Great idea Dan. It is always slow around here at the end of the year and because of the holidays. Once we hit next year things will pick up. Although I do believe that fewer people find their way here because they get snagged by other high profile forums with million dollar advertising budgets. Nothing wrong with them and many dispense good info. I guess it is like big box stores squeezing out the Mom & Pop places. Big always wins out.

Sounds like a great start!  Glad you held off reporting until now -- As Michele said, December is 'Quiet Time' for Ireland Trip Planning . . . 

Can't wait to hear what your GD thought was most / least memorable.

Day 2 Awoke to the wonderful smell of coffee! And a bright sun shining thru the windows on the RH side of the 777, where we were sitting. A quick glance out and down and the unmistakable brilliant green colors left no doubt that we were over Ireland. The moving map display on the seat back in front of me verified that we were indeed over southeastern Ireland, approx between Dublin and Kilkenny. Waterford was the other city that I was fairly certain was visible. Then over the water and soon over the not-quite-as-green hill sides of England. Soon we were setting up for a landing at Heathrow. Had heard horror stories about Heathrow and the size and difficulty of use. Since we had nearly a 3 hour layover both ways, I wasn't too concerned.

 

     Landed on time and started through the maze of rail transfer, bus transfer from Term 5 to Terminal 2. Had a couple additional layers of security to go thru that we never had before. A biometric capture by camera with photos stored and later compared by a computer, I guess. Also had to fill out a landing card even though we were not spending any time in England. Also DW and I had to completely empty both of our bags for visual inspection. All for our own good and safety, I guess. Seems Bin Laden is still in control of a bunch of freedoms we used to enjoy in air travel. Normal layover to recharge e-devices and had a snack and water to try to stay hydrated, it seems like the airline climate control system really dries you out although I understand the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is suppose to help that situation. Waited in the departure lounge for our gate/flight to be called. Departed at 3:30 PM.

     The short flight on AerLingus was uneventful and soon we were over the green hillsides of Ireland once again and a great feeling to be back "HOME" with wheels down at 4:30. Easy-peasy to clear customs and soon made our way to the Hertz counter. No one in line! I had secured a booking for the first time with Conn at Easy Tour Ireland who has a franchise agreement with Hertz. Journey Through Ireland also a Hertz franchise was the company we used the last 2 trips and they were similar in that they promised no extra or hidden charges. And that was true the 3rd time, and I would be hard pressed to do anything different again although I would like to try Dooley someday. Had made a request thru Conn for a 4-door since it would be easier in and out for GD. Had reserved the 2nd smallest category of car and it was just right for 3 people with 3 roller bags and 3 personal bags. Never had to store luggage anywhere but in the boot (trunk) as it fit with room to spare for gift items and extra coats/raincoats. It was a Dacia Sandero and it was fairly new, only 5416 k on the odometer. It was manual transmission and got fairly good gas mileage.

     Weather was partly cloudy breezy and fairly warm. Rain was in the forecast for the next day, and the sky looked the part. Checked the car over and body was in great shape. Took a few photos of minor scratches...don't know why...we had Super CDW. Checked to make absolutely sure the cig lighter recept. worked as we had a dead one the last time and with some other problems, Hertz ended up changing cars for us on day 2 and didn't want to go thru that again. Installed my trusty Garmin Nuvi GPS with the British Isles Sd card and it would not load the maps! Kept getting an error message so gave up. Since we were only a few miles from our 1st over night destination, I wasn't too worried about navigation at that moment.

      Within 15 minutes we were pulling into Bunratty Manor Hotel. Had previously booked Bunratty Castle Hotel on account of the swimming pool, but found out after looking at reviews, there were complaints about children NOT being allowed in the pool after 6PM. So we opted for Bunratty Manor as it had better reviews. We had prebooked all of our lodging on the internet since I am not comfortable trying to find lodging on the spot. We also like to be in walking distance of restaurants/shops/pubs for our evening outings and meals. This hotel was perfect! A triple room (1 double and 1 twin- which was to be the norm for the entire trip). Cost 89 Euros bed and full hot breakfast. Cattle grazing right next door! yet only a 2-3 block walk to the Castle and to the Creamery Bar.

