Off to the Muckross House we go....

Wow...I was finally the 2nd to wake up this morning. Mom hopped up and began getting ready before I had even opened my eyes. We scurried ourselves down by 8:30am and were welcomed by Paul for breakfast. He said that Gretta mentioned that ladies were staying but she didn't say they were angels. HAHA...boy does he know how to win over a girl.

We enjoyed a nice chat with Paul. He gave us some tips, stops along our path to Killarney and a return route that wouldn't take as long. Mom and I both selected the full Irish breakfast with eggs, sausage, bacon and toast. We had orange marmalade and coffee as well as a small glass of orange juice. It was delightful...full up and ready to be on our way for the day!

Except I decided to change to a warmer top since we'd be outside most of the day and boy am I glad I did...BRRRR!  We took the scenic route of N-71 up towards Killarney. We had amazing spots along the road to stop and snap some shots.

Then up the way we stopped at Moll's Gap Avoca Shop. Mom found a great blanket of purple and green for Aunt Cheryl. I was able to find a wonderful mink colored cable Avoca scarf. It's just absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to wear it.

Moll's Gap

We packed up, just made it a short ways up the road to what was called "The Ladies View." Only learning later that it was named that because Queen Victoria's ladies loved it so much when they visited in 1861. Mom and I stopped to take more pics and jumped back on the road. 

The Ladies View

Mom snapped a shot of me at the Ladies View.

After our scenic drive we finally arrived at the Muckross House. Mom and I were able to take in the garden while we waited for our tour of the house to start. There were such beautiful flowers, trees and pathways.

View up towards the Muckross House.

No pictures were allowed in the house. It's history is most known for Queen Victoria's visit in 1861. This house went through a series of owners...including a family from California that bought it as a wedding present for their daughter that was marrying a local Irish man. She died very young and the family later sold it back to Ireland where it became the first National Park.

Here are some pics of the gardens...

The estate includes Muckross Traditional Farms which is a snapshot back in time during the 1930's and 1940's.  It was a really interesting step back into history. We wound up spending the majority of the day there. Afterward we got in the car and headed north towards Killarney. However, there had been quite a bit of rain throughout the day, so we just drove through town and took the directed shorter route back into Kenmare.

Small Farm

Labourer’s Cottage

Medium Farm

Large Farm

Wolf Hounds on the Large Farm

Blacksmith's Forge

We made it back to the Willow Lodge, relaxed for a bit and then headed back into Kenmare for shopping and dinner. Little did we know that when stopping at Foley's Pub & Restaurant we would meet Mary from Utah. Mom and I had just been served dinner...

Mom chose....Fish and Chips.

I chose....Lamb Burger and Chips.

We then shared a berry apple crumble with hot custard and some hot tea. Delicious!

Mary talked us into staying for some music. She's been coming to Kenmare strictly for the music for over 7 years. We thoroughly enjoyed Pat Kelleher and his son Ricky. GREAT music! We stayed over 2 hours just to hear the music start and left around 11:30pm.

Pat and Ricky Kelleher in action.

Pat, Me and Ricky

By the time we made it back to the B&B we felt like kids sneaking in the house after curfew. We were trying our best to be quiet and not wake anyone...too funny! It was a quick get around for bed since the morning would include a long drive towards Dingle.

Well another end to an exciting day of Irish sightseeing. End of day 5...August 25th!

~Curls~

  

Westward bound along the coast of Ireland....

Good morning to Kinsale. I will say that Jo's is on quite a busy noisy street. However, honestly I was too tired and my eyes closed just fine. Another early rise by both of us....we were around by 8:30am and we packed our bags downstairs. Halfway down Jo met us and carried mom's bag down for her. We lined our bags in her hallway and stepped around to the entrance of her cafe. Mom and I shared a delicious flaky raspberry scone with raspberry preserves and 2 big cups of expresso...YUMMY!

View inside the cafe.

See those yummy pastries on the counter.

It was a good way to start our morning. We then made our way to the car to stow away the bags, do a little shopping and stop in at the TI for some info. The lady in the TI was very helpful and was quite surprised we had run into offices that were closed.

Off we went up tight almost one way looking roads to Charles Fort. It was a very cool historical site with great views and must see pics. The last soldiers to leave the Charles Fort were in 1921, so it stayed running for quite some time. Definitely a great stronghold to defend against the sea bearers looking to start trouble. 

Me outside Charles Fort & a view back into Kinsale.

Here are several views from Charles Fort...

Peek-a-boo...I finally got Mom in a shot.

Just love all the GREEN!

Our travels then took us west to Mizen Head. Along that route were inlets to beaches where we saw surfers waiting to catch waves. The water was just crystal blue in color...so beautiful.

This would be the itty bitty tiny road to Mizen Head. EEK!

Once we reached the final turn to Mizen Head the road was sooo narrow that meeting any car you had to pull off into a curved out section or driveway. That has to be the tiniest road we've encountered yet! YEESH!

We finally made it up the way to the visitor center. It was also the access point to go and tour the light house. We opted out of that and took pics from around the center. Very cool and picturesque to be at the southern most tip of Ireland. We could see a storm brewing on the ocean and decided it was best to be on our way.

Gorgeous! Look how big the cattle is...crazy!

See there's that storm!

Back to the tiny twisty road away from Mizen Head and onward to our final destination of Kenmare. It was a nice relaxing drive and great views of the countryside.

Here are a few pics along our drive to Kenmare...

Tree covered roads.

Pools of water and just lush greenery.

We arrived at Willow Lodge around 5pm. Finally we would get ourselves acquainted with Gretta. Ever since our first emails back forth making reservations we've been in awe of her sweetness. As we walked in the door we were greeted by Gretta...she was quite pretty, tall and a quick wit about her. She promptly started with banter and laughing back and forth with us. She gave us a quick run down of the current to do's...she would show us our room, turn down our bed, we'd get our luggage to put in our room and then meet her back downstairs for tea and tart.

Our Room

Sitting area downstairs.

Mom enjoying some hot tea.

Wow...what a great spread of hot tea and Rhubarb Tart.

Oh what a wonderful welcoming treat and tea to warm my insides. Gretta came out to visit for a while then back in to cook dinner for Paul. She was able to give us several recommendations for dinner 4 bars and 2 restaurants. We opted for The Coachmans, after stopping at a couple shops before. It was a great dinner. 

Starters....

I selected the melted goat cheese and tomato bruschetta.

Mom selected the seafood chowder.

And of course we had the delightful brown soda bread and Irish butter!!!!

We even ordered our first Guinness!

Entrees....

I selected the pan seared sea bass with white cream sauce, potatoes and mixed veggies.

Mom selected the Guinness beef stew...

We were accompanied by some music but nothing to lively. A couple sat next to us....they were both in the US Military (he was in the Airforce and she was in the Army), stationed in Germany and on holiday in Ireland. They were a great group to chat with and share traveling experiences. We wrapped up dinner and headed back to the B&B.

I tried to stay up late to Skype with Dad but only wound up emailing him. I posted one pic of the cliffs at Mizen Head to peak some of my friends interest back home and then crawled into bed for the night.

Wow...our trip was really coming together. That was the end of Day 4, August 24th!

~Curls~