Europe Day 30 - Part One

Aww today, we checked out of Taobh Coille.

I really enjoyed our stay there. Agnes, the proprietress, was so fun and charming. She made us all feel very at home and was especially attentive to my gramma.

The last of Taobh Coille!

Europe Day 29 - Part Two

Killarney! We made it!

We stopped off a lot at  likely looking areas and took pictures, tramping off into the wild.

Killarney is a great hiking area and a huge tourist draw, for that reason. Hiking there is one of the things I’d wanted to do that didn’t work out, so, next time!

Killarney & Muckross!

Europe Day 29 - Part One

Day 29! So close to being done with this trip (in the beginning stages of plotting my next trip, which hopefully I’ll be more timely about blogging about…).

In the morning we set out to Kenmare, because there’s a lace museum there that was very highly recommended in the guide book.

Car pic! Probably from my sister. I didn’t take very many pics from the car, as the designated direction giver (which requires constant vigilance, as signs are not always common).

Kenmare!

Europe Day 28 - Part Four

We stopped for lunch somewhere in here, in Knight’s Town, which is the only real… town like thing there. It’s basically a main street. We had soup/sammiches, tea, and desserts, and then we browsed a cute used bookstore. And really… I don’t recall much else being there. Knight’s Town Coffee the place was called. It was nice.

Anyway then we went to the opposite end of the island from where we’d entered, where there’s a bridge back to the mainland. That’s where the coloured houses from last post were. By the bridge is a visitor’s center called The Skellig Experience. The skelligs are these two islands about 2miles or so off the coast that monks settled in the… 12th century I think it was. There’s hundreds of stairs carved into the mountains and the stone huts the monks built are still standing.

They have a shuttle… boat… thing to take you to Skellig Michael, and I reeeeally wanted to go because somehow I missed in the guidebook that you *could* go. But they didn’t have anymore that day, and my mum said we could come back the next day, it was close enough to our B&B, but I didn’t have any sort of suitable clothing with me (very wet, very cold). So, next time!

After the exhibit we crossed the bridge back onto the Ring of Kerry, and saw a sign for a local chocolate factory which sounded eeeepic. We followed the signs and… never found it. But we *did* see a sign for “The BEST view of Kerry.” So we stopped off there.

Get ready for THE BEST view!

Europe Day 28 - Part Three

Continuing on our island adventure, some cows.

Even more pics, but no more cows.

Europe Day 28 - Part Two

Still on Valentia Island!

It’s so pretty, I mean really. (btw, those triangles in the background, pretty sure those are the skellligs :D)

Valentia Island~ So pretty!

Europe Day 28 - Part One

Sunrise from my window!

Man this makes me really want to go back.

Ring of Kerry doings!

Europe Day 27

Even though I’m posting these after the fact, but quite a bit, I’m getting really sad I’m almost done ;_;

Last morning at Azure House. We met some very nice people there, and I wish I had their contact info.

After we said our good-byes and packed and such, it was off to the ring of Kerry.

We only made a few stops, as needed for stretching, food, and toilets. One of the stops was Adare, a very quaint and picturesque town.

And then onto Taobh Coille!