mountains

This is post #12 of a blog series I’m writing including pictures of the recent amazing trip I took with our precious, beautiful daughter Leah. Here are posts:

#1, My daughter Leah and I went to Ireland,

#2, Ireland: Dreams Come True,

#3, We visited Bunratty Castle in Ireland,

#4, Bunratty Folk Park: the waterfall, the lamb, and the fairy village,

#5, The Gorgeous Cliffs of Moher,

#6, Galway Girl,

#7, Galway Girl, Part 2,

#8, Treacherous Corkscrew Hill,

#9, The ferry in Kerry County.

#10, Torc Waterfall, and

#11, Killorglin: flies, a spider, and a moving bed, and a French couple!

We took so many pictures with our phones that I need to break up the posts, to make it easier for you to read, as I know you live a busy, hectic life like mine and you don’t have lots of spare time!

I hope these blogs inspire and bless you. I thank my Lord Jesus Christ, who made this amazing opportunity and prayer possible.

The year is wrapping up and I’d like to wrap up this Ireland blog series soon. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series as I’ve shared the amazing journey I had with our precious daughter Leah for our first trip to Ireland. It was so gorgeous (pics don’t do its beauty justice!) and so fun, and I pray we return again soon. We’d both love to go back!

There are two more B & B’s in Ireland, where we stayed that were so peaceful. I’ll share about them and Ladies’ View in the mountains.

The next B & B where we stayed was nestled among the mountains just outside the town of Kenmare. The land also has palm trees, which I love. 

Kenmare mountains

beautiful Kenmare mountains and palm trees

palm trees

It was one of the prettiest B & B’s we stayed at in Ireland. It also had one of the best breakfast meals.

As usual, the flowers outside were gorgeous and the hostess had a crystal vase of lovely yellow ones in her home.

flowers outside

The flowers thrive in Ireland due to rain

vase of flowers

This is the outside of the B & B in Kenmare. Leah told me that I shouldn’t park on the left side of the parking lot, but I thought it didn’t matter. Well, she was right! The owner asked me to move the car as soon as we stepped inside and met her! Yes, listen to your children! 

Kenmare B & B

The B & B owner also had a bookshelf filled with books. I love books (being an author, of course I do!), and normally I’d read, but I didn’t that night. Instead, Leah and I organized all our stuff because we were getting near the end of our trip. You often go home with more than you brought, from buying souvenirs for family and friends.

bookcase

Be sure to not buy large, bulky souvenirs (or extremely fragile ones), because you may have to pay extra for luggage on your flights home. You also have to declare anything you purchased in other countries when you go through U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

I had bought a few postcards for family and friends, and loved the little desk in our B & B room to write on.

Irish postcards for family & friends

cute writing desk at B & B

The hostess set such a pretty table the next morning, with fresh juice, scones, and biscuits for her guests. There was an abundance of fresh fruit, cereal, different types of teas, coffee, and she offered a full Irish breakfast as well as other items for the menu. Leah tried an egg benedict with smoked salmon and hollondaise and liked it. 

Kenmare B & B table

fresh fruit

We went shopping in the town of Kenmare before we left for our next B & B in Kilkenny, the last place we stayed before flying home. The towns look similar with the town square, colored buildings (such as pink, green, or yellow), but they are all different. I saw a bistro with the name of our daughter Heather and a shop with our granddaughter Annabelle’s name (although the spelling was different on this one) and I laughed, taking pics of them.

Kenmare town center

The Purple Heather bistro

Kenmare store named Annabel

Here we found a post office to mail my postcards, which was interesting. They were about 1.50 pounds each to mail to the U.S. I bought Leah a little sketch book here as a souvenir.

Any time you visit another country, the smallest things can seem intriguing—such as the post office or what gas pumps look like! Gas is called “diesel” or “unleaded petrol” in Ireland. If you ask where a gas station is, people may not know what you are talking about so say “petrol.”

You MUST put the right kind of petrol into your car or it can wreck your engine! Don’t turn on your engine if you do this! You’ll have to get it drained, which is very expensive. Thank God I didn’t do this! Diesel has a black pump and unleaded has green. They are clearly marked, and prices vary. 

At one convenience store, I had to enter a code to use the public restroom, located in another building outside the store! I guess they use codes instead of keys, like U.S. public restrooms at stores have.

Leah inside Irish post office

mailing my postcards at the post office in Kenmare

Kenmare gas pump

You need a code to use public restrooms

The other thing I found strange and funny was that there are often little laundry mats in the parking lots at convenience stores!

Kenmare laundry mat in parking lot

One shop’s window display had little musicians statues and a miniature drum set, which I thought were cute and pointed out to Leah since she plays the violin.

store window display of musician statues

miniature drum set in store window

Our granddaughter Annabelle wants to learn to play the harp. I took a pic of one in a store for her.

harp in store

In Kenmare, Leah and I ate lunch in a pub, since they are often less expensive than restaurants. She tried an Irish coffee with Bailey’s Irish cream instead of whiskey. She liked it. It looked so good, but I knew I would be driving so I waited until we were at the airport to try one!

pub in Kenmare

Leah’s Irish coffee

We found a cozy corner to sit in for more privacy where we could chat and eat. The pub had a beautiful stained glass picture by our table. Here is Leah playing a game on her phone as we waited on our sandwiches. She downloaded new games in Ireland, that she thought were a lot of fun. She ordered a tuna panini and I got a chicken/red pepper/cheese panini and we shared “chips” (french fries). It was tasty! The french fries in Ireland are SO good!

stained glass pic at our table

Leah playing game on her phone at pub

our panini sandwiches and “chips” (french fries)

me in Kenmare pub

There were a couple of men who came in and sat at the bar, drinking beer (probably Guinness!) and watching sports on TV while we ate. I took a pic for my sister Maria, which embarrassed Leah that I was taking pics of random people. I later joked to to Maria that I’d found her some Irish men and she needed to be there! Next time I go to Ireland, maybe she will go with me and find her Mr. Right!

Irish men for my sister Maria, drinking beer at pub

The Irish cuss. Like, a LOT! Before going there, I’d watched a travel video on Ireland, where the guy warned you about this and other cultural differences from America (although this seems to be common in the US, too, though not as frequently as in Ireland). Men, women, teens, and kids cuss constantly. You hear it everywhere, especially the “F” word. In one store window display, I saw this hoodie with what seems to be the Irish motto. I took a pic of it too for my sister’s amusement. Ireland was indeed GRAND! I can’t wait to go BACK!

The Irish cuss a LOT! Hoodie inscription

I saw this book in a store window display and thought the title was funny: I’m Dead. Now What?

funny book title

These cute heart dress and rain boots in a store window display would look cute on our granddaughters Annabelle, Violet, Piper, and Willow.

cute heart dress & rain boots

Irish white lace is beautiful, such as this slip or night gown. I saw quite a bit of lace in stores. It is not cheap, but very well made.

beautiful white Irish lace gown

In my next post in this Ireland blog series, I’ll share pics with you of Ladies’ View in the mountains and the cute cafe there, where Leah and I stopped for chocolate and coffee (actually before we arrived in Kenmare, driving through treacherous curves in the mountains)! A much needed treat and place to relax!

hyacinths in Ireland