison Garden, and a fern garden with a couple of waterfalls.  It being Ireland and spring, everything...

Jun 4, 2017 - Day 9 (Sunday)

I woke up early again and went looking for breakfast, but nary a thing was open, it being Sunday and all, so I returned to the hostel and paid the £3 for what they had.  Turned out to be pretty good - included cold cuts, cheese, bread and butter and juice. I joined a couple of ladies at the breakfast table.  One was from Brazil and the other from Scandinavia, I think.  The Brazilian woman told me that she wanted to get another tattoo, but a good one in Dublin would cost €1,600.  After making some inquiries,she found out that she could fly...

Jun 3, 2017 - Day 8 (Saturday)

Said my goodbyes to Jesse, Debbie, and Aidan, with thanks for the hospitality and travel planning. Got to the London Luton airport in ample time and flew the 1 hour over the Irish sea to Dublin, arriving around 4 pm. I found the Times Hostel, checked in and went to the room. I had booked one bed in a room with 3 other women, hoping that the other 3 would remain unoccupied. Unfortunately for me they were full for that night, but I was able to get a lower bunk. When I unlocked the door and flicked on the lights, I realized that two of the...

May 7, 2017 - Kilmore Quay to Dublin Airport

This a.m. we had a lovely chat with the lady who runs Harbor Lights. It meant that we did not leave until after 10a but then we did not have a long way to go. We drove across the peninsula to Wexford. On the way we saw several thatched houses--one was quite big....a Cape Cod style with dormer windows. We also spied a cottage with a new blonde thatched roof. We saw some old tower ruins. Wexford seemed a typical waterfront Irish town with Main Street winding down to the harbour. We saw no sign of a castle although it does have one. From here...

May 6, 2017 - Kilkenny--revisited

Today we slept late, had a leisurely breakfast and meandered up the Medieval Mile to Smithwick's. We took a tour of the brewery....and I have to say that of all the distillery and brewery tours we've done, I think this was the most enjoyable. Smithwick's is the oldest brewery in Ireland. A monk from the 12th century welcomed us to the brewery. He explained how their water, a necessity of life kept 'spoiling'. They needed a way of preserving it so they looked for a method to do so. Through trial and error they discovered beer. Each monk had...

May 4, 2017 - Mizzen Head, West Cork

Breakfast at Gerry's and Dorothy's Central B & B was indeed interesting. Gerry has been running the B & B for some 30 years while his wife runs the flowershop next door. He is quite a character....looks a little like a tall leprechaun with a twinkle in his eye. He and Gord talked about all and sundry. Also at breakfast was Brian, an elderly gentleman with a spring in his step and a twinkle in his eye. He did contract teaching...3 days a week to adults. He was from Killarney. Again, many subjects were discussed. In the long run our travel...

May 4, 2017 - Finally in Ireland

Despite the ugly trip, it is good to be here. My sister is in a cast, she fractured her hand a few weeks back in a fall. But, her husband chauffeured us to town to go grocery shopping. She's a trooper and has a doctor appointment Tuesday and is in hopes the hard cast can come off and move to a soft restraint. We managed to stay awake all day and with a good nights sleep, we hope to have conquered the jet lag tomorrow.

May 3, 2017 - Rock of Cashel

Early this a.m. we took the shuttle to the airport and rented another car....from Sixt. We took the M50 south heading for Limerick on the M7. About Kildaire we turned off for coffee, exclaimed at the round-about statues--one a copper colored horse, man, and the other 6 large silver horses. There we decided the 'slow road' would be more interesting so headed west on it. Another decision was made as we drove through the neat green-hedged farms and gentle rolling hills to go see the Rock of Cashel before going to Limerick. We turned south and...

May 3, 2017 - Ireland

Cobh, Ireland Our next stop was Cobh (pronounced cove) Ireland. This was the stop for going into Cork. We decided to stay in Cobh and wander around the town. Cobh is the second largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney, Australia. It was the last stop of the Titanic before its fateful journey across the Atlantic. 123 people boarded the ship and only 40 or so survived the journey. The first steam ship across the Atlantic in 1838 left from here. The Lusitania was torpedoed off the coast in 1915 and the hundreds of survivors and dead...

May 2, 2017 - Dublin

From the Travelodge we caught the #13 bus to the center of town. We walked first to Trinity University to see the Book of Kells. It was 10.45a, the library where it is kept, did not open till noon! It was Sunday on a holiday w/e. Others were arriving too so we decided to be first in line. We needed tickets. Others had bought tickets on-line....for 10a, 11a, and 11.30a. The prepaid line grew. The "without tickets" line grew faster. By 12 noon, the latter stretched almost 3/4 of the way around the courtyard....and it was starting to rain!...

May 1, 2017 - Glendalough

From Rathdrum, we drove back up the road to Laragh and turned onto R756 to go to Glendalough and the monastic settlement founded in 498 A.D. by St. Kevin. First you see the round tower, still plumb straight, rising over 30m with a conical roof. It is srrounded by a cemetary still in use. Among the tombstones stand St. Kevin's Cross, a tall Celtic cross over a wheel carved in granite. Nearby stands a roofless 9th century cathedral...also with ancient tombstones. Closeby, just down the knoll, is another small limestone church, possibly St....

Apr 29, 2017 - Starting home

We thought we would be home by Sunday, April 30th. We arrived at the airport, and the beginning of the flight was wonderful. Two hours over the polar ice cap, a decision was made to return to Dublin, as a passenger had a medical emergency. So, two hours back, and then for two more hours we sat on the plane, waiting for a decision to be made. We then were told (2 more hours) that the flight was cancelled. We had to leave the plane, get our luggage, and then be rebooked on a new flight, and housed for the night. 300 of us. Needless to say, we...