Earache

Of course the backyard had the requisite ruins. Wouldn't be Ireland without it...

Went outside after my bath and discovered that those really aren't dark tinted windows in the room. I thought that old lady had a rather surprised look on her face while I was towelling off....

Incredible views from our room. Front Desk guy said they had whale watching boat tours available. Shit, I thought I saw one from my room. So I zoomed in and sure enough, "Thar she blows, matey!"

We ride north along the coast to Spanish Point, (named that as a bunch of Spanish sailor's died in a shipwreck off the point at in the 1400's) and into our home for the next 3 nights; The Armada Hotel (http://www.burkesarmadahotel.com/). Another high dollar place that I wouldn't have personally picked, but the wife didn't ask me. Got a great sea view suite on with a cast iron tub in the middle of the room. I have a few pics of me in the tub taking a bath, but I'll spare you this time. You can thank me later.......

Can't sling a dead cat without hitting a castle ruin around here. Damned things are everywhere.....

Hit the first pub we saw, Crotty's, for lunch when we hit land. Got the usual Rock Star parking again, too...

We're heading for the west coast of Ireland today and need to cross a bay. The line for the ferry was about 100 cars long when we got there and the ferry holds about 25 cars. The trip is 30 minutes long so we were looking at about 1-1/2 to 2 hour wait, right? Not in Europe! Bikes go to the front of the line and don't have to wait. I felt bad passing all of those cars (not!) on my way to the front. Looks warm in the pics, but it was about 45F and very windy, so Judy left her helmet on during the crossing. Lots of old, fat bastards on BMW's on the ferry so I fit right in...

Had a cool little living room area with a nice gflat screen as well. Nice place. Bummed around town that night, dranka few and hit the hay. Tomorrow is a long ride so we took it easy........

Staying in the kickass Fairview Guesthouse in the middle Killarney tonight. Got rock star parking along with a couple of other scooters. Finally got a room with an actual king bed - hard to find here as the rooms are generally pretty small. Had a plasma, firepalce and good view out the window. Need to work on the garish room decor though. Not everyone likes their bedroom to look like a whorehouse....

Getting late in the day and we start humping it back to Killarney, riding along some great twisties along the way.......

Old bridge built by the Romans (the fuckin' Romans!) before they nailed that guy up on a cross back in the day. That's an old assed bridge! Some old guy was crawling around below the bridge and I kept shooting pics of him, hoping to capture the moment when he slipped to his death. But he never did...

Riding was kinda good through here........

Paved goat paths that they call roads; damned near launched it over the side a couple of times as I was looking st shit instead of the road. The wife was oblivious to my riding mistakes though as she was checking out the scenery as well....

Fuckin' Galeic road signs, no wonder I was lost all of the time.....

Dumped all of the luggage at the new hotel before leaving town and then headed for the country on a day trip ride along the coast ....

Killarney is kinda touristy, but they have good places to eat and drink, so I like staying there.......

But they did have a nice pub and I managed to swill down yet another glass of black honey, Nectar of the Gods........

One look at the matching toilet / sink / tub combo and it's confirmed. This is my Grandmother's house! We had planned on staying here two nights, but bail after one in search of nicer digs more suited to a man of my means and social standing....

Enough castle shit, I need a beer. We're in Killarney now and check into the Foley House in the center of town. High dollar place that looked pretty sweet from the outside and had a great location. But the "suite" we had kinda reminded me of my Grandmother's house and smelled more than a little bit of old people's wee...again, much like my Grandmother.

Pics from the outside. Showing the floors, doorway and filled in fireplace mantles. They were filled in to prevent the walls from collapsing...

No pics are allowed in the Castle - dunno why. I went into this room before our tour began and snapped a few before knowing it was illegal. Ah well. This is some of the original furniture and plates from the castle. Also got some shots of the remaining plasterwork around the top of the room. Pretty cool shit.......

Pretty easy to see what's left of the two towers behind the house above. Once through the front door, it leads to the old courtyard and more remains of the tower...

Down the road a bit and we're now in Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland. Home to the Ormond Castle, House of Butler. The house was built in the 1500's while the twin towers of the previous castle were built around 1300 or so. The guy that owned the place was named Butler and his title gave him the right to serve the Queen of England food and wines. This is why service people are now known as "butlers". There you have it; today's history lesson.

We're home now (May 18th) and I'll complete the report. Had shit internet connections that made loading pictures an exercise in futility. Plus, I was drinking too many beers each night and didn't feel like posting very much afterwards. Last post we were in Killkenny (You Bastards!), Ireland. Next stop on the tour was Killarney. We stopped by a castle on the way that was undergoing renovation. They just dump a huge pile of stone in front of the place and the stone cutters start making walls out of it. Time consuming and skilled labor going on here. And I suspect more than 1 or 2 smashed thumbs in the process....

Like many Irish towns, the streets are narrow, full of activity and people. Has a nice castle in the center of town - hope to check it out further tomorrow....