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Thanks for visiting my blog. As the title suggests, I love to scrapbook, stamp, and sing! I will share cards and scrapbook pages I create, as well as information about my music - Barbershop harmony.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

More fun on the Emerald Isle!

Fáilte - welcome!  Back again for pt 3 of my trip to Ireland....

I'm picking up with the "into the countryside" trip Heather and I began Monday 5/19.  We stayed at a B&B in Cork that night, had a wonderful breakfast on Tuesday and headed off for Killarney.  What a gorgeous morning - sunny with blue sky!!  Our first stop, just northwest of Cork - Blarney Castle (no, we didn't kiss the Blarney Stone) built in 1446.  What impressed me about this attraction (their word) were the grounds - so green, lush with flowers, and well-kept.  Here's a favorite photo taken as we approached the castle:

Blarney Castle

Besides the Castle, there are extensive walking paths, gardens, and a manor house.  Here are some favorite foliage shots:

Blarney Castle grounds Blarney Castle fern garden

After leaving Blarney Castle, we continued northwest to Killarney. Our beautiful sunny day left us for heavy rain showers as we visited part of Killarney National Park, one of the most beautiful parks in the world, not that I could tell through a thunder storm!!  We took refuge from the storm on a tour of the Muckross House, a 19th century manor where Queen Victoria spent a couple nights (after weeks of preparation) back in 1861.  You can't take photos of the interior so visit the website to see some of the grand rooms.  Here's a shot of the exterior:

Muckross House

We stayed at the lovely The Harp B&B in Killarney.  After settling in, we headed back out in the rain to have dinner at the Sika Restaurant, fine dining adjacent to the Victoria House Hotel in Killarney.   They also served the typical stuffed ham/chicken dish Heather had the previous night so I tried it - delicious!!  It came with a side dish containing mashed carrots, potatoes and peas. 

Thanks for stopping by to read more about my wonderful trip to Ireland!  More to come....

5 comments:

Lin said...

More beautiful greens - lush indeed! Enjoying these, so glad there's more coming, Linda!

Virginia L. said...

Wow, the photos are so picturesque! I am envious with GREEN( so Irish, I know!). I hope to see those places some day! TFS, Linda!

Judy1223 said...

Linda, more awesome photos and stories...I love it!

stampingandstitching said...

Lol that day was so typical of our sometimes unpredictable weather - sunscreen in the morning and umbrellas in the afternoon! Love your beautiful photos of Blarney Castle and grounds, I loved spending hours wandering around there. Your photo of Muckross House is beautiful too, with the downpour that afternoon I must have forgotten to have taken a photo of it!

Barb said...

Sounds like another wonderful experience in Ireland, Linda! Glad to know you've got more posts from your trip coming - loving them!