Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Ireland Day 4

The whole day was reserved for the Ring of Kerry, one of the most scenic parts of the whole trip. First stop of the day was Killarney, which seemed like a very touristy town. Great if you like shopping, but we weren't so interested so we didn't spend much time there. Off to Muckross House, where you can start a lovely two mile walk to Torc waterfall, which we did. There are also horse and carriage rides if you don't want to walk.




Next stop was Ladies View, an incredible vista across a valley. Supposedly Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting stopped here to gasp at the view which is how it got its name.


By this time we were hungry for lunch so stopped in Kenmare (renowned for seafood). A asked the owner of a candy store for a recommendation and she directed us to Davitt's where we had some goat's cheese and nachos for starters, and then a seafood platter to finish us off.





As we drove along, admiring the views out of both sides of the car, we spotted O'Carrolls Cove due to the stunning beach and incredibly blue waters. No way to pass this up - we went for a little wade and enjoyed the sand beneath our toes.


More views.


From the Ring of Kerry we had a crazy drive down a narrow mountain path to Dingle - the fog was so thick we could barely see a thing, and every once in a while sheep would loom out of the haze (some with fluorescent pink paint on them). But we reached our Airbnb place in Camp safely, and then headed out to Dingle town for some dinner and Irish trad music. We started at The Dingle Pub since A really wanted Irish stew. I went with the beef and Guinness pie, which was as filling as it looks. There was a singer/guitarist there but it wasn't quite the style of music we were seeking, so we headed on to the next place.



An Droichead Beag was lively, with a fiddle and guitar combo that were incredibly talented. Probably my favorite act of the night. We also went to O'Sullivans, where an accordion player and a singer/guitarist were entertaining a large crowd that included quite a few rowdy Americans. If we had been staying overnight in Dingle town, we probably would have tried some more places more music, but we had to drive back to Camp - next time I'd make sure to get accommodation in Dingle to fully enjoy their live music scene.

No comments:

Post a Comment