     Went right to the castle for a twilight photo op and then night photos, with the castle impressively all lit up. GD needed to get rid of pent up energy so we needed this walk. Out in front of the Creamery bar was a monument/historical marker and she had to climb over every square inch of it with numerous photos of Bunratty Castle in the background! We were getting worn out just watching her and jet lag was starting to take its toll on us.

     We decided it was time for our evening meal. Had read great reviews about the Creamery and it was indeed good. GD had chicken tenders/nuggets and fries, a pattern that was to be repeated for her food choice every single evening except 1 (one night we talked her into ordering a burger!). DW ordered Fish and Chips, (her favorite meal in Ireland) GM like GD! They say the acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree!!!! As for myself, I like variety and to try new or unusual menu items, usually what is normal for the culture or region. I totally missed out on bacon and cabbage on the previous trip so that it would be THREE scoops of mashed taters with lean back bacon, salt cured but not smoked like here. Also included carrots, turnips, and peas. Yummy! Had my first pint of the black stuff and DW had Smithwicks and DW had a coke (we are on vacation!) price: 40.60 Euros. Walked (actually waddled) back to the hotel. Went out to the car to try to get my GPS to load the maps. No luck. Talked to the bar-tender/hotel owner/manager and he suggested visiting Maplin in Limerick tomorrow for help or to get a new sd card. We then purchased from him, a 7-up and another Guiness to take to the room for a night-cap and then hit the hay about 9PM. No problem getting to sleep on this night, and we had a great rest!

Dan

-- Edited by murphy on Tuesday 23rd of December 2014 06:29:47 PM

There!
It works better to use my mini iPad rather than my iPhone to make paragraphs. So will edit as nec to make it easier to read!
Dan

Day 3. Friday Oct 3rd dawned rainy. Slept in till nearly 8AM. Jet lag was not so bad, everybody got up bright eyed and bushy tailed! Reported earlier that this hotel was 89 Euros B&B but after looking at my journal, that was the room only price.

Checked out and headed to Limerick. 1st stop was at Tesco, off exit 4 before the tunnel with easy access off main highway heading towards town. Topped up my Ireland cell phone for 10 Euros and also topped up the loaner mifi for 15 Euros. By the way, a couple of Irelandyes regulars sent us the mifi to use,  and if anyone else would like to make use of it, send me a private message and I will see what I can do.

Purchased mini donuts, coffee and juice for in-car breakfast, along with a gal of bottled water, sliced turkey, bread ,cheese, and digestives(cookies with dark chocolate frosting!) for lunch later. Brought along our soft side cooler that we flattened in bottom of my roller bag, and we put it to good use most every day for a light lunch/snacks.

Next stop was Maplin Store, kind of the Irish version of Best Buy to see about getting the GPS working. No Ireland sd cards available....they could get them on Amazon within a week. Not an option. They did have an expensive option, a new Garmin Nuvi 55 LM with UK/Ireland already loaded for 119 Euros. The other option was the same unit with lifetime updates for 139 Euros. Since the average lifespan is about 5 years, and my old GPS was already going on 4, I rationalized that I needed this one. Many may disagree, but I find that, for me, there is a great deal less stress having a GPS and maps vrs just maps when driving in Ireland every other year. I esp liked this new one because it would give a visible and audio signal when ever you were approaching a speed camera. One or two speeding tickets would probably easily pay for the GPS (rationalizing again!)

New gps installed, and thru the tunnel, and heading southbound we drove thru intermittent showers, heavy at times, (a pattern that would be repeated over the next 6 days according to the weather app on my smart phone)
Enjoyed the scenery of rolling hills and farm/pasture land of rural Irish countryside. Most notable town on this route was Charelville, a bustling farming community. From there turned west toward Liscarrol on narrow slow winding roads. Next stop was the donkey sanctuary, easy to find not too far up the hill, just a couple miles East of the castle ruins. GD wanted to stop and explore Liscarrol Castle, but we assured her that there was a bigger castle and possibly 2 to explore later that day.

