Ireland 2026; Day Five

 

I just can't help it.  

Every time I walk past this little house, I have to take a picture.  

Never mind that I've done so at least a dozen times over the years. 

It's just plain photogenic, charming and so Ireland. 

And, that, I must confess, is a weakness I've noticed every time we come back to this country. 

Often we grow wearing of seeing the same-o, same-o scenes. 

Not in Ireland. 

These scenes all around the country have a sort of magnetism that keeps tugging at one's heart. And, when we see them once again, the heart is full of nostalgic admiration. 

So, I won't apologize about capturing some of the same images time after time on our visits. 

The little house is located along the street where we walk to The Moorings Restaurant for lunch. 

Yesterday's menu included mixed vegetable soup for me and bisque for Bill, along with fresh-baked Irish brown bread. As usual, we enjoyed our server Jacob who moved to Ireland three years ago from Slovakia.

As always, our meal was delightful---every last spoonful and bite. 

Port Magee is where passengers board a boat to visit or cruise around Skelig Michael of “Star Wars” fame.  Bill, Annie and I did that once a few years ago. 

We opted for the cruise around the island, which is alive with adorable puffins, but we also enjoyed an unplanned step off the boat to the island, thanks to some other passengers who were seasick. 

It was brief, but we could still wear the figurative badges of saying we’d been there and done that.

Port Magee also has a bridge that takes folks across to the Valencia Island. 

We’ve done that route a few times on our travels, and it has become an essential ever since 2023 when we went there the day after our Border Collie Liam had to be euthanized back home in Idaho.

As you might imagine, the grief of suddenly saying good bye over the phone to our beloved dog six thousand miles away was unbearable.

The next day was a “put one tear-filled foot in front of the other” as we processed what had happened.

I remember feeling numb and empty for most of the day, but when we drove to the highest point on Valencia Island and looked down at the green fields, then filled with white sheep, we could both envision Liam down there doing his work.

Yesterday Bill pointed out one field, and said, “That’s Liam’s field.”

So, it’s an emotional trip but also one filled with awe at the sheer beauty of the ocean, its foamy, white waves crashing the shore, the lighthouse and those green fields where Liam now resides in our minds.

We also enjoyed some amazing views of Skelig Michel and thought of the day in 2017 when we enjoyed the good fortune of setting foot on the island.

Our hours here in Kenmare involved Bill taking and minding the laundry next door and enjoying walks in between.  I worked extra time on my blog and took some nice walks around the neighborhood as well as to Quill’s Woolens a few blocks away.

A few years ago, I bought most of my Christmas presents at Quill’s and had them mailed home.

I probably won’t do that this year, thanks to the advice from the clerks who said they would be happy to mail my purchases if I didn’t mind tacking a 17-percent tariff on top of the purchase, mailing and insurance price.

No thank you, I said.  Their suggestion:  buy an extra suitcase for those items and you can shop at several stores and take it home with you.

Thank you, Donald Trump, for your “beautiful” tariffs, but I’d rather see that my money does not go to your ball room, your arch or all the other places you are spending money.

I don’t know if we want to deal with that hassle, but I’ll still pick up some souvenirs that fit in my bags.

After returning from Port Magee, Bill and I relaxed for a while and then walked to P.F. McCarthy’s to say hi to Vince. 

His wife Mary had already left. Still, we took a group photo and caught a shot of the man Vince had jokingly told our friend Janice Johnson was Vince. 

That man’s name was Mike, and he says he does get confused as Vince occasionally.

It made for good laughs all around.

After saying good bye to Vince and the gang, we headed to the Kenmare Brew House where the two-man band was playing mainly American favorites. 

I enjoyed some more sweet potato tarragon soup while Bill ordered the favorite dish to many---steak and potato cakes.

It was another fine day in Ireland, including the weather, so we are pinching ourselves.  This morning we’ve seen a little rain and some rather blustery wind, but it’s pleasant outside.

We may go to Dingle today. That will be decided when we’re both ready to make some plans.  For now, we’re enjoying a quiet and pleasant morning here in the cottage.

Happy Tuesday. 

Enjoy the photos. 

 

From a prior trip, when Bill, Annie and I visited Skellig Michael, a World Heritage site of the coast of Ireland. 

Our friend Vince.  

He's a chef who creates amazing baked goods, and we've seen him on every visit since Bill and I started doing trips on our own through Ireland.  

Besides working as a chef and a business owner, Vince is a gifted writer with a wicked and hilarious sense of humor.  For locals back home, he could be an Irish version of Patrick McManus. 

Vince pulled our neighbor Janice's leg when she and her hubby Mark were in Kenmare a few days ago. 

After I suggested that she go to P.F. McCarthy's restaurant and ask for Vince, she did just that. 

Vince's quick wit took hold, and he pointed to a man outside the establishment having a cigarette and told Janice that was Vince. So, she went outside and met Mike, who was not Vince. 

The group all enjoyed a great laugh once the truth about the real Vince was known. 

This little 4-legged cutie apparently also serves as the paper boy. 

This is an Irish crow. 

Don't ask me why the different color, but when you see the difference between an Irish robin and an American robin, you'll note that birds, like people, are not uniform the world around. 

Still, they have some universal tendencies, and, in crows, it seems to be the personalities and the range of sounds. 

We have several crows hanging out and flitting from roof or high wire to another in the lane leading from our cottage. 

Nice to feel at home with their ever-present busYness, even if they don't look the same. 

