Author: Sharon

Sunday morning we left Murphy’s B & B in Dingle and started the 3.5 hour drive from Dingle to Galway.

On our way out of town, we stopped at this modern super market for snacks for the trip.  

We made another stop for gas, plugged in the GPS and headed for the roadway that would take us to Galway.  For navigation, Larry loads an old phone with maps before we leave home using an app called “Here Wego”.  This app gives us off-line navigation without a data connection and is available for both iPhone and Android.  Larry downloads specific maps for each country we are visiting before we leave home.  This photo shows the set-up.

We made good time and arrived in Galway with plenty of time to walk around town.  It’s the fourth largest city in Ireland and busier than we expected it to be on a Sunday afternoon.  This is one of the major shopping streets.

Here, trees are just beginning to show signs of fall color.

On our way around town, we stopped to see the Galway Cathedral–a massive structure built in 1965.

Our final stop was for dinner at An Pucan where we watched bartenders pour perfectly proper glasses of Guinness!  Cheers!

The climate in the village of Dingle must be perfect for growing and even though it’s late in the season, things are still blooming.  There are flowers everywhere and we found these twin orange blossoms especially beautiful!

We arrived in Dingle two days ago.  The town is quaint and this time of year, mostly inhabited by American travelers.  The local shopkeepers are surprised by how busy this September has been–typically a less touristy time.

Friday is Market Day in Dingle and carrots and potatoes are bountiful.

You can’t find carrots much more fresh than these!

Music is one of the main reasons to come to Dingle.  We spent over four hours in a Dingle pub called An Droicead Beag–not so much to drink Guinness but, to listen to incredible musicians perform.  We were lucky to hear Kevin Conneff of The Chieftains who is in town and dropped in to play traditional music with local talent!  We’ve long been fans of The Chieftans so this was a unique and special experience for us!

Music in session below–by midnight the room was jam-packed!  We made fast friends with couples from Calgary, Canada and Des Moines, Iowa.

Another evening we attended a concert of traditional music at St. James Church.

Larry visited Dingle many years and returned with a treasured souvenir lamb from this shop on Main Street.

Today these hand-knitted lambs are in great demand and sell for 31.50 Euros and are only available on their website at www.commodum.ie.

Saturday in Dingle is blustery, rainy and a good day to go to the local library to read, search for a steaming bowl of seafood chowder, and prepare for our next stop–Galway!

This coffee shop/pub/music venue could be one of the very best reasons to spend a day or two in Killarney!  The building is on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage was constructed in 1870 and used as a General Store for many years.  

Just this past July it was lovingly restored and is now a wonderful place for coffee served with lovely pastries and cakes.

They even used portraits of the original owners to decorate the spaces.  These were found in the attic during the renovations.

After dinner last night we went there for drinks and live music!  Local gins are popular here and this is a drink made with Dingle Gin, tonic, lime slices and raspberries.

We had a great time here and would recommend a stop if you find yourself in Killarney.   We think that it may become one of the hottest spots in Ireland!

It has rained steadily all day but that didn’t dampen our spirits!  We checked out local pastry shops,

consumed coffee,

found the nearest laundromat and did a week’s worth of laundry,

And visited St. Mary’s Church of Ireland.

The city lights up in the evening–here’s a night-time view.

Killarney is a touristy town but not a bad place to be on a rainy September day!  Tomorrow it’s on to Dingle we go!

Locals in Schull suggested Killarney as a good stopping point on the way to Dingle so we’ve reserved a room at the Abbey Lodge for two nights.  

We were reluctant to leave Schull and the Harbour House Hotel but did so this morning in a foggy mist (describes the weather rather than our state of mind!)

We enjoyed Schull and some nice hikes around the town. It’s nearing the end of the season for the fuschia hedges but we still see these lovely flowers on the roadside.

Next stop Killarney!  We had no idea that our GPS has a setting for “Unpaved roads” nor did we realize that our “Unpaved road” setting was activated!  Our GPS took us up a mountain path that was totally scary and too narrow for two cars should you meet another coming from the opposite direction (we did!). We turned around after several kilometers (seemed like a hundred) as it was so foggy we could barely see the road (not evident in the photo below!)

We had a good laugh about the GPS setting but not until we were back on safe turf.

We’re staying across the street from the entrance to the Killarney National Park and plan to explore there tomorrow if the weather is good!  

Next stop!  Dingle!

We had beautiful weather for our journey to the most southwesterly point in Ireland.  Here, the landscape is wilder and more rugged.

Along the way, we stopped to see an Altar Wedge Tomb where people have been worshipping for over 4000 years.  

