September 2, Ring of Kerry

OK, off we went to the Ring of Kerry in southwest Ireland with the most, I mean MOST boring Irishman that ever walked the Emerald Isle.  This guy delivered his pearls of wisdom in a voice that screamed, “OMG, if I have to give this tour ONE more time, I will surely cut my wrist and hang myself at the same time.”  Luckily, the scenery is a spectacular memory, and the driver? he's an easily forgotten moment in time!!
Michael, our driver, did give us a stop on our route that we hadn’t expected.  He took us to see a gentlemen sheep farmer who also trains and shows “working” border collies.  He put on quite an unforgettable show for us—in his own field, with his own sheep and his own dogs.  This guy was quite the showman and extremely informative to boot.

We saw the highest mountain in Ireland, Carrantuohill, which is 1041 meters tall.  Chump change to us, but cool nonetheless.  Haha.  Killarney’s National Park is also home to the Lakes of Killarney, appropriately named Upper, Lower and Middle lakes.  :-)   The middle lake has a stop called “Ladies View” where Queen Victoria came to the park and viewed the three lakes. 

Strangely enough, the actual site doesn’t have a plaque or monument to indicate the actual spot where she stood!!  So, my imaginative husband stood on the spot of his choice and declared it the Queen’s spot!!  Charming.

When we stopped for lunch at a seaside town, Bri and I headed off on our own to find a simple sandwich shop.  Got to the end of the town’s main street (about one block long), feeling a trifle desperate when we found a spiffy little cafe, Peter’s Place.  He had this teeny, tiny little cafe that had about 3 small tables in it.  But right across the main street, sitting on a slight rise, he had placed a couple of wooden tables and chairs.  He brought our sandwiches, coffee, and a pot of tea (complete with chipped milk pitcher!) to us while we sat on our beautiful seaside perch.  Lovely!  Just to add to the quaint and simple atmosphere, he fished a fly out of my milk with all the nonchalance of a French restaurant’s maitre’d!!  :-)






Long day.  Got back to Killarney and treated ourselves to some fine beer and some very good pizza.

We were also treated to a young girl dancing an Irish jig at the Danny Mann pub—had Brian and I take a little trip down memory lane recalling our own bonnie lass.