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Thursday, April 14, the Road to Kinsale

We left Dingle and took the scenic route toward Kinsale. The weather was clearing up so we stopped at this wide-open beach for some photos. Believe it our not, there were a few surfers on that break way out yonder.

On the beach, the kids were playing cricket. You don't see that much in SoCal.

We drove through Killarny National Park where we saw old castles, windy roads and tunnels cut through solid rock.

We also saw leprechaun crossings but, alas, no wee folk themselves.

There were plenty of sheep all over the green hillsides and sometimes in the road.

Lunch was at P. F. McCarthy's in Kenmare.

I had my photo taken with a Druid, we saw some more countryside, and then we were in County Cork, or "Caaark" as the Irish might say.

Kinsale

After a wrong turn or two (darn that navigator!) we finally made it to Kinsale, "Irelands Centre of Good Food" as the brochure says.

We found our B&B, The Old Presbytery, unloaded and went in search of refreshment. The Old Presbytery was a great place, right in town but still relatively quiet.

The view from Lorri's and my room.

Like all B&B's in England and Ireland, they serve a full sit-down breakfast. I opted for the salmon and scramble on this day but on other days, maybe a "full Irish" meaning eggs, sausage, ham roasted tomato or mushrooms, toast, rolls, coffee, you get the idea.

Our room.

Kinsale, on the southern coast of Ireland, has a long and colorful history as a seaport, fishing center and military base. These days it's full of restaurants, pubs, shops and tourists, like us! Here we are having the traditional (our tradition, not theirs) Thursday night martinis.

A couple pubs and a street

The Grey Hound, a good pub, and us with a Guinness. I should mention now that after a couple days of drinking Guinness in Ireland, one gets addicted to it. If we got past noon without stopping for one, it was unusual.

Ned Kelly's. That's Ned & Kelly out in front. jk

... and we had a good dinner at Jim Edwards.

Friday, April 15, Kinsale

Kinsale Bay has a tide of about 14 feet leaving these boats high and dry, well maybe a little muddy, at times. I photoed the same boats later in the day and they were floating in several feet of water. See below. The famous McCarthy brothers are memorialized on the right. I forget why they were famous.

We had a nice walking tour with Dermot Ryan. This is the older part of town.

There's Dermot!

Doors, stairs & streets.

More of them.

The tiny Tap Tavern was like a living room with a bar on one side and a fireplace on the other. That's Mary, the owner, on the left.

I liked these boat-shaped window boxes. This dog just sort of hangs out and poses for pictures.

A pub & Lorri, the street leading up to my castle and the Mansion House.

This is Desmond Castle was built by Maurice Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond, around 1500. Since my grandmother was a Fitzgerald, I laid claim to this castle as my lawful inheritance.

A couple more shots of The Presbytery and the toilet off the second floor landing. Never seen such a lid.

In the afternoon we took a pleasant stroll out to Charles Fort. Here are the aforementioned boats now floating.

It was a pleasant stroll because the weather was nice, we were with our friends, G&K, and there were two very nice pubs on the way.

The first was called "The Spaniard", this was where we met "JC" holding down his particular corner of the bar. He is such a fixture there that there is a plaque that says "JC's Corner" on the wall behind him. This sort of reminded us of our friend AJ who we first met years ago while he was holding down his own corner of the Meritage.

Some views along the walk.

Some more views along the walk.

Time for more Guinness at the Bulman. We had some lunch too but we did NOT have any Coors Light though we were surprised to see it offered.

Views of Bulman.

We finally made it to Charles Fort which was begun in 1648 and used until 1922.

It was one of the finest surviving examples of a 17th century "star fort".

It was interesting to see these old buildings and how most of them are gradually going green, that is, they're being taken over by weeds, trees, grass and all kinds of other green stuff that grows in Ireland.