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That body has disappeared again ;-)

Debbie

ARRRGGGGHHH - Fodors hates me. It must be because I tried to cut and paste it out of a word doc. ( tried to save time) <BR> <BR>Ok . here is the full text I hope. <BR>Day 1 - Arrive - Galway <BR>Gray and Rainy - decided to skip the cliffs, went straight to Galway. Got turned around and had to ask for help finding the hotel - Brennans Yard. Decent Room - nothing spectacular, but nice - Our offer incl. 2 breakfasts & 1 dinner. <BR> <BR>Day 2 - Kylemore Abbey. <BR> OOPS - overslept - missed breakfast. Oh well. <BR>Gray and rainy again. even had spots of hail. Took N59 to Maam Cross and then R336 up to Leenane, then back to N59. Worked great - r336 was newly paved and had almost no traffic - just lots of sheep on the hillside. <BR> Kylemore was very interesting and the gothic church beautiful. <BR> Got a Flat tire ( or at least noticed it) leaving Kylemore, luckily there was a service garage nearby. Got it fixed for 8 pounds. <BR> Ended up skipping Croagh Patrick - the weather and the late start really hampered us. Good thing too, by the time we got back to Galway it was dark and rainy and we got turned around again looking for the hotel. <BR> <BR>Day 3 - Galway to Waterford. <BR> breakfast in the room - nice perk. Made it out of Galway ok - stopped at the Rock of Cashel ( very impressive) and Cahir Castle (also cool) on the way into Waterford. <BR> Got to the Tower Hotel pretty easily. I found the hotel to be very nice - beautiful room , friendly staff, etc. They even remembered each day - pretty good when you consider how many guests they have each day. Our package again had Breakfasts & 1 dinner incl. Dinner was FABULOUS - would definitely do that again. <BR> <BR>Day 4 - Around Waterford. <BR> Gray and rainy again. Went to the Crystal factory. Amazing how they create such works of art. Ate lunch at their cafeteria - best soup I have had in years. <BR> Ate dinner at Reginals tower across from the actual tower. Great food and very reasonable if you eat in the bar and get there before 7 for the early bird special = 3 course meal for 10.95. <BR> <BR>Day 5 - drive to Killarney <BR> Day 5 - Drive to Killarney. <BR> Semi sunny for the drive, went via N72 to save some time. Stopped in Lismore to look at churches - Castle was already closed for the season. Found our B&B (Crystal Springs) pretty easily. Very nice - Huge Room - Large Bathroom. Lovely decor. Only about a mile or so from the city center. <BR> <BR>Killarney was definitely my favorite town - would have liked more time there) <BR> <BR>*** <BR>Will post the last few days separately. <BR>Debbie

Debbie

OK - here goes for the last couple days. <BR> <BR> <BR>Day 6 - Ring of Kerry - <BR> VERY gray and rainy again. Glad we are doing this with a Bus tour. Cocaran (sp?) tours picked us up at the B&B and off we went. Very entertaining driver. Even with the rain & mist , still very worth the modest cost. ( you really couldn't have paid me enough to drive that , especially in that weather!) <BR> Found some great end of the season deals in Sneem - sweaters for $30 & $35 pounds. Great Lace/doillies too. <BR> Went to a later dinner and then listened to music at Sheenan ( or is it Sheeans?) across from the Tourist office. Wonderful 4 piece group. We were right up close - what a fabulous night. <BR> <BR>Day 7 - Drive to Bunratty. <BR> Partly sunny / partly rainy - decided to try for the Cliffs today. Took the Tarbert Car ferry over the Shannon- worked great ( barely got there in time though…) the drive from Kilrush to the Cliffs was long - Took R478 up - very curvy - couldn't really go more than 35 - 40 mph. Just outside of Cliffs - Hail & Rain - When we got to the cliffs - 10 minutes of Sun, then just as we left , rain again. What timing!!!!. I am really glad we drove up there- what an amazing sight. Drove on to Bunratty from there - much easier drive - only about an hour. Found our B&B ok ( after we missed the Low road and had to come around the N18 again - oops) . Stayed at the Headley Court - at the very end of the Low road - across from the service station. VERY nice - huge room - big bathroom - would definitely stay there again. <BR> <BR>Day 8 - Bunratty Castle <BR> Gray and Rainy again ( see the pattern?) Wonderful breakfast - made to order - French toast -yum!. Toured the Castle and Folk park. Shopped at the Village mills and ate dinner at the Creamery Pub. Nice quiet night before leaving tomorrow. <BR> <BR>Day 9 - Go home. <BR> Got to the airport and returned the rental car - with the exception of the flat tire- no problems with the car. <BR> Had to go through customs 4 times on the way home - Once in Shannon, then had to get off the plane in Dublin, go through customs again, and then get back on the plane. Then when we landed in Chicago , had to go through customs before we got our luggage and then again after. Seemed kind of weird. <BR> <BR>I can't wait to go back. <BR> <BR> <BR>debbie

AC

Hi: <BR>Sounds like you had a great time in spite of the weather (we don't go to Ireland for the weather though, do we?) I am glad you likes Killarney. I loved it though it gets a bad rap as "too touristy" I did some great shopping and pubbing there! Glad all went well. So when is the next trip planned???

Judy

Debbie, sounds great! Glad you finally got to post! In Galway, where did you eat? We are going in Aug. and are staying at the Victoria Hotel. Did you go to the river god cafe? It sounds like a fabulous place. Too bad about the weather though, but I am sure you were prepared.... sounds like you were. Judy

Debbie

I personally did not feel that Killarney was too touristy. It was a great place to shop (the only place I found a reasonable, yet beautiful tablecloth) and yet had so much to do within a few miles. I loved going to the pub for music. <BR> <BR>I did not find the weather too much of a hassel. First, because I expected it, second, because I am from Wisconsin, and it was actually warmer in Ireland than at home . <BR>I would rather deal with 40-45 degrees and almost no crowds or traffic, than with the full summer tourist season. A good trade if you ask me. <BR> <BR>( although - The next time I go, I would aim more for mid- October , to avoid places closing for the season on me.) <BR> <BR> <BR>In Galway , we ate at the hotel - Brennans Yard - very into peppercorns and spicy foods. Not my cup of tea. <BR>We also ate at Macnameras (sp?) - very good Salmon yum. Mom had the prawns. She said they were good too. <BR> <BR>Debbie

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Diane

Welcome back Deb. Glad to hear you had a great trip. How was the driving?

Debbie

top for Meg. & reply to Diane <BR> <BR>Driving was actually not too bad - only 1 flat tire. Part of the benefit of going so late in the season, I guess, was having very little traffic. The only problem was that every time we came to a curve, there was a truck coming at us from the other side. After a while we just started looking for the trucks when we saw the Curve signs. <BR> <BR>bye. <BR>Debbie

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for Tammye and Dorothy

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FOR Jim N.