BlogPostThursday13Aug09: 6:30 am
Today we will hit the road with Jim driving - going west to Killarney and then – we’ll decide as we go. This is his first driving test – made it from the airport south of Cork but no other attempts.
Yesterday, Wednesday, was a great touristy day. Jim to internet café and shopping for boat sweater, then we took a Road Train trip around town twisting and turning on the twisty-turny narrow streets and out of town around the harbor up to Charles Fort. The little road train was built in Portugal and is a delightful way to tour with the driver explaining what we are seeing all along. (If I don’t forget I’ll insert a photo of the road train – a really neat vehicle!) Then home for lunch and back out in the afternoon for a Harbor Cruise of an hour – a very pleasant trip with Captain Jerome – he recommended The Spaniard for good music on Wednesday nights but we didn’t make that – music doesn’t start till 21.00 nearly our bedtime! In the inner and middle harbor we saw Kinsale Yacht Club orange sails boats where young people wearing helmets were taking sailing lessons. Then by the KYC club house to check it out, and buy souvenirs of course. On the harbor cruise we met a couple from Zimbabwe.
Which reminds me of the variety of people from all over the world who are on holiday here. It does seem most are of European origin. I’ve seen no dark-skinned people except for one couple from the Middle East. Notably, baby strollers are everywhere! They almost seem to be a device for keeping the cars from running over folks!
We renewed our supply of euros at the Bank of Ireland ATM machine. My debit card from Wachovia worked fine. Came home by the wine store - we are enjoying wines from Chile, Argentina, and Italy so far. Did see a Gallo but have foregone that pleasure. My favorite so far is Santa Carolina – a chardonnay from Chile.
Now its Jim’s turn: Jackie is a wonderful hostess. She already has the lay of the land all figured out. Apartment is wonderful, cozy, and close to everything. Our residence has the usual for Europe mini fridge, mini clothes washer, mini dishwasher! Anne, we even found a Luigi Bosca Malbec yesterday in the local wine shop. We have had fish and chips at Dino’s on the quay, just down the road from the Yacht Club and I had another helping of cod and chips from Fishy Fish, the fish store and eatery just down from Jackie’s apartment. Today we will drive west from Kinsale and do the Ring of Kerry (Ireland’s Amalfi Drive} and/or the Dingle peninsula. Tomorrow or the next day we plan to head east toward Waterford to see the crystal business there. N.B. Production of crystal at Waterford ceased a few months ago and, reportedly, not likely to begin again, ever. There is a museum and shop still open for visitors and shoppers. I’m already trying to convince Jackie that she needs to do this renting of apartments abroad on an annual basis! Ireland, not unlike much of the world these days, has a huge unemployment problem and I saw long lines at the social services building yesterday. The newspapers lead with stories about the increasing numbers of people that are applying for help from government services to those with delinquent mortgages and credit cards. Lines at tourist attractions are apparently not what they used to be in August, the favorite month for European vacations.
Today we will hit the road with Jim driving - going west to Killarney and then – we’ll decide as we go. This is his first driving test – made it from the airport south of Cork but no other attempts.
Yesterday, Wednesday, was a great touristy day. Jim to internet café and shopping for boat sweater, then we took a Road Train trip around town twisting and turning on the twisty-turny narrow streets and out of town around the harbor up to Charles Fort. The little road train was built in Portugal and is a delightful way to tour with the driver explaining what we are seeing all along. (If I don’t forget I’ll insert a photo of the road train – a really neat vehicle!) Then home for lunch and back out in the afternoon for a Harbor Cruise of an hour – a very pleasant trip with Captain Jerome – he recommended The Spaniard for good music on Wednesday nights but we didn’t make that – music doesn’t start till 21.00 nearly our bedtime! In the inner and middle harbor we saw Kinsale Yacht Club orange sails boats where young people wearing helmets were taking sailing lessons. Then by the KYC club house to check it out, and buy souvenirs of course. On the harbor cruise we met a couple from Zimbabwe.
Which reminds me of the variety of people from all over the world who are on holiday here. It does seem most are of European origin. I’ve seen no dark-skinned people except for one couple from the Middle East. Notably, baby strollers are everywhere! They almost seem to be a device for keeping the cars from running over folks!
We renewed our supply of euros at the Bank of Ireland ATM machine. My debit card from Wachovia worked fine. Came home by the wine store - we are enjoying wines from Chile, Argentina, and Italy so far. Did see a Gallo but have foregone that pleasure. My favorite so far is Santa Carolina – a chardonnay from Chile.
Now its Jim’s turn: Jackie is a wonderful hostess. She already has the lay of the land all figured out. Apartment is wonderful, cozy, and close to everything. Our residence has the usual for Europe mini fridge, mini clothes washer, mini dishwasher! Anne, we even found a Luigi Bosca Malbec yesterday in the local wine shop. We have had fish and chips at Dino’s on the quay, just down the road from the Yacht Club and I had another helping of cod and chips from Fishy Fish, the fish store and eatery just down from Jackie’s apartment. Today we will drive west from Kinsale and do the Ring of Kerry (Ireland’s Amalfi Drive} and/or the Dingle peninsula. Tomorrow or the next day we plan to head east toward Waterford to see the crystal business there. N.B. Production of crystal at Waterford ceased a few months ago and, reportedly, not likely to begin again, ever. There is a museum and shop still open for visitors and shoppers. I’m already trying to convince Jackie that she needs to do this renting of apartments abroad on an annual basis! Ireland, not unlike much of the world these days, has a huge unemployment problem and I saw long lines at the social services building yesterday. The newspapers lead with stories about the increasing numbers of people that are applying for help from government services to those with delinquent mortgages and credit cards. Lines at tourist attractions are apparently not what they used to be in August, the favorite month for European vacations.
No comments:
Post a Comment