Greetings from Cork. This is our last morning in this gorgeous city. Off to Dublin in a few hours for the rest of our vacation.
We spent the past two days exploring the South West coast of Ireland. There is so much to see in so little time. On Wednesday morning, we had our first day tour. We left the Manor at 9:15 am and made our way to the Blarney Castle. First order of the day was to kiss the Blarney stone. It was fun going up the castle, climbing those steep and very narrow steps all the way to the top. Then came the ritual of kissing the stone. Russell had no issue doing it...me, I tried but bending my head backwards wasn't working for me. So, I kissed the stone the best way I could. It was fun and such a tourist thing to do but we did it. We got there early enough so there was no line up.
We then made our way to the charming town of Kinsale. Beautiful views of the fields and harbour. Our next stop was at the Jameson Midleton distillery, where we had the "Jameson Experience"....well, Russell had it, me not so much. It is now official, I do not like whiskey. A wine tasting would have been a different story. It was however a great experience for Russell and he got to taste many premium Jameson whiskeys. I got to taste the amazing distilled water. Oh so good!
As we were driving in and around Kinsale, our driver took us to a place that few people get to see, at least those on bus tours, The Kinsale 9/11 Garden of Remembrance. I took a photo of the story so that you can read all about it. Worth the read. Truly an emotional place to visit.
On Wednesday night, we had dinner at Elbow Lane, which only seats 24 people and doesn't take reservations. We had to wait one hour so we went across the street for a little cocktail. It was truly a fun evening and the restaurant was awesome.
Yesterday, we had our second tour, this time heading to Killarney and the Ring of Kerry. A truly spectacular day, on all fronts. The weather couldn't have been better. We woke up to thick fog, which dissipated as we made our way towards the mountains. As we entered the Killarney National Park, the sky was blue and it was really hot. I have to say that the song "Christmas in Killarney" has a totally new meaning now. I can't wait to play it at Christmas!
The Killarney National Park is quite breathtaking and totally worth seeing. Lots of places to walk, hike, a beautiful waterfall, a real gem of a park. We also visited Muckross House & Gardens as well as Ross Castle, all located within the National Park. We had a lovely pub lunch in downtown Killarney.
Russell was in his element, having so many opportunities to take photos. He hasn't had a chance to download them yet. I leave you with a few that I took just to give you a sense of the past two days.
That's my update for today. We're off to the train station soon. We should be in Dublin mid-afternoon, it's a two hour train ride. Bye for now!
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| Just a portion of the manicured grounds at the Hayfield Manor...a spectacular hotel. |
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| Russell kissing the Blarney stone...now he has the gift of the gab for at least 7 years! |
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| Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park. |
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| The ducks sun bathing on a glorious day at Ross Castle. |
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| Kinsale 9/11 Garden of Remembrance. |
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| Individual trees planted to remember each first responder who perished. |
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| Each tree is named in honour of the person. |
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| A little putting in our room at the Hayfield Manor. |
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