Well it's roadtrip time!!! OH YEAH!
I picked up my rental car from Cork airport and was ready to go go go. I had 13 days to circumnavigate Ireland based on a map of MUST SEES from the Irish Girl and her mate, BJ. I had my map, the sat nav, and some Fruit Pastilles - I was all set!
My first stop was the YUMMMMM town of Kinsale. Kinsale is the supposed gourmet capital of Ireland, so for any decent foodie, a visit was a must. So off I trotted, to track down the famed Fishy Fishy Cafe that I head heard so much about.
Kinsale is only about 20 minutes from Cork, and is soooooo cute, it sits on its own little harbour and was a passing spot for the Spanish Armada. The place is packed full of cute colourful shops (pics 1 & 2), cafes and restaurants, including the aforementioned Fishy Fishy Cafe.
The Fishy Fishy Cafe has both a new posh restaurant close to the water (pick 3), and their original take away spot further back. I ate at the posh one. And oh my...it was fantastic. After delicious home-made brown and white bread with home-made houmos (pic 4), came my higgeldy piggeldy meal. I couldn't decide on one dish, so I had a tasting of 3 (pic 5)!! You can see the best oysters I've ever eaten (I originally just ordered one, but after eating it had to have another to finish the meal), so salty and pure taste of the sea, then the local Stonecrab Claws in this gutsy chilli and lemon cream sauce. I just closed my eyes and let it overtake me - the sauce was amazing. And then there was the local Seafood Chowder, which though good, probably could have done with a bit more guts. This was all topped off with a fresh decadent Autumn Fruit Trifle...omg...sooooooooo good - creamy, fruity, tangy and sweet all combining together (pic 6). Sigh. Wonderful food.
I waddled back to the car to head off to the Ring of Kerry. This is a famous drive of a loop of a big peninsula in County Kerry. It has the most hauntingly beautiful scenery and even a really good French Chocolaterie complete with donkeys on the route (pic 7)!!! But the scenery...it took my breath away (pics 8-10). Ireland really is a stunning country.
Now the Ring of Kerry is about 160km long in a loop - I stopped for my first night at Waterville, which is a wild and woolly place right on the sea (pic 11, 12). I loved it. I stayed in a wonderful old manor hotel called The Butler Arms, and it was superb. I walked along the waterfront in the rain (it's now always raining!), ate my first Fish Pie (local seafood in a white sauce with mashed potato on top) for dinner there that night, and slept like a bloody log.
I woke to lashing rain, so cancelled my trip to Skaelig Island (dufus that I am, it cleared up within the hour), and headed to Doolin. En route to Doolin, I took the car ferry (pics 13, 14) and picked up a couple of Swiss girls who accompanied me to the Cliffs of Moher (pics 15, 16) which were stunningly beautiful. Then we all arrived safe and sound in Doolin (pic 17).
Doolin is a tiny little place consisting of a few pubs, a couple of hotels, some cute shops, and is a jumping spot to the Aran Islands. Doolin is mostly famous, though, for its traditional Irish music, so of course after a pub dinner it was time to settle down and listen to that eerily magical Irish music. Then to bed at the Hotel Doolin . And another night where the words slept and log are put together!
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