Limerick, Tralee, Dingle to Killarney: Sunday 24 July

It was nice not to have our bags out until 8am this morning. I slept quite well, in spite of a party raging somewhere nearby (possibly in the hotel) until 3:45am... We particularly liked our hotel room in Limerick - it was spacious, had a nice bathroom and good shower, and the air conditioning worked!

We had a short bus tour as we left Limerick, seeing King John's Castle and the Treaty Stone (related to the 1691 Jacobite rebellion). Limerick is on the River Shannon (the longest river in Ireland), and was established by the Vikings around 900 AD. 

  

We soon passed through the picturesque village of Adair, with its thatched cottages. Adair Manor Golf course looked beautiful, and there was even a castle nearby. More golf tour potential...

We had a stop at the town of Tralee (where the Rose of Tralee started) for refreshments and a restroom break, and went into a lovely little cafe with flowery plates and cups for coffee and a pot of tea (it turned out to be enormous). They had some amazing cakes on display, and I asked whether they had something GF - yes - I chose the recommended 'cookie' and was amazed at the huge plate-sized biscuit that arrived, with a dollop of cream beside it! It was delicious, and not too sugary. Then we walked along the street and into the lovely rose garden at the Tralee Town Park for a quick look.

Our next stop was Dingle, after driving through some amazing countryside. We had a lunch stop here, and David and I headed to the Strand Cafe for a nice lunch - a tuna melt for David (all his sandwich orders seem to be served with a handful of chippies, which we find a strange thing to do - the same happened in Dublin). I ordered a GF baked potato, which also arrived with chippies. I queried this because they were missing from all my sandwich orders in Dublin, and sure enough, they removed them. Nevertheless, I'd have to say that this was the best baked potato I've ever had! On our way back to the bus, we found one of our fellow passengers had fallen and thought she'd broken her arm. She was an elderly lady who was also keeping an eye on her husband. Michelle had ordered a taxi to take her and her husband the hour-long drive back to Tralee for an x-ray. Such a shame. Actually, David had a close shave himself, minutes earlier when he stepped off the footpath and lost his footing and almost rolled his ankle - it was a very close shave!

 

   

Off we went, travelling around the Dingle peninsula, also part of what is known as the 'Wild Atlantic Way' (a drive around the west coast of Ireland). Again, we had spectacular views and it was great to be on the left side of the bus and able to get some excellent photos through the windows and at some stops. The area was patterned with ancient rock walls and abandoned stone houses, many from the time of the potato famine. We even saw ancient stone beehive huts. There was rugged scenery with cliffs, but also beautiful sandy beaches, some of which were used in the filming of 'Ryan's Daughter'. The roads were incredibly narrow and our bus encountered many cars that had to back up and make room for us to get past. The weather held for most of the way around the peninsula, but then closed in quickly as we were viewing the islands off the coast: Skellig Michael and Little Skellig. The Blasket Islands were also offshore and represent the westernmost point of Europe.

We returned to Dingle where Michelle ushered us in to the famous 'Murphy's Icecream' shop and shouted us all two scoops each of our choice of flavours - delicious - they would even give Kapiti Icecream a run for their money! Then, off we went again, but this time to Killarney and our hotel, the lovely Killarney Plaza where we were to stay for two nights.

   

Dinner was early and an hour later at 6pm, so that we could have a quick getaway for a special Celtic Steps show in the evening. Dinner was spectacular and I enjoyed a shrimp cocktail and then beef spareribs in a lovely red wine sauce and with vegetables. We all struggled to find room for dessert from the buffet - in my case.... fruit salad and icecream.

Then we were off in the bus to the nearby Killarney Racecourse, that had a golf course in the centre and it all looked like a lovely place to attend the races. Michelle wanted us to be first there, in order to get the best seats in what was un-allocated seating. And we were first to arrive. However, another bus pulled in as we began to unload, and they were literally sprinting to the door that fast they got in ahead of us anyway. Michelle said she'd never seen anything like it! We still got great seats and I also had time to get some photographs of the racecourse.

  

The show started at 8:30pm and was a spectacle of the very best of Irish dancing - world champion dancers with the most incredibly quick footwork - beautiful singing, and a band of musicians on Irish drums, banjo and guitar, violin and piano. 

We were home again by 10:30pm, a late night after a great day. On the way back, Michelle had updated us on poor Rosita (with the injured arm) and Tomas - they had finally got back to the hotel, but would probably need to leave the tour because Rosita had two breaks in her arm, bad enough to probably need surgery. Michelle was going to meet with them to see what needed to be done to help them. Such a shame for two such lovely elderly folk.