The donkey sanctuary is home to about 110 rescued donkeys at this time of year, but there are about 300 more farmed out to various donkey adopters in the area, and most will be back in the sanctuary by mid winter when there will be a shortage of grazing. I would imagine they are utilized by folks who would rather let the donkeys "cut grass" than have to do it with a power mower! Over 1,000 donkeys have been rescued since the sanctuary was established. Most animals come from folks who wanted them as a recreational animal, and then couldn't afford to keep them.....they still NEED to EAT every day! Spent about 90 minutes there. Could have adopted one and the money would be used for care and upkeep, but GD opted to spend her incidental spending money elsewhere.

Next stop was at Kanturk castle. 2nd visit for us, but was a great stop for GD! She climbed all over the structure where she could safely....was holding my breath....didn't need an accident! Numerous photo ops in nearly every arch way, room, etc through out the castle. Spent about 30 minutes doing that, then another 30 minutes having lunch out of the boot(trunk). Between showers. A tail gate party but no football game!

Next on to Dromtarriff Parish (St John's Catholic Church) west of Kanturk/Mallow, a rural parish near Millstreet. This is where GD's Great-Great-Great Grand Father was baptized in 1841. Spent about 45 minutes there with photos inside and out from the choir loft to the altar.

Back on the road to Mallow, then south bound to Blarney. We had planned to visit Blarney Castle first thing the next morning before the tour busses congregated. Arrived in Blarney shortly before 4pm. With 2 hours df daylight left,and not much precipitation falling, decided an hour at the castle and an hour on the grounds would work out fine. And who knows, it might be a down pour in the morning. Blarney castle not too busy, just 1 tour bus. Got our passes adult 12 and child 5 for total of 29 Euros.

This was the 2nd visit for DW and I,  and I can't figure out for the life of me, why St. Rick thinks this is one of the ten top tourist traps of Europe. The castle itself is great, with a nice view of the village of Blarney and the surrounding Irish countryside is to be appreciated from the top. And the castle grounds are awesome. This was one of GD must see/do items, so none of that mattered anyway. She went with the idea that she would kiss the stone, but fear took over and it didn't happen. I thought if I went first, that might help, but no way. The grate over the opening looking down 50 feet was what I think spooked her. Went on down and strolled thru the grounds. The poison garden really sparked her interest. She also liked the little hollow bushes and shrubs that she was able to get under/inside. This is just one of the many things during the trip that caught her eye and she just HAD to investigate, most of which adults probably would overlook.

That put us at 6:00 pm and prompted me to give notice to our B&B that we would be there shortly, since we were going to be about 15 minutes late. Had booked the White House B&B for 2 nights, the first of mostly 2 night stays. It was a nice facility, helpful friendly owner/ operators and was 170 euros total 2 nights triple. Checked in, had a cup pa and did some math homework with GD, then headed on foot downtown about 7:30 to Muskerry Arms Pub for supper.  GD learned about "chicken goujons" which chicken strips or chicken nuggets are often times referred to on menus in Ireland.  Just a mere 10 minute walk downtown with raincoats in hand, just in case.  DW had the bacon wrapped stuffed roast chicken, and I had leg of lamb.  The food here was outstanding as was touted on TA and suggested by our B&B host.  Also shared a slice of our first banafi pie and yum,yum!  Along with beverages, total bill was 52 Euros.  The entrees were about 13 euros, kids menu ave 7-8 Euros, but along with 3 pints and soda it really adds up.  But then, we are on vacation (holiday)......

 

     Headed out to return to White House B&B with sprinkles coming down.  Stoppeby an off sale store and picked up some soda and also spotted Bushmills Honey Whiskey.  THAT was our favorite in the taste test room 2 years ago when we visited Bushmills Distillery in NI, so couldn't resist picking one up for a tummy warming nightcap for the next several nights!  Was pricy....29 Euros!  Wasn't readily available in the states so a real treat. Incidentally, it did finally appear on the shelf in a supermarket in Yuma AZ this fall.....for $19.99. Amazing that it costs almost double in the country it is produced compared to the price here.....imported and all!  Lights out early as DW was developing a severe headache, and took a pain relief tablet, hopefully in time to ward off a severe episode.  Thus ended our first full touring day in Ireland, and our new little traveler had handled herself and every situation extremely well, which was a good sign for the rest of the upcoming  trip!

