We started off by touring through the town of Limerick. This is where the book "Angela's Ashes" was set and where Frank McCourt grew up. Our driver, Joe, showed us the spots where Frank went to school and lived, but of course it all looks very different than it did in the 1930s and 40s.
One of the streets in Limerick...
Jim and St. Mary's Cathedral in Limerick, built around 1194...
This is the Town Hall. The pink girders are a little out of character with the rest of the surroundings, but they certainly do stand out.
Bridge over the Shannon River in Limerick. It is the longest river in Ireland.
One of the many flower baskets in the town...
City street in Limerick...
Very clean town...
From Limerick, it was on to the town of Adare, which won a silver medal in a recent contest for the Neatest Town. It is very pretty with its stores with thatched roofs.
Lots of beautiful flowers...
The colours are spectacular...
One of the many quaint shops...
We had two hours to spend in Adare, so we walked back to the church which we had noticed on the way into town.
The church which was originally the Black Friars Abbey.
This is a lot of scarecrows to guard this small garden!
Ruins of Desmond Castle built in 1202 on the River Maigue on the other side of the road...
There is a beautiful paved walking trail running beside the river. This sign shows all the different bird species you would find here...
One of the many signs along the path...
We found a perfect stone to set the camera on and use the self-timer. Ten seconds to run into the picture! The abbey in the background...
One of the many interesting stone figures on the side of the abbey...
Beautiful stained glass window in the abbey...
Some interesting statistics in the town of Adare...the abbeys and castle are from the 11th and 12th centuries. No wonder we always seem like such a young country!
How could you not love a place with this name!
The gorgeous Irish countryside...
No self-timer here! Lots of bus mates to snap your picture...
The Killarney lakes...
This horse was so patient. Some kids ran to get an apple to feed him, but he wasn't interested.
More countryside...look at that gorgeous sky. After many weeks of rain, people are very happy to see the sun!
We arrived at our hotel around 5:00 p.m. Some people opted to go for a ride on the jaunting cars (horse and cart), but we're saving that until tomorrow. We had dinner around 7:00 p.m. and then walked into the town of Killarney.
One of the many alleys...
Sheehan's Pub which had some lively music...
A very busy street...
It was getting dark, so we headed back to the hotel.
Dromhall Hotel...our home for the next three days.
Tomorrow we head out to explore the Dingle Peninsula...
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