Sunday 9 July

Once again we were 'force fed' breakfast. I got away with only one egg and bacon but Russ wasn't allowed. He was told "a man needs his breakfast!"

A wet, windy day at Muckross House, Killarney

The beach at Inch on the Dingle Peninsula

Then we again to visit Muckross house in Killarney National Park (in the middle of the city though). It was rainy and windy. We ran from the car to the house as fast as possible - and to add insult to injury, the brolly I bought before leaving home to scare off the rain...blew inside out!

So we did the house tour which was very interesting...especially the beautiful original Irish made furniture from the 1700s. Then Russ took a photo of me with Billy (the koala Marilyn Halcomb made to escort us on our trip) under the restored umbrella and we ran back to the car and continued on to the Dingle Peninsula.

On the way out of Killarney we stopped at Aghado...according to our hostess last night one of the grandest scenic spots around- which would have been a great spot for photographing the city below if it weren't raining!

We headed down the Dingle Peninsula, which was disappointing for most part, as the weather was quite gloomy but as well, the hedges are so high, and thick we couldn't see through them to the coast. A lot of the coastal hedges seemed very familiar in content to some coastal areas in NSW with lots of bracken fern and blackberry vines. Once again we saw lots of the Fuschia I think I mentioned earlier (with a tiny red flower). It turns out it is an Irish native! We stopped at the beach at Inch for a few moments but only saw a fleeting ray of sunshine. It was cold and windy.

Dingle was a pretty coastal village but needless to say we couldn't wander long, as it was raining heavily. Lunch there was marvellous for me...delicious seafood chowder. Russ had his usual 'soup of the day'! I wish we had been staying for dinner, as the seafood possibilities were endless... and cheap! I can't get over the price of smoked salmon and ham being the same!

So far the lunch prices have averaged £4.50 to £6.50 for soup and coffee. Petrol prices are just about double what we were paying at home.

'Gallarus Oratory' around 1300 years old and still waterproof.

Beautifully coloured hydrangeas outside the pub at Listowel

The highlight of the Dingle peninsular was the 'Gallarus Oratory' believed to be about 1300 years old. A rock building (no mortar) roughly about the size of an igloo and the shape of an upturned boat, that is still in such perfect condition to be absolutely watertight. Such craftsmanship must have died with them!

After heading back toward Tralee I consulted the B&B handbook and rang forward on the mobile to book a room for the night. We stayed at Millstream house, Listowel (pronounced LISTALL)...I was reprimanded for getting it wrong!

At all the other places we have stayed we were greeted warmly and fed well but still formally treated like visitors with no invitation into family areas. Here was quite the opposite. I'd have felt more comfortable curled up on the bed to write the diary but our hostess Nora Sheahan has set us up in the family room with a roaring (bloody hot) fire and would obviously be quite offended if we retired too early. Tomorrow we are off to limerick.

SOME ASIDES

Spuds... no famine this year. Some meals we are served them in 3 different ways...yes the same meal! Even with salad...cold mashed potato! Mashed and creamed with mayonnaise and chives, parsley etc. Delicious says me...Russ isn't into salads!

Petrol... nearly doubles the price of home where we are worried it is getting toward $1 a litre. Here it is 71-78 PENCE/ litre!

Kylie Minogue; is really big here. We hear her 2 or 3 times a day on local radio and she is featured in every newspaper I have seen.

'Millstream House', Nora Sheahan

Greenville, Listowel

ph 068 21129 Mob 086 8555651

http://www.millstreamhouse.com/

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