Long Drive out West

 We left Dublin for good for the rest of the trip this morning.  We had a long day of driving ahead of us today with some scenic stops along the way. It was another clear, warm day for the journey.  

Our first stop was below the Rock of Cashel.  This historic site dates back to the 12th century.  We did not actually go into the grounds but took photos from below.  It also turned into an early morning ice cream stop at a very cute local shop.


Our next stop was for lunch at The Whitehouse in Kinsale.  The food and service were excellent.  The town was full of narrow lanes lined with local shops.  As you can imagine wool is prominently featured.  There were a lot of people in town, perhaps because there was cruise ship in town.  





Our last stop was at a pond with a beautiful little stone church (and the best restrooms in Ireland).  The reflections were very nice and we practically had the place to ourselves.


Our home base for the next four nights was the Aghadoe Heights Hotel.  It’s perched on the side of a hill overlooking a beautiful lake with mountains in the background.  The hotel is very nice with a delicious restaurant which is where we finished out day.

Tomorrow: Dingle Peninsula 







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to Dublin

Image
 We arrived in Dublin a little past noon and we were fortunate that our room was ready when we got to  The Morgan Hotel , our home for the next four nights.  We’re located in the Temple Bar district which used to be home to bars and drugs but has been cleaned up and now serves as an entertainment district for the city.   We needed showers and a nap after our trip so didn’t start exploring until late afternoon. We’re expecting pleasant weather this week with highs ranging from upper 60’s to lower 80’s a couple of days.  There’s always a chance for rain here but so far the forecast is dry and pleasant. We met our group leader,  Ira Block  and his assistant for a beer in a pub across the street.  While Guinness is king here, we opted for a similar Kilkenny for our first pint of the trip.  Feeling a little peckish, we started looking for a place to get a little dinner.  We were stopped on the street by a local who recognized our lost look an...
Read more

The Emerald Isle

 Ireland has been on my bucket list for quite some time and I’m finally getting to go.  This trip is with  Ira Block , a former Nat Geo photographer who I have traveled with before.  This is a very small group this time, mostly people from Tulsa which is nice.  We’ll spend almost two weeks exploring the southern coast of Ireland, starting in Dublin and ending in the Dingle Peninsula. We’re weather in the 60’s and 70’s with periods of rain which will be a welcome reprieve from the summer heat at home.  So feel free to follow along with me on my trip. Next: Dublin
Read more

Final Day

Image
 This morning I started out chasing sheep across the street from our lodge.  I had watched this the day before but I didn't have my camera.  The sheep come meandering down the road and break off to graze on the grass.  They let us get fairly close before running off to safer pastures. After breakfast we went to a ship dog demonstration.  It was pouring rain but it was still fun watching the dog work the sheep.  The dog responded to spoken commands given from quite a distance.  He gathered them and brought them all the way up to where we were watching.  Afterwards, two sheep were sheered so we could see how they do it. For lunch we went to  Guy's Clifden . Michael, our driver, however advised us to wait for dessert because he was taking us to the best apple pie in Ireland.  Our next stop was  Kylemore Abbey , a Benedictine Monastery that also serves as a remote campus for Notre Dame.  I have to say the apple pie lived up to it's...
Read more