Touring the west of Ireland with Dave Hogan Chauffeurdriven vacations.

This morning i met up once again with Sara and Dianne, Trevor and Sue, in Killarney. As i have two tours running separately at this point in time, i myself have one of my other drivers looking after Sara and Dianne ,and Sue and Trevor, but we are all together in Killarney at the moment. Yesterday this party left Galway and did not arrive in Killarney until late in the afternoon after enjoying Adare and some of the surrounding areas in Killarney such as Muckross and Ladies View on the Ring of Kerry.
Above we have them pictured enjoying a great breakfast in the Killarney Plaza Hotel which is one of my own personal favourites.

I took this picture as they were all set to go on their exciting trip to the Dingle peninsula today. From the left we have, Sara, Dianne, poor Sue (partially hidden in the back..... my fault) and Trevor.
They were all fit and happy when i met up with them this morning and very pleased with everything so far. I know that Dingle will not disappoint them. I am sure that when we meet up later that they will have much to relate to me about their Dingle adventure.

Today i myself will be mostly in Killarney as my party have to attend a wedding here. Later they will be travelling to Tralee to the wedding breakfast. This is their first experience of an Irish wedding and i think that they are in for a surprise. The expected wedding breakfast group is in the region of 300 people. I would imagine that the barmen will be quiet busy.

Update on Chuck and Gerry's tour.

This morning, (Wednesday), i collected Chuck and Gerry at Adare Manor,(pictured above) where they had stayed overnight. This is a magnificent hotel located in the famous and historical town of Adare. Below are some of the pictures i took here today.

Chuck and Gerry in the gardens with the magnificent manor in the background.

Here we have Chuck and Gerry with Anita, the hotel manager, pictured in the reception area before we left for Killarney.

The gardens with the golf course and river in the early morning fog. Adare is such a wonderful place for a quiet peaceful break.

After leaving Adare we made our way to Killarney and our next hotel, the Killarney Park Hotel. This hotel is situated right in the heart of the town and is a wonderful hotel. It is not a very  large hotel but is an exclusive one and really exceptional if you are looking for high class accommodation. I would recommend this hotel highly.

I took this picture in the hotel reception area, and it endorses my opinion of this hotel. I also endorse Trip Advisor as i find that in general, public opinion, aired through Trip Advisor, is most helpful. I like to post there myself at times, and find that my opinion is also appreciated.

After getting Chuck and Gerry settled in to their new hotel, we went for lunch at Quinlan's Seafood restaurant in Killarney. I love Quinlans's, and their fish and seafood, french fries (chips) and mushy peas, are always on my list of "must have's"when i am in Killarney. Make sure you get yourself there.

Now we were on our way to the magical "Gap of Dunloe". This is a mountain gorge which was created by a giant glacier during the ice age, which carved its way through the Kerry mountains. The road is not for inexperienced drivers and none other than people who live in the Gap area are welcome to drive here. These are narrow dangerous roads, and navigated mainly by the horse drawn carriages which take you on a wonderful journey up through the mountains and down to the lakes of Killarney, from where you can take a boat ride down through the lakes of Killarney and back to the town at Ross castle.

 Chuck, pictured as we made our way through the Gap, with one of the many glacial lakes behind him. Note the huge rocks on either side of the road, which have stood there for centuries.

The roads throught the Gap are extremely narrow and dangerous as you can see from this picture.

They can be quiet scarey also, as you can see from Gerry's reaction in this picture. She did brave it out however.

Another view of the road from the top of the mountains.

Some of the natives having an easy day.

Finally at the top at Moll's Gap with the Gap in the distance between the mountains.

One of the many glacial lakes as we make our way back down into the Killarney National Park.

Chuck and Gerry, sitting on a large rock at Ladies View. No wonder Queen Victoria proclaimed it to be the most be the most beautiful view in the kingdom.

Well i did have to get in on the act somewhere.

And finally, later on we met up with Patrick O'Sullivan in the Killarney Park Hotel. Patrick's son is getting married today, Thursday, and here we were making final arrangements for the wedding. I will be posting those pictures in our next Blog.