Jan and Gerry's visit - October/November 2009

Jan and Gerry flew in to Dublin. Dana and I drove up Sunday morning and met them at the Shelbourne Hotel, where we all spent the night, courtesy of Jan's frequent flyer miles - a real treat. On Sunday afternoon we had lunch nearby, then took the Hop On Hop Off tour bus, hopping off only at Kilmanheim Jail - a good tour. We ate dinner in Temple Bar. The picture was taken by the waitress at the lunch pub.

Monday was a bank holiday so we had a leisurely morning, then went to Dún Laoghaire, the port city just south of Dublin, where the ferry from Wales comes in. Jan took this panoramic picture - it was a gorgeous day and a very enjoyable walk around the harbor. (One reason we went this direction was to avoid the route of the Dublin Marathon which was being run that day. We saw many of the runnners walking by in the morning, as it started very near our hotel).


(Most of the pictures on this post are by Jan, except where it is specifically noted that Dana took them - he wasn't with us all the time, and she got some great shots, including the above using the panoramic setting on her camera.)

We drove back to Tralee and welcomed them to our house. Tuesday morning was rainy so we took it easy and went to nearby places - Fenit Harbor, which we like in any weather, and Ardfert Cathedral. This picture (by Jan) is enactng what I always say when I go in the largest cathedral - "I want to get married here" - so Dana and I posed!

On Wednesday Dana and I both had to work, so they went with me to Listowel. Fortunately I had a short day, so they walked around the town until I picked them up. Then we drove to Ballybunion - here's the traditional Virgin Rock picture (by MFE)- and then to Carrigafoyle Castle. On the way back to Tralee we went to the Ratoo Round Tower at Ballyduff and had an hysterical experience. I think it's a "you had to be there" type of thing, but the 3 of us were hysterically laughing as a very large herd of cows came up the little lane right at us, "bifurcated" (as Jan said) and passed by on both sides of the car.  Jan made a short  video which would give you a little flavor of this - and of our hysteria, but I can't get it to download - I'll keep trying!

On Thursday, Dana was off so we did the Cahersiveen/Valentia tour. We had fair weather to begin but it worsened as the day went on so we did not get a good mountain view on Valentia - but we had a good time and ended the day with Irish coffee in a pub in Port Magee. (The ferry doesn't run after Sept.30, so we take the long way around through PM, giving us a new place to explore!). Above, if you look closely you can see Jan and Gerry on Ballycarbery Castle. The other picture is our picnic lunch in the ring fort.

On Friday, Jan, Gerry, and mfe went to Killarney - the last day for Ross Castle tours.

We also went to Torc Falls which was amazing - because of all the rain, it is much bigger and more violent than usual. We ate lunch at Molly Darcy's pub, which I've wanted to do, and had tea at the Deenagh Lodge - on their next to last day of the season!

Saturday morning we drove to Dingle over the Conor Pass - weather not too bad. We at lunch at Muphy's (as usual) then drove the Slea Head Drive. We stopped at most of the scenic and historical sites. This picture is of me playing teacher with the Ogham stone which they think was used to teach children the Ogham alphabet - it's not my favorite pic, but Jan likes it so it's on here for her! The weather was dry and Dana got some good scenery shots - here are a couple of them.

We stayed at a beautiful B&B (more of a Guest House/Inn) and had a wonderful dinner at the Half Door Restaurant which lived up to it's high recommendations. Here is my fantastic lobster bisque! We then did a pub crawl listening to music - a very nice evening. Sunday we had a leisurely morning, then strolled through the shops of Dingle before eating lunch and heading home. A very nice "mini break".

Monday Dana and I both worked so J&G took a bus to Cork and had a nice, though rainy time. Here is Jan in Cork City looking pretty cute with her new Irish umbrella!












Tuesday we set out for Killarney again - all 4 of us this time - and went to Muckross House. The grounds looked pretty beautiful despite the weather, so Dana took these shots:

We then drove up to Ladies View. At first it was very rainy and overcast and not much of a view. Then the fog lifted and we had a nice view.... and then the rainbow came and we had our most spectacular view yet. Both Jan and Dana got great shots - I think the first 2 are Dana's and the bottom one is Jan's.

We then drove on on the Ring of Kerry to view Moll's Gap. We had lunch at the semi-famous Avoca Cafe and enjoyed that and the gift shop. We had another rainbow while eating, but couldn't get good pics of that one. 

After a few purchases in the gift shop, we drove on to Kenmare and enjoyed that town for an hour or so. We then drove home through Kilgarvan - our normal route.

Amazingly we were now near the end of their trip - on Wednesday they took the bus to Limerick and toured King John's Castle and the Hunt Museum. We had a farewell dinner at our "local" across the street.

  
















On Thursday we toured town centre Tralee and ate lunch there before putting them on the bus to Limerick to catch the train to Dublin to be ready for their Friday morning flight. We really had a lot of fun. A great trip for us, and for them, I think!