Monday - The Ring of Kerry

Due to our super early arrival on Friday we were able to rearrange our itinerary and free up Monday to drive the Ring of Kerry. It is another beautiful drive with winding roads and beautiful views of the Atlantic. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate quite as we would have liked. The rain stayed away a good part of the day, but the clouds were thicker. We could still see the scenery, but not as well as on the day before.

It was a much more leisurely drive and we were able to make stops in several little towns along the way including Killorglin, Sneem, Mol's Gap and Killarny. 

During our time on the bus, Joe, our driver/guide, has been telling us lots of interesting and informative stories, singing some traditional songs and even throwing in a joke or two. We have learned a lot about Irish history and customs and I am sure we'll hear more before our trip is over.

Last night, most of us went to see a performance at Siamsa Tire-The National Folk Theater. Joe told us the story about Clann  Lir, the show we would see so we could decide if we wanted to go. Clann Lir is a traditional Irish legend about the 4  children of King  Lir who were turned into Swans by their wicked stepmother. The show is sung in Irish with dancing and accompanied by traditional music. So we were all ready to see the beautiful swans, but it turned out that it was a different show playing which we didn't realize until partway through the performance, making for a little confusion, but a lot of laughs!

The show we saw was wonderful, especially once we knew what we were watching. It was Oilean, a story about the people of Blasket Island. It was extra meaningful because we saw the island on our drive along the Dingle Peninsula. We got back pretty late and were ready for bed after a fun evening.

It is now Tuesday morning and we depart Tralee shortly and travel to Blarney to kiss the stone!