I felt like taking a nap while all these pictures were uploading. Very long day! We started at 9 and didn’t get home until 7. I think I can still see well enough to blog…

The day began with a drive from Sneem through Kenmare toward Cork for our first stop at Blarney Castle.This is taken from the bridge over the small river that runs through the castle grounds.

The weather was chilly and rainy, which suited the castle very well. It looks like there’s all kinds of stuff inside, but the floors are mostly gone, leaving only the spiral staircases to climb up to the top and the outer walls.

I thought this one of the guard tower turned out rather well–possibly because for once, I actually took the time to frame the shot.

But then, like everything else in Ireland, it’s very difficult to take a bad picture of it.

Instead of writing a synopsis of what this says, I’m posting a picture of the sign. You KNOW how writers hate writing synopses. If you click on the picture, you should be able to read it.

The guard tower.

The view from the top.

The view of the poison garden. Believe it or not, they actually had some marijuana growing in a cage there–along with several other plants that I’ve grown in my garden, like foxglove, wormwood, and lupines.

And yes, I did kiss the Blarney Stone. I even have a picture and a certificate to prove it. Mike and I both kissed the stone, but Budley and Sam opted out. You have to lie down on your back and pull yourself out with the bars, kiss the stone, and then they drag you back out. The line to kiss the stone backs up all the way down the staircase to the entrance. If you weren’t kissing the stone, the tour would’ve been a lot faster.

This is the kind of staircase you have to climb up to get to the top. Very steep, very narrow, and definitely not for those with bad knees or claustrophobia!

After touring the castle, we strolled around the grounds. This is a red cedar from America, about 100 years old.

Bluebells on the grounds of Blarney Castle.

Blarney House, which was clearly built in a later era than the castle. We were too late for a tour and didn’t feel like waiting around in the rain for the next one, so we went to the Stable Yard Cafe for some hot tea and Irish coffee instead.

A trip to the restroom revealed the stable area, which only proved that horses of the 18th century were better housed than a lot of people!

After leaving the castled, we went down the street to the Blarney Castle Hotel Bar for lunch.

Then we took a drive to Midleton to the Jameson distillery. Budley is a Jameson fan, and this was the one place he wanted to be sure to visit.

This is the aqueduct and waterwheel system that provided power to the gristmill until 1975.

And this is the distilling tank, which is the largest in the world.

After the tour, they asked for volunteers. I volunteered, and we did a taste test between Johnny Walker Red, Jack Daniels, and Jameson. We all pretty much agreed that the Jameson was smoother. For volunteering, I received a certificate making me an official whiskey taster!

Not sure I’m truly qualified, particularly since I prefer Quervo Gold Tequila!

Okay, ladies. I’m sure you ALL qualify as official YD tasters. Here’s one to test your palate. Is he Irish, or is he not?

Seems like every day in Ireland is filled with one spectacular view after the other. Around every bend in the road is something worthy of a photograph.

Our day began with a walk into Sneem, during which Red, the hotel’s Irish setter, led the way. 

We walked past the church…

and over the bridge to have breakfast at The Riverside Cafe and Bistro…

…where we had the full Irish breakfast, which includes all this, plus toast  or brown bread, and tea or coffee. That’s black pudding on the right, which is a type of blood sausage. It’s not bad, actually.

…and an extra ring of stones in the center.

Then we stopped to see the ruins of  Ballycarberry Castle, which was built in the 1500′s.  It was fenced off, so you couldn’t go inside, but the view from the gate was spooky enough!

After driving through Watertown, (this is a church there)…

…we crossed the bridge to Valentia Island, which is where the first transatlantic cable  landed. There is a weather station up on top of the highest point (this is the view from up there)

And from another vantage point, you can see the Roher Cliffs. 

Roher Cliffs from the other side. I took a video, but it didn’t turn out very well.

 Gerrit took us to the slate quarry, which was a bit like entering the gates of Mordor.

We paid a brief visit to the Skelligs Chocolate Company, ate a few free samples, and bought a little candy before heading back toward Sneem.

