Dingle & Dublin
05 05 11 00:40
Ireland is a beautiful country. Tuesday we spent the day driving to and around the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The Dingle Peninsula is adjacent to the Ring of Kerry, a shorter drive, less congested, and in the opinion of most of the people we consulted, more beautiful. We’d have to agree. The unspoiled majestic beauty of this westernmost part of Europe simply has to be experienced - and I’m glad we did! The weather, while threatening rain, cooperated, and it was 9 pm before we made it back to Adare and our luxurious retreat.
It’s a good thing we enjoyed the luxury, because our Wednesday night stop at the Clontarf Castle hotel came close to a “Fawlty Towers” experience. The concept was great: a castle that had been largely gutted in its interior to house a modern hotel. Great concept; simply terrible execution. The problems were many and affected virtually every area of the operation; it was a sobering reminder that good intentions are not enough. Dublin however, was interesting. We stopped to see the Book the Kells, which is an illuminated manuscript of the gospels that is over 1000 years old, and later Suzanne was able to experience a bit of the Irish musical culture.
Thursday included a quick stop at Trim Castle, the impressive ruins of the largest Norman castle in Ireland, before heading to the ferry for our crossing to Wales. Though our time in Ireland was limited, the memories we have are etched deeply. Pictures to follow.... eventually.