Dublin to Galway, Cliffs of Moher and Limerick: Saturday 23 July

We had an 8am departure from Dublin with a temporary new driver, Noel, while Kevin was on a couple of rest days. We soon left County Dublin and passed through County Kildare. Kildare is horse-breeding territory, and Michelle told us about the mysterious disappearance in 1981 of top race horse, Shergar. Next we travelled through County Meath, and then County Galway.

After a two hour drive to a very busy service centre for coffees and restrooms, there was a further 45 minutes to Galway. Michelle took us on a walking tour using our Vox headsets (these had been a great way of hearing our guides during several of our tours). Galway had a big horse-racing festival on and so was particularly crowded.We saw Lynch's Castle, the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas, and the Spanish Arch (the latter not being particularly interesting, but dating back to the old days of trade with Spain). Michelle also pointed out the shop where the original Claddach Ring was made, and explained its meaning and how to wear it (according to whether or not you were 'taken', or 'available'). Being a Saturday, we were able to walk past some street-side market stalls; the most interesting being the fishmonger. We didn't have much time, and it being so crowded, we were happy to sit and have some lunch in the Food 4 Thought Cafe, where I enjoyed some vegan shepherd's pie. I took photos of the signs on the doors to the women's and men's toilets - because Michelle had warned us that these might be confusing in Gaelic...

 

 

 

Not far out of Galway, on the road to the Cliffs of Moher, we struck a massive 20 minute traffic jam - a road accident, we thought, leading into the town of Clarinbridge. We also passed a couple of bridesmaids on their way to a wedding along the road - it looked like their car had broken down.

The landscapes of County Galway and County Clare changed back to farms with stone walls, as we'd seen in Scotland and the Lake District. We went through several villages, threaded along some very narrow lanes (several scary stops for our bus to squeeze past other buses and trucks). We passed through the village of Lisdoonvanna (site of the original annual 'Farmer Wants a Wife' festival (begun there hundreds of years ago). The landscape changed yet again to be more rocky (limestone) and barren - this area is called the Burren.

After a two hour drive, we finally reached the Cliffs of Moher, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We walked up the paths and many steps to take in the amazing views to the left and to the right along the coast. We walked further up to O'Brien's Tower, built in 1835, that marked the highest point of the cliffs. The views were spectacular and I was delighted to have been able to walk up all those steps to enjoy it! I certainly couldn't have done it a year ago, or nine weeks ago, either.

  

The interactive exhibits in the Visitor Centre displayed the geological aspects of the area, as well as the native bird and marine life. A 3D film took us with a digital/animated gannet, flying along the edges of the cliffs, and then over the side and into the ocean to see the sea life - seals, whales etc. Puffins also live along the cliffs. It was all very well done.
This area is also a popular one for surfing, and there were some beautiful sandy beach expanses beyond the cliffs. A golf course at Lahinch (apparently a favourite of Tiger Woods) might be incorporated in Mark T's next golf tour?! There were lots of holiday homes adjacent to these areas.

  

Another two hour drive and we finally reached the George Boutique Hotel in Limerick. Then, within only half an hour (because of being held up by the earlier traffic delays), we were straight out again for a medieval banquet at Knappogue Castle (near Shannon) a 30 minute drive away. The countryside was very picturesque, and we were soon driving up to a real (renovated) castle from the 15th century.

  

We were greeted by lords and ladies dressed in period costume, and handed cups of mead (a wine made from honey - though a quick Google by me found that it may sometimes also contain grain - so I had to pass) - I had cordial instead (sachet mix? and later suspected it had glutened me). There was plenty of low alcohol wine on the tables. Some people from each tour group were chosen to be a king and queen, and given crowns, and had to sit at the high table. There was pleasant background entertainment from musicians on violin and harp, with interludes as each dish was presented - four courses (in addition to bread, GF for me): Salmon with salad, tomato and basil soup (which we had to drink directly from the bowl, no spoons), roast chicken, mashed potato and veges, and then dessert (fruit salad again for me, but they had gone to some effort to make it more special). There was some dramatic entertainment enacting a bit of a medieval storyline involving some of the chosen kings and queens, and lots of hilarity. There was some singing and Irish jig dancing to finish, and the show was all over by 9pm. It was very well done and something completely different for us.

 

There was more banter and laughter and singing in the bus on the way home, especially between some of the Aussies and Americans. Over all, an excellent night out, and we didn't have to drive ourselves home!