Killarney, Ring of Kerry and Dingle

Saturday, September 15  Killarney/Ring of Kerry tour/

Carollyn and Roy at stop along way

After breakfast we climb on the bus and discover the Ring of Kerry, a 110-mile route that traces the coastline of the Iveragh Peninsula and offers breathtaking views.  We see the combination of ocean, islands, mountains, light and ever-changing weather patterns. We want to stop more than we do, but we are lucky because the weather is great, and we can take good pictures from the bus.  Today is Rose and Diane’s birthdays.  We are greeted by our fellow passengers to a round of the happy birthday song in English and then the same song by our guide, Denis, in Irish. 

Rose with Charlie Chaplin statue

Bob with Micko Dwyer - Galic Irish football statue

The first town is Killorglin, where an elegant eight-arched bridge crosses the River Laune.   We find out that the word “kill” at the front of a city name means “church of”.   Farther on, the road descends from high above the bay to the water's edge at Kells, an attractive fishing village with panoramic viewing points.

cows on water's edge at Kells

 

Nancy is loving these creatures 

The next stretch is one of the highlights of the Ring, with outstanding views of the Blasket Islands and the Dingle Peninsula.  On the return to Killarney the route travels through Moll's Gap, where we have a soup and sandwich lunch and Ladies View, named after Queen Victoria's Ladies-in-waiting.  The vistas of lakes and mountains remain magnificent today.  We continue on and return to Killarney. 

Stones representing a Celtic burial site 

What we learned today:  The Sisters of Mercy is called in Ireland “The sisters of no mercy”.  If an Irishman is “chancing his arms” he is taking a risk.  A puck is a male goat.  One of Ireland’s towns has a King Puck celebration.  “Not the sharpest knife in the drawer”, means not the smartest person…  “TT” is a tourist trap. Soil creepage is soil that is coming down the mountain that is soggy.  One of the most important people in Irish history is Daniel O’Connell.  He achieved Irish Catholic emancipation in the 1800s for Ireland.  OAP means Old Age Pension (have to be 65).  At that age you can travel free.  A slurry spreader is a manure spreader.  A bin man is a garbage man.  Retail therapy is shopping.  What Denis isms.  ISH

Rose trying to get out of the trap

 

Carolyn playing golf at Ross Golf course

Celebrating after golfing

 

Today is a special day for Rose.  She and Carolyn get a cab and go to the Ross golf course, where we play 10 holes—yes an extra hole!!  The weather holds well, and it is so much fun that we walk back to the hotel.  We stop for a celebratory Irish coffee and then join the rest of the group for a talk in the hotel given by a local farmer on what it was like to be a farmer in Ireland. 

Birthday dinner at Hennessey's

Jim, Bob, Roy, Carolyn,

Diane, Phil, Rose, Nancy

Bailey's and Coffee with Irish Shamrock

 

 

We then go to Hennessey’s bar for dinner.  Everyone dined on elegant food.  My favorite was the salmon, and Bob’s the hamburger.  Others had duck and lamb.  It was a great way to spend our birthday!!  Right Diane!!

Sunday, September 16 Killarney/Optional Dingle Experience tour

Irish countryside around Dingle

 

Today we are back on the bus after breakfast to take the tour to the Dingle Peninsula.  First stop is at Tralee's Kerry the Kingdom Museum, to enjoy the fascinating experience of a recreated medieval village.  We follow the rugged Dingle Peninsula with its wild mountains and some of the most spectacular coastline Ireland has to display.  We view the famed Blasket Islands, the most westerly point of Europe, and their prehistoric ring forts and Beehive huts.  One of Ireland's largest Irish-speaking areas, the peninsula has attracted many writers and artists for the inspiration of the wild landscape offers.  The movies Ryan's Daughter and Far and Away were made here.  We stop in the fishing town of Dingle to enjoy locally caught (Pollock) fish and ships for lunch.   In the harbor at Dingle there is one famous dolphin who’s name is fungi.  He has been here since the 1980s. 

Thatch roof house

Traffic jam

 

 

 

On our way to Slea Head, we drive on very narrow road.  The curves are so sharp and narrow, that the cars have to back down for the busses.  We experienced this.  It was a beautiful coastline.  We then stopped in a graveyard to see some the old Celtic remains from 3000 years ago. 

Slea Head

Beehive hut

Bob with fungi dolphin

 

 

What we learned today (from Denis):  We saw some “oreo cookie” cows.  They really are black and white and look like an Oreo.  A ballaun casket is a casket used in Celtic times—we don’t know what for.  Corn beef and cabbage is not Irish—it is Bacon and Cabbage that they eat here.  When the Irish immigrated to America, they lived next to Jewish people and they had the corn beef, so they put it with the cabbage.  You can’t find corn beef and cabbage in Ireland.

City of Dingle 

We then returned to the hotel to have an early dinner and to bed so we can be on the road by 9:00 in the morning for Cork.