It has been an interesting week.  Our trip through Ireland thus far has been scenic, wet and delightful.  We started our second week off with a "rolly" but not too uncomfortable ride across the "pond" from Holyhead in Wales to Dublin. There were a lot of families aboard and the little ones seemed to be "up to the roll".  Gale warnings were up for Northern Ireland so I was not without some apprehension but my concerns were for naught.

When we arrived in Dublin midday, the wind was gusty and the air brisk!  After settling in at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, we drove to Dublin center for dinner and suffered sticker shock when we analyzed the prices in respect to the exchange rate of the dollar to the Euro. We had been warned, thus not a big surprise but reality is sobering. Our hotel was very pleasant, comfortable and unquestionably a memory highlight of Dublin. 

After a fine Sunday morning breakfast, we  did our tourist trek downtown only to learn that most of the "tourist" sights that we were particularly interested in would not open until much later. We had planned to spend Sunday night in Dublin but decided to be satisfied with pictures from the street "looking in" of Christ Church, Dublin Castle and the city itself then proceeded on our way.  Things to do, people to see – as they say.

We stopped at a local "fuel" station off the beaten path and, in response to our inquiry, a nice young man directed us to Powerscourt Gardens.  It provided a lovely afternoon "event" of beauty and glimpse into a lifestyle that I find interesting and for which I feel more than a little envy. Ken could see himself as the "gentlemen" gardener  laying out the beautiful gardens and drawing the plans for the walkways. The gardens and castle are maintained by and belong to the Powerscourt Estate, one of England's nobility, I presume.  Our visit to the gardens culminated our exercise and "adventure" for this our first full day in Ireland.

Our revised travel plan included a stay in Wexford Sunday night but the quoted price at the one major hotel in town was more than we wanted to pay.  The town was hosting two major venues for the evening, a major opera presentation and a male choir competition as well as Monday was a  major holiday, so the town was overcome with tourists and a little "uppity" as to the value of their "vacant rooms".  We decided to drive outside of town where we found a family oriented "motel" which was pleasant and quiet except at 3AM someone in a high powered car decided to practice  race car driving.  It made for an interesting awakening.

Monday we started our day with a walk through the castle grounds of another "Lord's estate".  The grounds were well maintained but the castle itself is under renovation so we had to be content with a nice brisk walk through the beautiful gardens and satisfied with our 'daily exercise". A stop in New Ross and a tour of a replica ship that transported Irish immigrants to the United States in the early 1800s provided Ken a sobering insight into what his great great grandparents must have withstood in their pursuit of life in America. After his tour of the ship, Ken said "I hope my grandfather came to America first class".  It was depressing for Ken to see the uncomfortable and squalid conditions that the immigrants endured on that long trip.  It was disheartening to learn that 50% of those who departed for that long, difficult trip from Ireland to America died en route.  After our brief stop in New Ross and a stop for a visit to a museum and history of Richard Boyle (a Irish version of Einstein?), we made our way to Waterford and the Woodlawn Resort and Spa for our Monday night stop.

Tuesday morning we awakened to a brisk steady rain that accompanied us from Waterford to Killarney and amended any interest that we might have had for sightseeing.  We checked into a bed and breakfast in Killarney and from there we did a full days tour of the "Ring of Kerry" and the Dingle Peninsula on Wednesday and Thursday.  In spite of low hanging dark clouds and occasional rain showers, the sights of the countryside were spectacular and is reflective of the awesome beauty of Ireland  We now understand why green is the color most often associated with  the Irish – it reflects the green of their landscape.  The countryside is a beautiful lush green with neat freshly painted cottages that suggest a happy and successful lifestyle.

Of course, Ken pursued as many "suggested"  side excursions as he could in his quest to explore every cove and community.  In fulfillment of his desire to "see it all", we traveled on some very interesting "cow paths".  I am in the process of devising a rating system for the overall standing of the roads in my attempt to identify "roads" from "cow paths".  We have developed some rather "spicy" language for our "gypsy" who routes us through the maze of roads here.  Suffice to say – it is good she can't hear what we call her as we find ourselves directed down a cow path that only the "locals" should even think about. 

After concluding our exploration of the Dingle Peninsula on Thursday, we drove to Limerick where we spent Thursday night and on Friday in an overcast sky and steady rain, we visited the Cliffs of Moher and the Aillwee Cave.  If it is raining, you explore a cave?

Friday completed our second full week in the United Kingdom and each day has been interesting and eventful.  Tomorrow, Saturday, we are off to County Mayo and a trek through the countryside in search of Ken's roots.  His great great grandparents were born in the vicinity of County Mayo as well as we have been told that the countryside is spectacular and thus, we look forward to seeing what is over the next hill. 

Ken and Pat Burns from the road and/or the sea
just as happy as can be