Dingle Peninsula

Thursday, July 04, 2019
Tower, County Cork, Ireland
Another warm & sunny day in Ireland.  We did not have the Irish Breakfast today but both of us chose smoked salmon & scrambled eggs served with a small bowl of fresh fruit.  Very delicious ,& not near as heavy!
We started our trek today by stopping and smelling the roses, literally.  Down the block from our B & B we discovered the Rose Walk in the Tralee Town Park and found hundreds of roses in a multitude of colours as well as beautiful huge hydrangea bushes and other greenery.  There was a large circular fountain, some fascinating trees and some interesting sculptures as well.  It's one of the largest urban parks in Ireland, but we didn't explore all of its 35 acres.  Time to hit the road again!
Today we are back on the Wild Atlantic Way - today's destination, the Dingle Peninsula.  We had no preset stops, an even more casual just go & see what we can see kind of day.  It was a scenic drive day. We saw absolutely beautiful hills (mountains to some), valleys and coastlines.
  

We made a stop at the Blasket Visitors Centre.  It had displays and information on Blasket Islands just off the coast. The Blasket Islands are an uninhabited group of islands off the west coast of Ireland, forming part of County Kerry. The peak population was 175 and by 1953 had dropped to 22.  In 1954, due to population decline, the government evacuated the remaining residents..

We opted for.lunch in the cafeteria, which again was large & delicious.  While waiting for our orders we booked our B & B for tonight.  Travel or the spontenaity of travel sure has changed since being able to hold our computers in hands!   We checked out the book/gift shop before hitting the road again. 

The only other stop we made was at Inch Beach, a lovely beach on the peninsula's south side.  What surprised us was all the vehicles.parked on the beach. Like most water locations we saw on this trip, the tide was out. We figure when people arrived in relation to how far out the tide was dictated where they parked.  Though it was very windy, the beach was very popular.  There was a bustling restaurant and if we wanted we could have signed up for surfing lessons or rented a surf board.  We had a great walk along the beach, finally got Greg's ice cream then it was back on the road.

We booked at the Bramble Lodge in the town of Tower, County Cork for tonight.  It took us 3 tries before we found it as there are 2 other Bramble B & Bs  in the same close area. Apparently we drove right by it when we came into town!

Bramble Lodge is a beautiful B & B.  We met John on arrival and he showed us to the beautiful "Killarney" suite with a king canopy bed, comfy love seat, 2 wing chairs and some antique armoires & desk.  There was a very large jacuzzi in the ensuite. This was the 3rd place we stayed with electric heated towel bars.  Also helpful when washing out light shirts, etc.  Very nice (will have to add that to our eventual Reno's at home!)  When we left for supper we noticed there was a huge hot tub & sauna just across from our room. 

We had to hustle a bit as the local pub restaurants kitchen closed at 8pm and it was now 7:35.  We had supper at Auntie's Pub & Grill, a 5 minute walk up the block.  Eve ordered the herbed chicken special.  Greg ordered the lamb hot pot, which was clearly way more food than he anticipated!  Both were very filling and delicious.

Back to the hotel to enjoy the facilities and check out where we want to go tomorrow!
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