Goodbye West Cork. Hello Tralee, Ireland!
A busy day ahead, I woke up at 7:15. Downstairs with the car packed by 7:40. While I waited for my friend to get ready, I had a mocha at the hotel restaurant.
While heading to the airport, we passed a wastewater plant in Bandon. So funny, my family is always seeing them while traveling after working at a plant.
Dropped off my friend at the airport and headed to Charles Fort. A couple with their tour guide was checking it out too and I got to learn some fun facts. The first line of defense at this fort is the moat. It is not filled with water and they did not light it up on fire to keep their enemies out. They originally made their walls too thin, so they added 18 feet thick walls. Unfortunately, that just made the enemies think differently. They learned to undermine them by digging under the walls.
I arrived early, before the gates opened, but I was able to walk along the edges of the fort. I was the first to enter to fort when it opened. It was huge! The whole fort sits on 20 acres. While most of the roofs are off the buildings, you could still see the fireplaces in each home the soldiers would have lived in. I chatted with a lovely man who worked there. When I was waiting for it to open earlier; he was setting up the flags for the day on the top of the fort. It was a foggy day when I visited, but there was a framed photo of an aerial shot of the whole fort on a lovely sunny day.
On my way to Bantry House, I was passing through Innishannon and saw a lovely cafe. I found a parking lot and walked back to find it’s even cuter inside and has a courtyard too. It is called the Found Out Cafe. The tables are wrapped in polka dot fabric. The paintings on the wall are scenic and stylish. I got a table by the window with a view of the pretty flowers in the window planter outside, the quaint street and buildings that are full of character. I ordered a spiced chai, mini Irish breakfast and a fruit scone. The chai is the best I’ve ever had. So flavorful and spicy. Very yummy! The scone was more crumbly than I anticipated, but the jam was so fresh and lovely! What a cute place to have a late breakfast. My waitress and the barista were extra sweet and lovely too.
The entry way to the Bantry House is just as stunning as the home. The Bantry House still has relatives living in the home and hosts a Bed and Breakfast too. There’s incredible artwork, scriptures and furniture taking us back in time. The well manicured garden is surrounding a beautiful fountain. I walked up the Hundred Steps and zigzagged my way down to the other stables, red bridge and what seems like a remote forest. A creek flows through the property making constant peaceful sounds as I focused on catching my breath after making my way up the hill. I stopped by the Bantry Tea Room to grab a mocha. It was served in a lovely Bantry House specific mug. The nice barista made a perfect leaf in the coffee.
While driving by, I saw what I later found out to be Carriganass Castle. It is a ruin of a castle built above a creek. It was gorgeous! The bridge going over the creek was stunning!
I made it to Gougane Barra Forest Park. At the entrance, there’s a beautiful lake with a chapel. There was a wedding just ending when I arrived. It’s such a magical place for a wedding. The restroom building looks like a hobbit hut. It was so cute!! And of course, there are sheep wandering the hills and eating.
I stopped at a lovely cafe called Cronin’s Cafe. I ordered soup again, which was cream of vegetable with a toasted chicken, cheese and bacon sandwich. As usual, yum!
I arrived to the Rose Hotel exhausted from my big day. I got a last minute reservation for the hotel restaurant. I ordered the parsnip soup and Irish beef steak. Since I am here at the hotel, I even ordered a glass of Chardonnay. I’ve never had parsnips, but the soup was delicious! Wow, the steak was delicious too. There was some other type of meat in a small dish on top of the steak that was amazing! The Irish definitely do rare steaks, so if you usually order medium rare in California, order medium or even well done here. I am picky about cooked carrots, but these were really good!
I spoke with a lovely receptionist at the front desk named Marlena. She couldn’t get me another room, but she asked if there was anything else she could do for me. Then, she invited me out with her and her friends after her shift was finished. I got ready at the room and headed out before her shift was over. The bar was doing karaoke! It was so fun all singing along. They sang almost all American songs, so I knew them! I met some wonderful women before the receptionist arrived. They were very sweet and complimentary. When Marlena got to the bar I met even more people. We went to another bar when that one closed and got to dance. It was all American music there too! It was definitely a local place to be. It was so much fun!
