No sign of Sean which seems a bit funny. But the bed was fine and his unit comfortable. After a hot lemon drink, we headed down town to Cork for breakfast - and a nice spot it was. Cork has an interesting parking system. Instead of pay and display which operates in most places they have what's called disk parking. You go to newsagents or selected shops and buy a disk – a bit like a scratch lottery ticket. You scratch off date and time and leave it on your dash.
After breakfast, we drove to Blarney Castle which is not far from Cork. What a lovely spot (and to think that I almost left it off the places to visit). The castle is only part of the experience here. Lovely grounds ranging from manicured lawns and gardens to forests that are quite subtropical in appearance – tree ferns of all things.
Jill had a wander around while I climbed the steps to the top of the castle to kiss the blarney stone. Had to do it. There will be no excuse for not being able to learn lines now as kissing the blarney stone is supposed to make you an eloquent speaker. There was quite a line up for the climb up the spiral staircase to the top of the 15th century castle but was worth the exercise.
We spent some time wandering around the grounds – the poison garden, herb garden, rock close, sculpture garden, the list goes on.
From Blarney, we headed west to Killarney, a drive of about 90 minutes which we broke up with a visit to Aldi to pick up some supplies. Were staying in the Railway Hostel in Killarney tonight so have decided to cook our dinner. Steak with one of those rice and veg mixes.
We arrived In Killarney mid-afternoon. Booked in and then headed down the street, after booking our laundry into the Hostel. They do a load for 5 Euro which is great.
Killarney is very much a tourist town and was buzzing today. Had a sorbet (our lunch along with an apple and some nuts while we were travelling).
Back to the hostel to cook tea. Hostels are nice the way you get to chat to others – a family from France and a couple from Denmark, while you are cooking dinner.
Our room is pretty basic mind you – double bunks (our only time for the whole of the trip). But we do have a ensuite and an excellent shower.
Tomorrow we do the Ring of Kerry.
