Kilkenny

We arrived in Dublin, got the rental car and drove to Kilkenny arriving just past dark. We felt lucky to finally find a place with space as it was a holiday weekend and there was a huge rugby game to watch. In the morning we toured the Kilkenny Castle, found a pub for lunch and then drove to Killarney.

In Killarney we found another B&B within walking distance from the main street. We headed into town for a night walk. Seeing the photos of a photographer in town and discussing with her the Ring of Kerry drive versus Dingle we decided to go with the later - being just as scenic but a shorter time commitment (2 hours vice 5).

The next morning we explored the Ross Castle and then drove the Dingle Peninsula, which because of the extreme rain was closed in one section. Because of that we ended up driving it twice, one from each direction, stopping for lunch in the town of Dingle inbetween where I bought the first trip souvenir - an Ireland sock cap.

We had a tougher time find a B&B we liked within our price range and kept thinking we'd see more that we ended up driving over the Connor Pass in the intense fog. Was a little eerie, but when we came out on the other coast we found a B&B that was absolutely gorgeous. The morning breakfast was excellent too - full Irish breakfast with real coffee.

The first few days in Ireland were the rainiest of the entire trip, and actually 100-year flood records for Ireland with massive flooding in Dublin causing public transportation to cease and cars to float away.