 

Dan

Bob,
I am so used to the Garmin products, first in aviation GPS and now automotive, not really willing to adapt to the little screen of the smart phone! Suppose the mini iPad could have been adapted to work, to get a bigger screen, but we really never got the mifi to work till 4-5 days in, and then 'poof' my 15 Euros were gone-used up. GD & DW like to play games on their tablets, so that may explain it! Do to having great wifi service in all our lodgings except Glengarriff, which was out in the boonies, the mifi really wasn't used that much. Seems like wifi was a lot more available this time than ever before. Sometimes had to go to lobby, or hallway or sitting room to get it to come in, but was way adequate for what we needed or wanted.

As for Bushmill products, I never thought of them as being imported. I guess in my mind I think of the whole Island as one country....wishful thinking I guess.....However, I learned recently that the Canadians also have steep taxes on alcohol so that explains the high price.

As for St. Rick, he was the first source for me in researching Ireland. I have long since moved on to better sources! His political stance, for one thing, ruined it for me. I sometimes go back there out of boredom!

Dan

Don't get me started on RS, the self proclaimed expert on travel. I question whether he has even been to Ireland.

After reading his comments about Killarney in the Kerryman Newspaper, stating that in Killarney you would see a line of green Holiday Inns and outlet malls, I think that if RS was in Killarney at all, he was under the influence of something. Maybe poor Mr. RS needs his vision checked, because there is only one Holiday Inn and one small outlet centre in Killarney.

Sorry Dan, I didn't mean to interfere with your trip report, but the mention of RS and his view on Ireland gets my Irish blood boiling. Please, continue with your wonderful report and I'll calm down.

 

Everyone has their own opinions of Ireland but I think at times RS exaggerates certain things to get his point of view across. It is good to get multiple viewpoints and then decide for yourself. No one is infallible...even me!

 

 

I took a month off from this project so will get going once again!

Day 5 Sun Oct 5

Got up in time for the earliest seating for breakfast 8:30. DW's headache departed so she was back to normal. She had the full Irish and I had the 1/2 salmon omelette with 2 sides of bacon. GD had her usual toast/OJ. Packed up and on the road by 9:30. Made good time and arrived at the Prince August toy soldier factory by 11:00 AM. Signed up for the workshop and spent about 3 hours. A very worth while stop for an 11 year old and we older folks enjoyed it too. The work shop was 24 euros and included casting 2 items. They had 6-8 choices for the work shop, and since GD is nuts about horses, she chose the toy soldier with a sword on a horse. For me, she picked out a mommy rabbit holding a baby rabbit. We decided we would give that to 3 yr old little sister back home. DW wasn't going to do one, but the lady offered her a small angel and said as long as 2 of us were painting, she might as well too.
Actually got to do the whole process from powdering the molds to casting and pouring the molten metal. It didn't take long to cool and then we wire brushed and clipped off the bits of stray excess as a result of the molding process. Next, the nice lady that was running the operation took them to prime with a rattle can. It wasn't long we were painting. Each item had a work sheet with detailed instruction on what color to put where and even the order the different colors were to be applied. The time went by quickly and with the aid of hair blow dryer, paint was all cured, items wrapped in tissue and ready to travel.
DW bought a kit to make a complete Nativity Scene and we paid for it and had it shipped. She completed a set in early December and it turned out great. The rubber molds can be used up to 500 times.
From there on to Gugane Berra Forest Park. After sitting for three hours and painting, was good to get out and we hiked around for a couple of hours. We came upon a unique toilet at the park! It was round with a thatch roof and won the award for Ireland's best toilet in 2012!  Still quite a bit of scarring from the huge wind storm that went thru a year or so ago, but still a beautiful parK

       Rain was picking up but that didn't slow us down. Stopped at the Carriganass Castle in Kealkill. Saw the sign for the Kealkill stone circle. Wasn't too far away but a wee road and not great parking. By now the wind was gusting pretty good so donned the raincoats and made a mad dash thru a cow pasture to the stone circle. Had to dodge a lot of cow poo both ways! This narrow steep road allowed a Birdseye view of the village of Keelkill, when we finally got the car turned around to head back down. Stunning views despite the rain, coming from scattered clouds and shafts of light here and there extending to the ground.

