Chauffeurdriven vacations in the west and south west of Ireland

On Friday morning i collected Chuck and Gerry at their hotel in Killarney to begin our next leg of the journey to Galway. This was a laid back day to allow for a recovery after the wedding yesterday.

Their hotel in Galway is the five star G Hotel, a very modern luxury hotel close to the city centre.

Chuck and Gerry pictured at the entrance to the hotel on our arrival.

I left them at this stage to relax and enjoy the city this evening.

Saturday will be a very special day as i take them out to the Aran Islands and the lovely island of Inishere. On the return leg from the island we will be travelling along under the majestic Cliffs of Moher. This will be quiet a trip.
Make sure to come back to see all the great pictures from this next leg of our exciting journey.

If you need me for anything, just e-mail me.

Dave

Kinvara, Cliffs of Moher and Killarney with chauffeurdriven vacation

This morning we left Kinvara behind as we made our way south on our way to the Cliffs of Moher and Killarney. The picture above was taken on the Corkscrew Hill in the Burren of county Clare. Note the lovely rainbow in the background. Also,the young lady on the left. She turned out to be a Swiss photographer we met here when we stopped to take this photo. Then, from the left, we have, Gene, Shirley, Don and Pat. Unfortunately the young Swiss lady was unable to travel along with us. Awwwwwww well.

We passed through the famous town of Lisdoonvarna, where that great Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking festival is held annually. Here in the month of September every year, the professional matchmakers gather to help find wives and husbands for those looking for same. This tradition dates back to olden times and their record for finding suitable partners for desperate people is second to none. There are no trade-ins allowed,unfortunately.
In the picture above you can see my friends waiting impatiently outside the door of the Matchmaker Bar. You know what they say......the early bird catches the worm.

My happy ladies at the Cliffs

The not so happy guys, after being told at the Matchmaker bar that no married guys were welcome.

Is that the good looking guy that the girls met at Ashford Castle yesterday? What's he doing tagging along?

My friends pictured at St Brigids well near the Cliffs today. Many people come here to pray for their loved ones for many different reasons. The actual entrance door to the well is pictured to the left behind Gene's halo.

Our next stop on our journey to Killarney was in the lovely town of Adare. It is a really special village, and the thatched cottages you see behind my party are very picturesque.

I took this picture inside the Holy Trinity Church in Adare. This beautiful church dates back to the twelve hundreds.Make sure you stop off here, and maybe contribute a small donation to its restoration program.

Here we have Gene, pictured taking one of his many photos on the hillside overlooking Castleisland, with the Kerry mountains on the horizon. Gene is really looking at his best in this picture.

Well, that was another really nice day, and today we got good weather also.
We did have a lot of fun, and also some very good food to keep us going. I have a feeling that some people may put on a little weight over the next few days. You would need to be made of iron to resist Irish food, and i am not made of iron, nor do i wish to be. Someone once said, "Life is short, Start with the dessert."

More fun tomorrow.....come along if you are not too busy.

Dave

Chauffeurdriven Vacations for 2013 with Dovechauffeurdrive Galway Rep of Ireland

"If you ever come across the sea to Ireland"......words from the famous song"Galway Bay". I took this photo from the promenade in Salthill early the other morning. Salthill is the seaside part of this wonderful city, and it was here, in a nursing home on the seafront, that i was born, just a few years ago. I remember looking out the window that morning and asking my mother if i could go for a swim, but she said i would have to wait a little while. I made up for that later as we spent many happy Summer days swimming here on the seafront. Most Americans are surprised that swimming is so common here as they seem to think that the water would be too cold. They forget that we have the Gulf Stream here on our West coast, so maybe you would like to bring your swim suit with you when you come over? In the background in this picture you have the hills of County Clare. The Aran islands are further to the right, but cannot be made out due to an early morning haze. The sun was just coming up when i took this picture, and you can actually see the long shadows on the sand as the early morning sun appeared from the left hand side of my picture.What a lovely place Salthill was to grow up in, and my picture brings back childhood memories of fishing in the early morning from the rocks on the seafront here. Have you ever had a fresh mackerel for breakfast?

This is a picture of the famous Grotto in Ballinspittle in County Cork, the Grotto where people claimed to have seen the statue moving some twenty years ago. Thousands of people flocked to see this for themselves, and many claimed to have been witnesses to this phenomenon. The Grotto is not far from Kinsale on the south coast of Cork.

My dear friend Nancy hugging the statue of the old fisherman in front of the Trident hotel in Kinsale. I really do love this picture, and they are both really cute people.

Nancy and Rita inside the renowned Fishy Fishy restaurant in Kinsale. If you like your fish and seafood, then this is the place to go.

Eating again? This time it was Jim Edwards great restaurant in Kinsale. Well, if you tour with me, then you will do a bit of that. Do not worry though, it is optional, and i do pay for my own. Nancy, bold girl, looks busy with the salt, and that is my plate in the forefront, so keep your eyes to yourself. Rita is showing off her Irish side by holding her fork in her left hand and her knife in her right. By the way, i was not refusing to eat, i was just busy taking the picture before i got stuck in.
I just returned from a few days in Killarney again, and did have a lovely time. The weather at the moment is mixed, windy, showery, but not too cold.Believe it or not, our farmers were praying for rain as we have had a long barren dry spell, and the crops are way behind this year. Once again, the lie that it always rains in Ireland is exposed. Just look at my top photo of Galway Bay the other morning ....and eat your heart out.

If you want to come see for yourself just write to me at "Dovechauffeurdrive@gmail.com".