After picking up our rental - a brand new Toyota CHR Sport edition (Hybrid) - we said a little prayer before departing on the M50. Hats off to Dan who took to driving to the left side like a duck to water, although he claims it's like being a new driver all over again. Also, hats off to the kids for keepinbg quiet during some the more difficult traffic getting out of Dublin.
It was a relatively smooth ride, with 3/4 of the drive to Killarney on a divided highway - much different than our drive from Dublin to Galway last trip. Admitedly, the scenery wasn't super spectacular until we finally got off onto the national and regional roads. Either way, we were easily able to make our way through 6 counties - Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Tipperary, Limerick and Kerry - in about 3.5 hours.
For lunch we stopped in the beautiful border town of Ballina/ Killaoe which is divided by the river Shannon and Lough Deagr. We ate at a quaint little pub - Goosers in Ballina - then walked in the rain over the long narrow bridge into Killaloe in county Clare. The kids though it was neat to cross from one couty to the other.
We arrived in Killarney aroung 2:00 p.m., checked into our hotel, and quickly headed into town to catch a pony and cart ride through Killarney park towards Ross Castle. Nothing can quite preapare you for the beauty of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and lakes below. Our ride took about an hour and wound it's way through the forest full of ferns, ancient oaks, and giant trees - it really is enough to make you believe in fairies, pookas or lepprechauns. Our guide was fanstastic and assisted by his 11 year old daughter who is learning the ropes (quite lierally) to become the 4th generation of pony cart drivers in her family.
We ended the day having fantastic wood fired pizza at the Killarney Brewing company, complete with craft beer. It was the perfect end to a long journey and busy day - Hubby certianly earned himself a couple of good pints.
No comments:
Post a Comment