Steady rain by now as we made the short drive to Glengarriff and topped the car off with 45 euros of petrol. A really charming small village! We checked into Caseys Hotel, 170 euros for two nights. It Was a small well run hotel and if it wasn't family owned, they treated us like it was.
Took a Guiness & Smithwicks and soda up to the room to nurse while we did homework. Went across the street to McCarthys Bar, part of the Glengarriff park hotel. GD had chicken goujons/chips, DW had lasagna, and I decided to take advantage of som seafood, Salmon/prawns. A little pricier than we usually pay for pub grub....but excellent food. Yummy meal!
The hotel had poor wifi and poor cell phone generally in that town, but it is good to get away from the electronic devices from time to time.
      Day 6 oct 6 Monday
       Got up for the early seating for breakfast at Caseys hotel restaurant. 2 full Irish breakfast along with the usual toast/OJ for missy. Reported in at the Blue Pool ferry kiosk at 10AM and bought tickets for the trip over to the island for 10 Euros Adults 5 Euros for a child for a total of 25 Euros. On the island, GD and I used our heritage pass and DW bought hers. Spent about 90 minutes walking around the park. Beautiful tropical paradise! We all enjoyed it and well worth the price and effort to see this. Stopped at the visitor center cafe for lemon cake and Latte. Some young lady all of a sudden got seriously hungry.....
Returned to the car park at 11:30 for our trip around Mizen peninsula. At the end of the road was the Mizen Head Light. Lots of history there and it was well displayed. The walk up the steps, narrow sidewalk and finally out on the brilliant white bridge was breathtaking....literally since it was breezy and brisk cold wind blowing. Tour was 15 Euros for the 3 of us and again well worth it. Drove up the north side of Mizen peninsula, and great scenery, but Beara is still my favorite of all of them. It was just 4 when we got done with Mizen, so decided to do Sheep's Head Peninsula too. Had read good reviews about it, they said it was pretty desolate, towns and roads not very big. Great scenery but I had to really concentrate on the road on the north side heading back inland. Very narrow and we often wondered what would happen if we met a car on the crest of the hill. Only saw
2 cars on that side,  both going our direction. It Scared our GD, as at one point on a real treacherous stretch, she said: Papa, I think we are going to die!!! She can be a drama queen!
         It was pretty dark when we got back to Caseys at 6:45. Was glad we weren't on the wee roads after dark!
Had a couple of pints and soda while doing some homework, then want down to the hotel bar. DW had fish and chips, GD had chicken, and I opted for starter portions of Seafood chowder and mussels. Mussels that I had years ago in the States were tough and rubbery, but these were great. GD had ice cream and our meal with 2 pints came to 44Euros.
Visited with the bar tender about the cable car. Very disappointed that the cable was only running M-W-F in Oct. Bummer! Since the next day was Tuesday, we were out of luck. One of the few items that we were not able to tick the box on the entire trip!

-- Edited by murphy on Thursday 29th of January 2015 11:04:37 PM

-- Edited by murphy on Thursday 29th of January 2015 11:17:38 PM

Yes Michele, the narrow sheep head roads were quite exciting! DW is getting use to them by now, but a few trips back, she may have been more concerned. Dan

Checked out of Casey's after breakfast. We talked GD into trying some yogurt and bacon along with her toast. DW had the full Irish and since the seafood had been so outstanding I opted for the plank smoked salmon and 2 poached on brown bread. Yummy! Headed west to the Bearra. Since Dursey cable car was off the itinerary, we decided this could be a more leisure day.

Made a right turn on the road going over Healy Pass! Outstanding pass drive that I highly recommend. 4 years ago we came over from the opposite direction so was good to see it from the south side. Brilliant sunny day and the views were spectacular. Stopped at the summit and spent about an hour, GD and Papa climbed all over the rocks above the shrine on both sides of the road. Back down the north side and....Josie's was beckoning for tea and clotted cream scones, but just couldn't do it since we had gotten up from the breakfast table 2 hours before....maybe next time! Also considered doing the north side of Bearra which I consider to be the most scenic stretch of all the peninsulas in Ireland. But didn't really want to back track, and besides there was another detour beckoning! So we turned right toward and thru Kenmare, one of our top 3 favorite small towns. But no stoping this time. Made a left on N71 (ROK) to Sneem,

Back in 2006, we were on an early morning drive on the ROK with my parents, and as we passed thru Sneem we spotted a pub called Dan Murphy's Bar. It was too early to be open for business so did a photo (my avitar) by the front door. I vowed to some day return for a visit and this was our chance. Got there shortly before 11:00 and they still weren't open! Finally the bar waitress showed up and then a little later the owner with the money. The Irish are pretty laid back with a "we will be there when we get there attitude!". DW had an Irish Coffee, GD a soda and a HALF pint for the designated driver. GD thought it was pretty cool to hang out in a pub named after Papa! Wandered down Main Street to look for scotch tape for GD journal, which was starting to lose pages. Blank stare for that request...it is called cello tape in Ireland!

