Sigo Journeys-- Where to Next?

You know its summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.
~ Hal Roach

This trip first began as a way to spend a few days in Amsterdam before our Northern Europe cruise departed from Copenhagen. Due to some conflicting schedules, the cruise segment had to be cancelled, so we added Ireland to the mix. My images and dreams of Ireland surfaced from my seeing the movie Far and Away.

Many folks suggested the Blarney Stone and othe touristy things. But we had no definite plans for our trip to Ireland. We just wanted to drive around and take in the beautiful scenery. It would have been nice if our Hertz Neverlost GPS was functioning, but no such luck! But we managed to get along quite nicely without it, and E did a wonderful job of driving on the left hand side of the road. I can still hear him now: "Who's better at round-abouts than me?". The answer: No one!

Wed, 8/15: We arrived in Ireland at 11am, and headed to Kinsale for lunch. I read of a place called Fishy Fishy, where the menu varies with the fish caught that day. Our entrees were wonderful! I regret not getting the seafood stew-- the diner next to us was moaning while she was eating and raving about how wonderful it was. It was a tomato based soup, with chunks of seafood. The rest of the trip, I ordered it 2 more times at different places, both times it was cream based, and both times I was disappointed.... After lunch, walked along the marina and around town.

Thurs, 9/16: We headed to the Cliffs of Moher. The air was mighty crisp. The view was just amazing!

Then we decided to go to the Ring of Dingle. Parts of Far and Away were filmed here. Dingle is the westernmost part of Europe. The views were spectacular!

E took this picture because there was this lone bench that I saw in a picture of Ireland before we went. We were in search of this infamous bench! But I think this is better than the one we were seeking...

My favorite view was Slea Head:

Fri, 8/17: Since we went to the Ring of Dingle, we decided to also go to the Ring of Kerry. But the traffic was so horrendous at the start of the "ring" drive (Kenmare), that we decided to take another "ring" drive: the Ring of Beara. This was amazing, and I wondered what we were missing with the Kerry drive.... This was true Ireland at its finest.

Sat, 8/18: We were staying at the Fota Island Resort and Spa. This place was just gorgeous! The rooms were amazingly large and the bathroom was even bigger. The spa had a thermal suite and a hydrotherapy suite. The thermal suite featured recliners with heated tiles. Since the steam room was not working properly, they gave us complimentary access to the hydrotherapy spa, which was a gigantic pool with a walking river, jets, and waterfalls, among other niceties.. it was truly relaxing. We got a couples swedish massage (it was in separate rooms with sliding doors where we could see one another, but not be cooped in the same room.) Very nicely done.

What trip to Ireland would be complete without a trip to the Waterford crystal factory, where they have been making crystal by hand for hundreds of years? The workmanship was just phenomenal....

Sun, 8/19: We sadly left Ireland this morning. Its people and places had an impact on me. I think I drank more beer than water on this trip! But unfortunately, I am still not a huge fan of Guinness beer. But I think we just need to make another trip out to Ireland to change my mind!