We stayed in Kinsale on Thursday night and for dinner had a Steak and Guinness Pie at the White House Pub in town. The food was great and afterward we stayed for desert and listened to a trio of Irish musicians. They played instrumental music using a guitar, Irish bagpipe and a long wooden flute. It was a nice change from some of the other pub music we'd enjoyed up until now.
Next morning we set out with umbrellas on a 90 minute walking tour of Kinsale with local guide Don Herlihy. Don gave an education about the city's history, it's central role in sea trade with the Americas and in the centuries long conflicts between the Irish, Vikings, British, and Spanish.
In the afternoon we drove south to Old Head where we watched the sun chase the morning rain away over the lighthouse and golf course. I would have been thrilled to play the famous course, but unlike the other places I played, it was crowded. Golf tour vans were stacked in the parking lot; rain and even the $450 greens fees didn't keep the golfers away.
Afterward we drove to Wicklow, about 30 miles south of Dublin to see Mary's cousin Sarah and her family. Sarah made us a great lunch, lots of tea and we enjoyed a 3 hour long visit with kids and grandkids. Afterward we drove to Dublin Airport to turn in the rental car and stay over one last night before our Sunday flight home. We go direct from Dublin to Phila, leave at 11:15 am and arrive at 1:55, hopefully to catch the second half of the Eagles game and the Phillies.
The trip was wonderful, the week in Donegal allowed us to see lots of people and places that time doesn't allow on most vacations. The second week to see the rest of Ireland wasn't nearly enough. We saw some wonderful sights and got to sample plenty of meals, music, golf, different beers and an Irish whiskey or two. We had to make some tough choices about where to spend our time and had to leave important sights like the Cliffs of Moher, Ring of Kerry and Dublin until next time.
The blog was fun for me to do again, thanks to all for reading and especially for the comments, I enjoyed reading them all. I'm hoping to stay put at home for the rest of the year and finally get to some of the house projects that have been on my list since retiring from work in February.
Could it be 9 months already since I left work? Some of my work friends said I'd be so bored after retiring I'd be wishing for my old job back ................. shaking my head and smiling when I think of that one.
See everyone next week ..... smiling about that too ! John
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