Along the way, we stopped at the ruins of Ballinskelligs Priory, which dates from the 15th century. There were some gravestones that were as recent as 2000, but most were so old and weathered, there were no inscriptions left on them.

We got our picture taken with Charlie Chaplin in Watertown, where he was apparently a frequent visitor. Sam was getting pretty tired by then and opted to stay in the car.

Our last stop before Sneem was a lookout point of the bay.

We got back to the hotel at 5:30, and everyone took a nap before going over to the hotel bar for dinner at 8:00. Red was waiting for us, and then walked with us part of the way after dinner.

I was totally stuffed after a bowl of seafood chowder that I couldn’t finish. I’m beginning to think that two meals a day in Ireland are enough. Seems like I can go longer here without food than I can at home. Might be the quantities, or the ingredients, but even when I only eat as much for breakfast as I do at home, I didn’t get hungry. Very strange!

Must try to get some sleep now. Long day ahead, but, as I said before, Ireland is just one spectacular view after another!

Slept like a rock Tuesday night, then it was off to Eagle Rock Equestrian Centre for my ride at 11:00. I was riding Zara, a very nice bay mare. Riding with me were our guide (whose name I can’t recall) and a mother and daughter from Georgia. That’s me on the left.

Gerrit took the guys down to the beach to wait for us to ride by.

Budley got some shots of the beach at Derrynane.

And Gerrit took a picture of Sam, Mike, and Bud.

And here I am, riding by with our guide in the lead.

The guys went over to Derrynane House while we were riding back to the stable.

And they arrived at the stable just before we came down the road.

Driving back to Sneem, we stopped to take some pictures of the beach near Glanbeg. Absolutely beautiful spot!

Fuchsias grow wild everywhere here, all along the roads like weeds. They’re just starting to bloom in most places. I can’t imagine what it looks like when they’re in full bloom. 

Then we went to see Staigue Fort. After we’d driven down a very narrow road up into the hills, I wondered why anyone would build a fort there. Then I looked off into the distance and saw why. The clear view of the ocean and the route any invaders from the sea would’ve taken was fairly obvious.

These yellow shrubby plants are blooming all over the place, too. I have no idea what they’re called, but they’re very pretty.

This is Staigue Fort, which originally had a couple of small round houses inside it. The entrance was so narrow, I almost didn’t make it through!

That’s Sam up there on the inside wall of the fort.

There was a sign on the gate telling you to pay admission by putting 2 Euros per person in the locked box. After I’d finished looking at the fort, I walked back down the hill and was standing by the sign–still wearing my boots and breeches–and a lady with a very foreign accent asked if I was the one who took the money.  That was probably the only time I looked like I might be a local!

Gerrit took us back to the hotel, where I changed out of my riding clothes, and then we walked into Sneem.
 

Walking through town, we crossed the bridge over the Sneem River. There were lots of other tourists coming in on buses, so we were by no means the only tourists. This is the view from the bridge.

We had lunch at O’Shay’s Pub, where I tried mussels for the first time as an appetizer. Not bad, but a little fishy. The potato and leek soup was much better!

After lunch, we strolled through town and did some shopping before going back to the hotel. While Budley took a nap on the couch, Mike and I watched a slide show of all the pictures I’d taken with the camera, and he showed me the pictures he’d taken with his iTouch. He’d even taken a video of me cantering across the beach. *sigh* He’s such a good son!

We had dinner at the hotel bar, where we were served by the first truly cute waiter I’ve seen so far. I didn’t mention that fact to the guys, although I did consider surreptitiously taking his picture.
Unfortunately, we were the only customers there at the time, and I didn’t have my phone, which would’ve taken a decent picture without a flash. Must check my files to see if I can find a hunk who looks like him…

This fellow comes close, except the waiter was just a little older, wore more clothes, and had darker hair.