The drive is dramatic as the roads are narrow and winding.  Larry is a fearless and has had little difficulty driving on the opposite side of the road!

Once at the Mizen Head Signal Station, paved pathways take us to the edges of the cliffs.

The views are spectacular!

Back in the car and it’s time for lunch. We stopped at the small harbor village of Crookhaven.  Our seafood chowder arrived with a basket of brown Irish bread!

Bon appetit!

Hackett’s Pub in the village of Schull (pronounced Skull) was just the experience we hoped for!  The locals are warm and welcoming and made us feel right at home!  We listened to traditional music and visited with new friends.  Experiences like this are exactly why we love to visit Ireland.

Our new friends including Jean Paul, a priest from Dublin, a couple of fellow travelers, long-time friends, and Irish football fans.  

The town, in southwestern Ireland is small but very quaint–locals are happy here and proud of their village.  Thanks Suzette and Denis for recommending  that we make a stop in Schull!

Tomorrow we’ll head for Mizen Head, the most Southwesternly Point In Ireland!

Cheers!

We realize that some of our photos aren’t posting properly and are trying to determine why that’s happening!  In the meantime, we’ll say a little more about why we like Cork so much (besides the music in the pubs.)

There’s always something going on here!  This weekend there is an International Storytelling Festival and next weekend there’s a Folk Music Festival. We’ve found great restaurants with creative menus, enjoyed hearty soups served with slices of brown bread plus, buskers on nearly every street corner.   Today we discovered a great bookstore called Waterstone’s.  

So here are our Cork highlights!

• St. Anne’s Church topped by a weathervane shaped like a giant golden salmon.
• Linehan’s Sweet Shop Shandon-one of the oldest sweet shops in Ireland.
• The English Market.
• St. Patrick’s Street-the main shopping street in the city.
• St. Finbarr’s Cathedral-nineteenth-century neo-gothic cathedral.
• The Butter Museum.
• Plus, there’s more to see that we just didn’t get to!

Below is the tiny prayer book displayed in St. Anne’s Church–measures about 1.5 inches square!

Tomorrow we’ll retrieve our rental car and head out on the wrong side (to us) of the highway!  We’re moving south to the harbor town of Schull!

There just aren’t enough hotel rooms in Cork for all of the people who want to visit so that makes hotel prices more expensive than we’re used to.  Of the two we’ve stayed in here, we’d pick Hotel Issacs over Jurys Inn though either one is fine.

So, we’ll try to resolve our technical issues!  Fingers crossed!

Slainte!



Our guidebook described Cork as a “compact city with a lively atmosphere and plenty of historic sights.”   We think that sums it up well!  It’s popular and so busy that we almost didn’t find a room for 2 more nights.  Today we moved a few blocks away to the Jurys Inn which is comfortable and well located.  

In spite of advice suggesting otherwise, I couldn’t resist a visit to The Butter Museum located in what was the world’s largest butter market.

It’s quirky and dusty but, at least for me, worth a quick tour!   Who  knew there was so much to learn about Ireland’s most important food export?

The neighborhood near Shandon Street has many row houses.  It’s an interesting and diverse neighborhood where even pubs display works of art.

We ended our day with a walk around the city to see the sun setting over the River Lee.

Everything worked and we arrived in Cork by bus from the Dublin Airport early this afternoon!  We had to find a new hotel due to Hurricane Irma, as we weren’t sure we’d arrive in time and canceled our long-ago-booked reservation at Acorn Guest House.  

Tonight we’re sleeping at Hotel Issacs–tomorrow we’re not sure where we’ll be!  Cork is a busy and popular city!  We’ll stay here another night if they have a cancellation but so far, that’s not an option.

Our room is large and comfortable but since it was a last minute booking,  not inexpensive.  It’s well-located near the bus/rail station and city center plus, it has good Wi-Fi which is just what we need.  Our plan is to pick up a rental car tomorrow.

The English Market shown below is a popular destination for locals and tourists.  Shops sell an array of local produce, meats, fish, pastries and more!

It’s a breezy, sunny day so perfect for discovering highlights of  this walkable city.  The popular shopping street named Oliver Plunkett is pedestrian-only with many shops!

The Cathedral shown below, was built for the patron saint of Cork, Fin Barre.  It was rebuilt to its current style in 1870.  We thought it was worth a visit to see the design, mosaics, stained glass windows and to learn about its history. 

We found the perfect plate of scones and hope to find more when it’s time for breakfast tomorrow!

In the meantime, all is well and we’re happy to be discovering a new destination–Cork!