At this point, I must say something about hotel breakfasts in Europe. They are far better than those in American hotels. “Full breakfast” doesn’t seem to mean the same thing in the U.S. Most mornings in Ireland I have had the usual eggs and sausage, but also grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, and a wide variety of fruit. And nowhere have I seen those awful waffle makers that cause crowd control issues at the buffet.
This morning our bus took us around the Ring of Kerry, a 112 mile route around the Iveragh Peninsula. We started in Killarney and traveled anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise to us) as most of the tour buses do because the road is narrow and two huge vehicles passing could be difficult. Our first stop was Macken of Ireland, a lovely shop with Irish jewelry, woolens, and other items of interest to tourists. As we entered, we were offered Irish coffee (coffee with whiskey, brown sugar, and cream. We eagerly accepted because it was 5 o’clock somewhere. It was delicious.
Our next stop on the Ring of Kerry was in Waterville where we went on a quest to find a statue of Charlie Chaplin who vacationed there for several years in an attempt to escape the paparazzi.
Unfortunately, the fog was thick and we were unable to get pictures of the great water views one sees on sunny days.
We stopped for lunch at the Scarriff Inn where we had fish chowder that was okay. From there we took a long drive along the Ring of Kerry while James, our guide, pointed out interesting sights we might see if it wasn’t foggy and told stories about the history of this part of Ireland. He also played Irish music and songs with some connection to the area. Finally we stopped at Ladies View to take some photos. The area got its name when Queen Victoria visited and her ladies-in-waiting saw the view and declared it beautiful.
We returned to Killarney and had some free time to explore the town. This is definitely a town that caters to tourists. We stopped in a few shops and then found Murphy’s and had some delicious chocolate whiskey ice cream. (Thanks to my friend Jill for recommending it.)
This evening we were treated to an Irish Ceilidh, a social gathering with traditional music and dancing at Kate Kearney’s Cottage. We dined with new friends from Mississippi and Chicago and had some great conversations. The band and dancers were excellent and everyone declared it “craic.”
Tomorrow we head for Limerick. I may be inspired to write one.