Spotted a place that was offering 99's! I had read that this was a very popular treat in Ireland so I thought we owed it to science to try one. We had previously been in the home made hard ice cream business in the mid 90's and we never thought soft serve quite measured up. Discovered that the 99's were quite good. Big old vanilla soft serve cone with a chunk of chocolate flake cookie bar stuck in the side. GD was way impressed and from that time on she kept an eagle eye out for the orange Icecream signs. We had several more during the 2nd week, however some places had already shut their soft serve machines down for the season. Guess cold sideways rain and ice cream are not compatible in winter (was not in our operation either!) they say the 99's can become quite addictive and I can see why!

Found a new tin whistle for myself, a more expensive higher quality one as my old one sounded scratchy. Back to the car for the trip to Killarney. I had inquired in one of the shops about the 568 route across the middle of the peninsula to Molls gap and they assured me it was fine and it was. It sure beat backtracking down N71 to Kenmare then north to Killarney. Stopped at Molls gap for photos.  On to Torc Water fall. Spent about 30 minutes hiking down to falls and back, then on to Muckross farm and gardens. Farm was only open on weekends in Oct and was disappointed as we thought the farm and animals would be a real hit with GD. Spent about an hour wandering the paths of Muckross rock garden south of the visitors center then thru the formal gardens which were beautiful but prob past the summer prime since it was Oct. Went inside the visitor center to the cafe for tea and scone, macaroon cake and chocolate cake. This along with ice cream meant that we maxed out on the sweets on this day!

Drove on into Killarney. Checked into Murphy's B&B on College St.  We  walked the few blocks straight away to Duros Tour office to arr. our gap of Dunloe tour for the next day. 80 Euros for the 3 of us and probably could have drove ourselves and arr. a taxi back to the car less expensive, but Duros networks with the boat driver and pony cart drivers so you never know which side will have availability as they try not to dead head back empty for either. You might have a wait if you did it on your own so this was a faster more efficient option. Decided to give the car and driver a rest for a day which I was ready for. Grabbed a couple of pints at Murphy's bar and headed up to the room to do some homework. Went back down for pub grub. DW had a burger, GD had...you guessed it....chicken!?! And I opted for Guinness and beef with vegetables. Good meal for 44 Euros including drinks.

Back upstairs for more homework. Had great wifi here so the ladies decided to catch up on their tablet games while Papa slipped back downstairs to the bar for 30 minutes of Trad Music. Guitar/vocalist, traditional Irish Harp and a squeeze box. Pretty good music but was tired so not up to staying for the entire session and decided to call it a day.

Dan

-- Edited by Itallian Chauffeur on Friday 30th of January 2015 11:15:26 AM

-- Edited by murphy on Saturday 31st of January 2015 12:13:00 AM

Bob: thanks for the edit! There were some real typos (my smartphone doesn't always guess right when it attempts to correct!) when I finally got back to edit several hours later Judy: got to keep motivated to get this done! And just when you think you have the lingo in Ireland figured out, another one pops up! I'll never forget our 1st trip. My mother and DW got a paper and started writing down all the uncommon words compared to our English version. Had over 20 and I wish we had saved that list! Was worth a good laugh from time to time. Dan

Day 8 Wd oct 8

I had parked on the Street in front of Murphy's B&B overnight.  However I needed to move to the long term lot about a 5 min walk north.  Parking there would be 3 Euros for 24 hours, much more economical than buying disks for curb side parking in Killarney.  On the way back I spotted a dry cleaners and stopped in to see about getting our laundry done.  They agreed to take our clothes to their launderette location 4-5 blocks away, so they gave me a bag to fill.  Went back to the B&b to get dirty clothes from all 3 suitcases and dropped them off.  They said to stop by before 5 pm to pick them up.