Hydrangeas and fuchsias are as common in Ireland as daisies in America. 

We arrived in time for the hydrangeas to still exhibit their beautiful blooms, but they are slowly fading. 

Fuchsias, on the other hand, are ubiquitous and always elegantly beautiful. 

Ireland 2026; Day Four

 

My daughter Annie went for a hike to Heather Lake in Western Washington yesterday.  

Also, yesterday, Bill and I drove down a country road in Ireland, which we had never traveled.  It's in the Black Valley near Moll's Gap in County Kerry. 

My goal as we drove down that road was, as always, to take pictures, most importantly, to capture some photos of the "bloomin' heather."

Like Annie, we enjoyed the journey and the beauty.  I found plenty of bloomin' heather along with a lot of other lovely eye-catching gifts of nature. 

Our sojourn to the Black Valley west of Kenmare took up some time as we waited for the Mews to be available.  We call it the cottage, and these days we live for the time spent here at the cottage in Kenmare.

It’s along Main Street, but it’s hidden from view, nestled in a quiet spot as part of the Purcell Gallery, owned by Rosemary, who’s an artist herself.

We have stayed in all three of Rosemary’s accommodations, and a couple of years ago when the other two apartments were not available, she offered us the Mews, which marked the beginning of our annual yearning for time spent here.  I

t’s quiet, it’s lovely and it offers us a chance to live on our own. We’re completely independent.  

We buy groceries, and we just sit back and relax in between our other adventures. Bill has just gone off to have the laundry done next door. 

 As I said to Bill this morning, there’s a learning curve for me as I slowly pivot into the realization that “there’s time, no need to be in such a hurry with every move."

I kinda like that revelation and am trying to exercise it as much as possible.

Anyway, we are here in lovely Kenmare, living at the cottage, for three more days.

Now, I think it’s safe to reveal that, Janice and Mark, our neighbors two houses up South Center Valley Road in Sandpoint, actually spent two nights just across the street from where we are now residing in Kenmare. 

They returned home to Sandpoint yesterday after a two-week visit to Ireland.  It was a trip for them that made Bill and me just about as happy as we’ve ever been on all of our trips to Ireland.

It was their first, and I can report that they were taken in completely by the magic of this place.  Janice is talking about the “next” trip.

Also, to keep them from being too homesick for Ireland, Bill attached an Irish National Flag to their fence, and they did kinda notice it when they drove into their driveway yesterday.

We are so thrilled that they were thrilled with their first Irish experience. 

You’ll see from today’s photos that we visited St. Patrick’s Well yesterday before leaving Clonmel in County Tipperary.   

https://tipperary.com/see-and-do-listing/saint-patricks-well/

Our desk clerk at the Talbot Hotel told us we mustn’t leave town without visiting the well. So, we followed her friendly orders and had no regrets.

It’s a lovely sacred place, beautifully and historically kept.  We’re guessing that David who lives in a house just up the road from the trail to the well maybe be the appointed guide.

As we were leaving, he came from the house, walking toward us.  When he realized we were leaving, he insisted on going back to his house to get a brochure. David exemplified the typical Irish; they bend over backwards to make sure that others’ needs are met. 

We also met a young couple from Brazil who come regularly to fill their big plastic bottles with sacred and healing waters from the well.

Such places are common around Ireland, and they date to pre-Christian times, serving as places of healing and for visiting.

It was a neat experience, amplified by the fact that Bill found a geocache on the grounds.

The adventure to the Black Valley and the visit to St. Patrick’s Well were both unplanned but greatly enjoyed, and that’s a common aspect of Ireland---just go with the flow and ya never know what you’re going to learn or see.

Two more highlights of the day:  we walked into P.F. McCarthy’s in Kenmare, and who was the first person we saw:  our friend Vince.  What’s really neat is that Janice and Mark also met Vince just a few days ago.

It sounds as if his sense of humor is still going strong.  Vince told us that when Janice walked in to the pub looking for a Vince, he pointed to another man sitting outside and waited briefly before revealing his ruse.

We love Vince and Mary.  They have been friends since one of our first stays in Kenmare. At the time, they ran the Rose Garden Bed and Breakfast where we stayed a number of times.  

Vince, a chef, worked at P.F. McCarthy’s for a while but now works in the fish industry. Mary has been going to school to earn her real estate license.  Wonderful people and dear friends.

So, I’ve muttered on for quite a while this morning because there is lots of time to do what we wish without being dictated by a schedule.

Pretty nice feeling AND again, the weather is gorgeous today. 

Happy Monday.  Enjoy the photos.

 

David made sure we had a brochure about St. Patrick's Well.  

He says he has never left Ireland and that the area around St. Patrick's Well has been just fine for him all his life. 

He does know that roads in the United States are wider than many country roads in Ireland.  He warned us to drive safely. 

I knew our kids would enjoy these two photos.  

On our family trips, we enjoy the convenience store stops where inside is a plethora of goodies from which to select for munching in the car. 

Iconic view of Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland. 

Twas a very busy Sunday yesterday. 

I have often said how the Irish bend over backward to be of help.  

Last night when nothing on the menu looked safe for me and my colitis, the manager at the Kenmare Brewhouse asked a few questions and put together a special dinner not on the menu so I could enjoy myself. 

It hit the spot. 

We also enjoyed listening to some great jazz life music. 

Our digs:  we have a nice courtyard with some sculptures in addition to our cottage. 

To summarize:  it was a very good day, as is almost any day spent in Ireland.