Oh, my, what a day! We left at 9:30 and got back to the hotel at 6:30. This was the Dingle and the Slea Head tour, but it started on the old road from Sneem which was the most narrow, crooked road I’ve ever been on in my life. Sam got a bit carsick, but it was worth the trip. Apparently, part of the Lord of the Rings (where Gollum is catching fish) was filmed there. I took a lot of pictures, but none of them fully captured the surreal feeling of the place.

This was one of those roads where you have to stop and wait for the occasional sheep to get out of the road, and a few of them were also resting in the shade of the local church.

If I remember correctly, this was the lake where Gollum did his fishing. The weather was chilly and windy with the occasional rain shower, which added to the awe-inspiring feel of the place.

This was definitely off the beaten paths tourists normally take.

We drove on toward Dingle with the bay on our left,

and took a short detour to drive along the beach.

Arriving in Dingle, we went to the aquarium there, then had lunch at the Mariner’s Inn Pub.
After doing some shopping–note Sam’s new hat!–Gerrit took us on the Slea Head scenic drive.

Stopping along the way to see the Beehive Huts, which date back to 2000 BC. It was a two-minute walk from the road, which was the steepest vertical climb I’ve attempted in a very long time. It was also incredibly windy up there, so we didn’t stay long.

Driving on, we arrived at what we all considered to be the high point of the trip so far. The view from this cliff was absolutely incredible.

Cafe and Craft shop at Slea Head.

According to a marker placed at the lookout point, the 1970 film Ryan’s Daughter was filmed here. I remember the movie, but can’t recall ever having seen it. Might have to check that out now that I’ve been there.

I took a picture of this sign to illustrate the fact that not much in that area was posted in English. In fact, Gerrit told us that there were still people living there who don’t speak English at all.

From there, we drove up to Conner Pass. It was so windy up there, we couldn’t stay outside for long, but the view would’ve been breathtaking even without the wind.

I took this picture to give you an idea of just how far down the drop was, but it’s still nothing quite like being there.

Today, I’ll be horseback riding on the beach, hoping it doesn’t rain while trying to locate this fellow. He looks sort of Irish, so he’s bound to be around here somewhere. I just have to keep looking!

Enjoy your Wednesday!

No recipe today. Took too many pictures to post those and a recipe, but never fear, I shall add a hunk at the end.

Thought I’d better show you the view from outside our room.

This is the view from the other direction. The double doors on the left are our room.

This is the vehicle we’ve been riding around in.

And this is Gerrit, our driver. I figured we’d be hearing nothing but Irish accents here, but there are people from all over the world, and Gerrit is Dutch, with a completely different accent.

 We drove through Kenmare and along the bay, then on to Bantry,

stopping at a place called Druid’s View, which had a very nice shop across the street. 

I bought a merino wool sweater, and we sampled some Irish moonshine. This is the after picture. It was actually pretty good stuff, though you can’t tell it from our expressions!

This is the view from Druid’s View. 

We drove on to Bantry, where we took a boat to Garnish Island. Fabulous place with the most beautiful gardens you’ve ever seen. The pictures (and these are just a few of many I took) simply don’t do it justice.

The Italian Garden.

Apparently rhododendrons are almost a weed here, choking out many other plants, but I can’t grow them anything like this, so I wouldn’t complain if they took over my woods.

The Temple at Garnish Island.

This is the view from the temple. 

Stone tower at Garnish Island. We climbed up a very narrow spiral stone staircase to the top.

The view from the tower. 

More rhododendrons. Again, the pictures don’t do them justice.

The other side of the Italian Garden. 

Waiting for the boat back to Bantry. 

We had lunch at the Bantry Bay Hotel restaurant after visit to Garnish Island. The food was quite good, (I had bangers and mash) but I thought this place in Kenmare looked much more interesting! 

We did some more shopping in Kenmare, and then came back to Sneem. There was a big party going on at the pub in Sneem, but Bud and Mike conked out as soon as we got back. Good thing we had some bread and cheese for dinner!

Then again, this fellow might’ve delivered us a pizza if we’d asked nicely. 

Nah, not likely.