     After a full Irish breakfast down in Murphys bar, we walked over to Duros office to meet the tour bus.  Stopped at a bank on the corner to get some $'s turned into Euros then caught the bus at 10:30.  We were to do the tour backwards, the boat portion 1st. We were dropped at Ross Castle to meet up with our boat captain.  Departed in brilliant sunshine. However, dark skies lay off in the direction we were to travel and the had said to expect rain showers.  A pleasant journey, heading to Lord Brandons cottage.  Took about 90 minutes, with the bulk of the trip in rain.  The Captan had us pull a giant tarp like sheet of plastic out to cover us up and protect us from the lashing cold rain.  He simply used a well used umbrella tilted forward with him peeking out from time to time to do navigation chores!

    Such a beautiful pristine lake, and  miles of beautiful scenery going by. Could only imagine it on a brilliant sunny day.  About midpoint or past, we slowed down at a narrowing of the waters. Had to navigate through some rapid churning water lbetween the upper and lower lakes.  We were asked to depart the boat and walk to an area beyond the bridge.  Due to all the rain, the captain claimed the water was 1-2 foot higher than usual.  He proceeded to have a devil of the time trying to get the now empty boat through the rapids with the motor revving pretty high and he tugging on the rope. He struggled quite a while and I began to wonder if I should go help him. Just then, a couple of guys from the boat that had gone thru before we arrived, showed up and help him tug the boat on thru.  He then motored over to where we were, and loaded us back up.  The rest of the boat journey was uneventful and soon we were at the docks to be unloaded at Lord Brandon' cottage.  

      DW and I had Irish Coffees and GD had Hot Cocoa 12.75 Euros. It really tasted good and hit the spot. It wasn't long our Jarvie came to gather us for the pony trap ride.  This ride was 60 euros for 3.  Our pony was hitched to the 2-wheel cart and GD and this pony were instant best friends. His name was Micket Mouse and our driver was Gary.  The 4 of us pretty cramped in the cart and off we went.  The horse seemed to have an odd gait.  It seemed to continually jerk up and down, the severity of which was pretty much determined by the speed.  Gary altered the speed often esp slowing down going uphill.  Another cart with 2 lady customers was always right behind us.  The smoothest ride was at a walking or galloping gait. The roughest ride was during the trotting phase. It would definitely be uncomfortable if you had a bad back or other painful disability. The scenery was out of this world. Much of it pristine and probably looked almost exactly like it did for the past 1000 years. The only evidence of human touch was a few stone walls and structures widely scattered along the way. This segment was about 7 miles long if I recall.  

     Arrived at Kate Kearneys cottage about 2pm.  Once again a tummy warmer, 2 more Irish coffees, hot cocoa, scone and chicken goujons for 25 euros. Duros tour Bus arrived at 3:30 to take us and several others back to Killarney.  We walked down town to a big bookstore. It use to be privately owned and famous. However it has recently been sold to a big book store company.  Nonetheless an impressive place. Bought GD 3 books to read and then share with her classroom.

       Went over to Quinlans Seafood Bar for dinner for the adults GD was still full of chicken,  ordered 2 cod meals wth chips and mushy peas and 3 drinks. 33 Euros.  Went to 2euro store and found covers for Mimi and regular iPads. Found an Irish hat for a friend then stopped at Murphy's Ice Cream. 3 small cones 10 euros. Visited briefly with one of the Murphy brothere , Kieran.

     headed back to Murphy's Bar and had a couple of pints and a Shirley Temple. Listened to some music. 1 flute, 1 squeeze box and 1 guitar/vocalist. A great end to an awesome day long outing which should not be missed if you are in the Killarney area.  The extended amount of fresh air had taken its toll and we were really tired.  As we turned in for the night, we realized we forgot to pick up our laundry at 4:50.  Hoped it would be there in the morning.

dan

-- Edited by murphy on Wednesday 4th of February 2015 12:41:36 AM

Bad luck about the rain.  I've wanted to do the Gap in reverse as you did, since the first time I drove it.  Going South to North definitely gives you a different perspective.

It's gorgeous in either direction, though!