We woke up to less than stellar weather on Day 125. It was somewhat disappointing because we had plans to drive the Ring of Kerry, a ride that boasts some of the best views in all of Ireland. It improved a bit once we hit the road, but the first half of the day was foggy with a drizzle here and there. It burned off eventually and the rest of the day was the same amazing weather we experienced the previous 3-4 days.
We drove the Ring of Kerry and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It is similar to the Ring of Dingle in that the ride offers views across the entire spectrum – farmland, mountains, streams, beaches and other breathtaking views of the ocean and countryside. We began the drive in Killarney and went counter-clockwise. This would have been a huge mistake in high tourist season because all tour buses go in a counter-clockwise direction because the roads are not wide enough to allow buses to pass each other.
We ended the Ring of Kerry just short of Killarney in a small town called Kenmare. We decided to stop for a snack in the town and were very happy we did. It was one of my favorite stops along the journey because it was a classic Irish town, with brightly painted shops and true Irish culture. It’s certainly a place I would love to retire to if ever offered the opportunity.
Instead of making our way to our hotel in Cork from Kenmare, we again altered our day’s itinerary to squeeze in a quick visit to the Blarney Castle. It’s admittedly cliché to visit the tourist trap to kiss the Blarney Stone, but we were in the area and didn’t want to regret skipping the experience. We arrived at 6:00p and the castle closed for the day a mere half hour later. The €10 entrance fee wasn’t fun to pay, but we were way too close to turn back at that point. The beauty of arriving so late in the day (and during the offseason), however, was that we didn’t even wait in a line to kiss the stone – a line that grows to 60+ minutes during the high season. I was ignorant to the fact that you had to lay on your back to kiss the stone, but I got over that pretty quickly. It was an underwhelming experience, but an experience nonetheless.
We drove another 30 minutes to the city of Cork. Outside of Dublin, Cork was certainly the most congested, ‘industrial’ place we visited. We arrived fairly late in the day, so all of the shops were closed or closing and finding a hotel was more difficult than it had been the rest of the trip. We finally found a great place to stay and dropped off our bags. Since it was so late, the food offerings were fairly scarce as well since many of the restaurants were also closed for the day. We stumbled upon a Turkish restaurant called ‘Istanbul: A Real Taste of the Orient.’ We both ordered chicken doner on a pita with salad and a side of rice. We both really like Turkish food, a fare that we ate regularly during our semester abroad in London since the area we lived in was chock full of Turks.
I can’t claim that we enjoyed our stay in Cork, but it was the perfect place to stop on our journey. Another long and productive day was in the books.
We are currently doing a documentary for the History channel about powerful stones and are seeking images of the Blarney Stone. I would greatly appreciate it if you could let me know as soon as possible if you would be willing to allow us to use your images as our production is on a very tight deadline.
Thanks,
—
Claire Musica
Research Assistant
Prometheus Entertainment
claire.musica@prometheuspix.com
323-769-4065 (o)
323-769-4060 (f)