I recently returned to Ireland for the second time, and things learned then made this excursion even better than the first.

We landed in Shannon on March 14, flying Aer Lingus from Chicago. The flight was fine, little sleep was attained, but we landed to some wonderful weather and sunshine. We grabbed our rental car, ate a quick breakfast near Bunratty, and set off to northern County Clare. Although tired from the flight, our party of four was able to get a second wind and enjoy the sites of the day. We eventually made it to Kinvara, where we ate lunch at Keogh's Pub, and then did some more sight-seeing before finding our first B&B near Ballyvaughn. A quick nap led to an early evening dinner at Monk's, followed by a short pub session in town. Heavy sleep followed to restart our engines!

The next day we drove to the Cliffs of Moher, enjoyed the new visitor's center and the nice paved path to the top. Also used this drive as an opportunity to take the coastal path to the cliffs, and then cut through the heart of the Burren on our way back to Ballyvaughn. Saw caves, castles, and ruins along the way, and put in a full day for sure. One interesting stop near the cliffs was a pint or two at Frawley's in Lahich (sp?), where locals told us Tom Frawley had been running this tiny pub for almost eight decades! Sure enough, we found him (they told us that he pours the best pint to be found) and he was a hoot. Is 87 years old, his father opened the bar in 1899, and he poured his first Guiness there when he was 9 years old, meaning he has worked in this pub for 78 years! He was an interesting guy, who claims to be "the most eligible bachelor in Ireland." If you get to Lahich (just a few miles from Ennystymon) look him up.

On Friday, the drive southeast took us to Limerick, where we toured this busy city, enjoyed seeing some thrill seekers trying to kyack down a wild Shannon River, and had the obligatory stop at King John's Castle. From there it was on to Tralee for the night, making many stops along the way.

Saturday found us in Killarney for St. Patrick's Day, as we enjoyed the parade and some traditional pubs such as Jimmy O'Brien's and Murphys. Found some good music at Danny Mann's and other establishments, as the sights and sounds got pretty wild that night, as it was indeed a festive setting. Downtown Killarney is going through some construction, as it appears they are about to turn a major street in the city into a walking mall area that will not allow any vehicles. It's a mess now, but should be nice when completed.

Sunday we took in all the Killarney sights such as Muckross House, Ross Castle, etc. and drove through the mountains to Kenmare for supper. After a fun time there (what a pretty town!), we returned to Killarney for an evening pint and our second night in the B&B.

Monday took us to the Beara Peninsula, where we were stunned by the beauty of this region, which by the way is much less travelled than the Dingle Peninsula or the King of Kerry. We had enjoyed those sights on a previous trip, so we thought we would try this drive instead, and it was fabulous. A night was spent in Bantry, a busy town that we enjoyed.

Tuesday took us back towards Shannon, as we eventually took the Tarbert Ferry across after many sightseeing stops along the way, spending the night in Kilrush. This allowed us a relatively easy drive Wednesday morning to get to our 12:30 p.m. flight home. Our stops each day are too numerous to list -- we took our time and stopped often to take in the views, a ruin hidden a short walk away, or simply to stroll along the water's edge. No real agenda. Just the way we wanted it.

We tried to just see the coastal SW section of Ireland for the most part on this trip, and it worked out well. Kinvara, Bantry, and Killarney were all new areas to us, and it was wonderful. We wanted to get to the extreme south to see Mizen Head, Baltimore, and over to Cork region, but not enough time.

That's the great thing about Ireland -- we want to go back, and we'll do those things next time.

-- Edited by Sidz at 11:25, 2007-03-29