Wednesday 13th April

I was rather eager to get out of Stab City this morning.  It was probably mind over matter but whilst Spock snored on last night I thought someone was trying to get into our hotel room.  Spock assures me that it was just hotel noises!!! I wasn’t convinced, I thought they were coming for my kidneys! 
Limerick has been trying for years to live down its reputation as "Stab City", a nickname acquired a decade ago because of a spate of fatal knife attacks in a time of high unemployment.  The homicide rate, per head of population, is equivalent to that of Glasgow, the murder capital of western Europe. 
In soft rain we left Limerick heading for the Dingle Peninsula.  We drove into Adare which is a lovely little village, 20 kms out of Limerick,  with some medieval buildings and some great thatched cottages that look like they are right out of an English village.  We had a quick look around Adare as the thatched cottages were brilliant.
The drive on to the Dingle Peninsula was really quiet stunning.  The Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost promontory in Kerry and Cork’s collection.   The landscape is wild and beautiful.  Northern Dingle is full of low hills, windswept beaches and lots of sheep. We drove through Connor`s Pass, a treeless area of majestic rugged beauty and the highest point on the peninsula. Western Dingle abounds with dramatic cliffs, a breath taking drive with fabulous beaches and historical sites.
Dingle Town itself is located in a natural harbour, this pretty town looks to be the main hub for the peninsula, most of the buildings date from the 1800s, and all are awash with fabulous bright colours, as the houses slope up and down the hills on which the town is built. It’s a very artsy little town and a centre for many great handicrafts. Many of pubs double as shops so one can enjoy a pint sitting amongst gumboots and nails and screws. Dingle town is small enough to walk and big enough to be lively. We did a lovely bit of shopping in Dingle Town, the cheese shop was amazing. Yum.
We have become quiet fond of the afternoon radio quizzes and have a bit of healthy competition happening, of course Spock is in the lead.  Who would ever have guessed that?
With Sheila programed for Killarney, off we go.  Killarney is nestled in a mountain valley on the edge of a beautiful lake.  It has the most picturesque cobbled laneways that are so bright and colourful and the streets are filled with craft shops, galleries and traditional pubs.  We had a lovely walk around the little village of Killarney dropping into St Mary’s Cathedral for a quiet moment or two and then onto a lovely little pub, like any good Mick would do whilst in this part of Ireland.  There we met Paddy and Maggie, two very chatty Irish pub patrons.  They pulled up a stool next to us and chatted on, we admitted to each other after we left that we could only understand about a third of what they were saying, although I think Maggie was a little clearer.  I think it was a mixture of the accent and the booze.  Paddy was very interested in Australia.