Jack & Jo's European Adventure: Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland

We are in Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland, staying on a sheep farm about 6 kilometers from town, I am sitting on my bed looking out the window to see bright sunshine bathing the rolling green pasture where lambs are at play and the cattle lay sunning themselves. Further back in the house our host Janet is strumming her guitar whilst playing a mouth organ to an Irish ballad it is the most amazing feeling here, we have been here one night and already know it will be a hard place to leave.

Breakfast was served in a sunny room full of artwork where the subjects are our hosts and the family. Breakfast consisted of cereal a yogurt and fruit compote freshly baked bread, eggs, bacon, sausage and a potato and vegetable bubble and squeak, coffee and fruit, it was delicious. After breaky we were invited to help feed the lambs, Jo was so excited and looked great in the wellies provided, whilst the sun was shining it was still freezing cold, thanks to the more than gentle breeze blowing down from the hills.

The past couple of days we have done a lot of driving, covering 1000 kilometers which may not be much back home, but here it seems so much more, the roads are narrow, winding and so very rough. We are constantly amused by the speed zoning, it is 50kmh through small villages then straight back to 100 kmh, a speed which would be impossible to reach, let alone attain on most roads we have driven.

From Galway, day before yesterday,we drove north from Galway to a small town called Clifden where we stopped for a lunch of lamb and veggie soup with bread, the place was locked up when we got there, however the owner heard us and came out to the street to see what we wanted and then served us and stayed to chat for a while, he was in no hurry, but then nor were we. After lunch we took a drive along Sky Road for some spectacular views, then continued out along the coast to Kylemore Abbey, which is a beautiful Abbey on a lake at th foot of a mountain, there were so many tourist buses and people, but still a nice place to visit.

After leaving Galway yesterday we drove the Southern coastal route to the Cliffs of Moher, another fascinating place to visit, it is so high up and the wind across the ocean was freezing and so strong it almost knocks you off your feet, we were so fortunate to have the sun shining brightly the whole time we were there. From here we continued down the coast through small towns of Kilkee, Kilrush and then boarding a barge at Killimer for the crossing to Tarbert. The road then took us through to a big town Tralee where we were caught in traffic in the narrow streets through town for 20 - 25 minutes. It is a town that would be nice to get back to to have a better look about.

As we continued on down toward Dingle, the pastures got greener and the hills taller, with some spectacular views along the way.

We got lost trying to find our accommodation and had to phone our hosts who then came to meet us, to guide us up a road not much bigger than a goat track to the top of the hill where we were shown to park at the front of the house. The house is beautiful, built 7 years ago and the rooms are large, including our bedroom which has a beautiful en-suite, it is going to be a nice couple of days.
As I am about to finish off, Janet is playing Danny Boy on one of her several mouth organs, it is so Ireland it is unbelievable, feel so at home here!