MarthaA
Unregistered User
(6/13/02 11:08 am)

Wonderful Two Weeks!

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My husband and I were in Ireland from May 17 to May 31. This was our second trip. We were there for a week in October, 2001. This trip was wonderful! The weather wasn't terrific, lots of rain. We even drove through a hailstorm one day! But it seemed that the weather would clear right when we needed it to!

We flew in and out of Shannon and spent our first night in Adare. We took an afternoon drive to Lough Gur...very pretty and peaceful. We then spent a self-catering week in Kenmare. From that base we did day trips to Mizen Head, Gougane Barra Forest, Beara Peninsula, Kinsale, Dingle Peninsula, the Gap of Dunloe and part of the Ring of Kerry. There is just so much to see and do in Kerry and Cork. It was impossible to include everything that we wanted to do.

We spent the second week staying at B&B's seeing Jerpoint Abbey, Glendalough, Sally Gap, Mount Usher Gardens, Powerscourt, Trim, Newgrange, Knowth, Monasterboice, Melifont Abbey, Clonmacnoise, and the Bog Railway.

I've uploaded some of our photos to Yahoo. ("Some" amounting to 157 photos. Hey, I think I did a pretty good job of getting it down to that number considering we took around 960 pictures!) The site is photos.yahoo.com/bc/aldridge314/ (There is also an album with a few pictures of our October trip.) My husband, Bob, was the photographer. I provided some composition tips...ooo, shoot it from here...ahh, don't miss that! Because of the weather and my scanner, some of the pictures are dark but I think the beauty shines through!

A couple of tips if you're planning a trip... Keep a journal. Take a few minutes each night to record the day's activities. Mine is a mess...I would think of things later and make marginal notes. But I'll type it up in a few days and enjoy reliving each moment. If you take your film with you, number each canister and roll beforehand. It makes it very easy to keep everything in order that way. We had no problem with airport security. We had our film in our carryon in lead lined film bags. Each time it went through scanning, we were pulled aside for a "chemical swab" of the bag handles, but the bag was never even opened.

Some recommendations....If you want to do self-catering in Kenmare, I highly recommend Dan's Cottage. Dan O'Sullivan, the owner, is great and the cottage is a dream. Dan's B&B Annagry House is next door. B&B's we enjoyed were Sheepwalk House in Avoca/Arklow, Coolakay House in Enniskerry, and Crannmor House in Trim. Our most memorable dining experience was at Wineport Lodge outside Athlone near Glasson on Lough Ree.

We are, of course, planning our third trip!
Martha & Bob

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 623
(6/13/02 10:07 pm)

Re: Wonderful Two Weeks!

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Hi Martha & Bob,

Welcome back from Ireland. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and tell us all about your trip. I'm sure everyone here will enjoy your suggestions, recommendations and photos. And I'm glad to hear you are already planning another trip!

If you need any help with the next one stop back and ask any questions you might have. Or feel free to participate on the forum any time. I'm sure your first-hand knowledge will be of great help to others.

Michele

P.S. I enjoyed your photos especially the sheep, Kenmare and lilacs, and Murphy's Pump.

bjharris
Registered User
Posts: 11
(6/17/02 6:32 pm)

Your Photos

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I enjoyed seeing your photos. May I ask what kind/make of camera you used? The photos were great. My husband & I were in Ireland May 14-May 28. We too enjoyed our trip.

MarthaA
Unregistered User
(6/19/02 8:36 am)

Camera

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It's an Olympus IS-20. My husband is very pleased with it.
Martha

wojazz3
Registered User
Posts: 65
(8/13/02 6:32 pm)

Great Pictures

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Martha & Bob:

Great pictures. When were you at Inchaquin? It looks like you got the same waterflow that we did. We were there on the 21st of May in the afternoon. It poured that morning.

Here's a link to our journal.

www.geocities.com/obeirne.../index.htm

Bill