September 8 - Day 43 Cork

Okay, so given that this part of the trip happened over a year ago there isn't aren't a ton of details I remember...in fact I can't say I remember anything about the actual drive from Killarney to Cork. I do, however, remember that when we got to Cork our GPS system, which had served us so well up until this point, began to show her age. She kept directing me to drive down alleyways that at one time or another may have been a through street, but have since closed down to all traffic. Cork is a city. A city with a lot of little closed off to all traffic alleyways. The word that resonates most with me when I think of Cork, the city of closed off to all traffic alleyways, is "recalculating," but it's not "recalculating" as you or I might say the word, but it's "recalculating" as spoken by the ever pleasant voice of the GPS lady, "RE-calculating." Was it just my imagination or did her voice have a greater tinge of irritation every time I ignored her direction to turn into what she obviously didn't know was a closed off to all traffic alleyway?

Anyway, after many misguided twists and turns, we finally found our hotel...

The Ambassador Hotel...

Upon our arrival there was a slew of kids - teenagers - filing out of the lobby and Constance looked at me with an expression that said, "What have you gotten us into?" But it turned out they had just finished their exams - maybe Ireland's version of SATs, I'm not sure - and after hanging out for a bit in the parking lot they dispersed.

We had a bright airy room with a lovely view of the city...

One of my favorite pictures...Constance enjoying the view...

After settling in we decided to take a walk into town - we (well, Constance) had made a few purchases during our travels and rather than lug everything around for the rest of the trip, we decided to find a post office and mail it home. So it was off on a post office hunt we went...

Walking into the main part of the city was a breeze...about 10 or 15 minutes downhill...

Military Hill...

MILITARY HILL!

The city itself was...fine. We didn't have enough time to really see anything so we just wandered and unlike our previous wanderings, this one left a lot to be desired. I'm sure Cork has a lot to offer, but whether it was because Constance and I were a little travel weary or because we simply did not have a lot of time...Cork, for us, was...kind of lame.

And that's all I have to say about that.

September 7 - Day 42 Ring of Kerry

Okay, so it's been over a year since we were in Ireland, but I promised Constance that I would at least make an effort to finish this blog - or at the very least get us to the London part of our mammoth trip.
So, here we are in Killarney...or were...where we opted to stay two nights instead of what had become our habit of moving on after one so that we could have a full day to enjoy a leisurely drive around the Ring of Kerry.

The Ring of Kerry - or the Iveragh Peninsula - is a big deal in the tourist books on Ireland, so of course Constance and I had to have our tour around it as well. It is said to have some of the most beautiful scenery in the south of Ireland and beautiful scenery we did see...albeit mostly from the windows of our car as we drove by. I hate to admit it, but at this point in our journey around Ireland, Contance and I were...tired. We did want to see, but we were feeling a bit worn and weren't so interested in doing.

Our trusty little carriage...

That said, we got in the car bright and early and began the 110 mile journey - taking the clockwise route as there has apparently been some grand agreement amongst the tour companies to go the counter clockwise route so as to not cause massive jam ups on the tiny two lane roads.

We did manage to get ourselves out of the car for a few of the more spectacular views...

...like these donkeys!



They were very friendly...

...but seriously...

...there was some beautiful scenery...

...the final stretch of the journey...The Ladies View lookout...

...and a different view of the Ladies View...

...and finally, dinner with a lovely lady.