FUN-travel: Ireland – Kinsale to Beara, Ring of Kerry & Dingle Peninsulas

September 25, 2011 by  

Day 7 – Monday, September 19 –  Kinsale to Ring of Kerry – cool, windy, rainy, 50’s

Parknasilla Resort

  • Depart 10:15 – drive back roads to Beara Peninsula
  • Arrive 12:30 – drive takes 2 1/2 hours on windy, narrow roads w/hair pin turns – landscape consists of barren & rocky  to thick forests  & edged w/rocky cliffs – thick low lying rain clouds & fog shroud the hills & mountains
  • Stop in Kenmare for latte & snack – another very cute town w/vividly colored shop fronts!
  • Arrive Parknasilla Resort 4 pm (majestic Victorian hotel built in 1895 in 300 plush acres of a subtropical park overlooking the wild Atlantic Ocean) no reservations & get huge room w/breakfast for 99 euro – such a deal! luck of the Irish is with us!
  • Dinner @hotel – salad, scallops w/bacon & black pudding, halibut (good but not  as good as Crackpots)

FF (FUN-facts) – Ireland Tourist Information offices have been invaluable for maps, getting directions and finding lodging

Staig Ring Fort

Day 8 – Tuesday, September 20 –  Ring of Kerry to Dingle – cool, windy, partly sunny w/occasional rain bursts

  • Awake to spotty sunshine – Depart 10:30 – drive 120 mile loop Ring of Kerry
  • 1st stop Staig Ring Fort – circular stone walls built sometime between 500 B.C. and A.D. 300 w/o mortar – about 80′ across, walls 12′ think, 20′ high
  • 2nd stop Portmagee – see “Best View in Kerry County” for 8 euro – take 10 minute walk up to dramatic coastal cliffs
  • Arrive Dingle 4:30 – find Bambury’s B&B for 80 euro – town feels traditionally Irish
  • 1st stop Foxy John’s Pub for Guinness and Carlsberg (for me) – full of locals
  • FUN-food – Blue Zone Jazz & Pizza Bar – Greek Salad (loaded w/lots of veggies & lettuces) & spicy chorizo, red pepper pizza – YUMMY!

Best View in Kerry

FF – Ireland is home of the very rare Red Head & Blue Butt Sheep – LOL! (they color them on various parts of their bodies for identification)

Comments