Today was a full day! The Abbey Lodge offers a full Irish breakfast buffet, with additional options of oatmeal or pancakes for breakfast. There is a lovely sun room to enjoy your meal (it was full, so I'll take a picture next time). As you can see, we ordered the oatmeal which came with a nice surprise! A shot of Baileys! That promptly when into my coffee! Back at the room, we packed up and waited for Padraig to pick us up. We met Padraig O'Brien last year when we needed a fair cab ride to Killarney. We were thrilled to get to reconnect with him for a couple transfers we would be needing. During our drive, Padraig filled us in on bits of details you only learn from a local. We had such a wonderful conversation! When I asked the fare, he just said we would settle it after our next transfer "and we will fight over it then". A real gem!
We dropped our baggage before check-in at the Benners Hotel, then wandered around to get to know the area.
We made our way to Tralee Town Park where it seems a lot of people come to enjoy a walk or run on their lunch break, or simply a walk in the paths around the rose gardens and Garden of the Senses.
This garden was established in 2000 to appeal to all five senses in the Tralee Town Park and highlights items from Celtic mythology.
SIGHT - Standing Stone
SOUND - Horns of Clogherclemin
We had been in touch with our friend, Theresa, and she picked us up at the front of the museum at 1pm for lunch and a tour around. And yes, we met Theresa at the hospital last year.
We drove a short ways out of town to Banna Beach. It was just breathtaking with the fresh sea air, and the breeze. Banna Beach is frequented by locals throughout the year. In the background of this photo, you can see Mount Brandon. We will be climbing Mount Brandon next week.
We carried on to Ardfert to Kate Brownes Restaurant & Pub. This cute restaurant was quite busy and serves a variety of dishes, including seafood and Irish fare. I wasn't overly hungry, but couldn't wait to dig into a roast lamb sandwich - so tender! Bill had some traditional fish and chips.
After lunch, Theresa drove us out to Fenit.
In the picture below, Mount Brandon is cloud covered in the middle, but if you look closely, you can see a beach stretches out behind the Fenit pier. We will be walking along the beach. Also, that isn't sealife bobbing in the water. Locals often come out here as well to swim in the cold water.
Fenit is the home of a monument of Saint Brendan the Navigator. Some claim that he was actually the first to cross the Atlantic to North America on a leather clad sailing boat.
Along the path, there were some other interesting stones.
This tri-circle design represents unending eternity.
This is a Cloch Ogham Stone displaying traditional Irish writing from around 350-600 AD.
This is a Riasc Stone. These stone artifacts are dated back to the 6th to 7th century and were discovered on the Dingle Peninsula. They are decorated with spiral designs and a cross.
From there, we made our way back to Tralee and said our good-byes to Theresa. Thank you, Theresa, for taking time from your day and sharing so much knowledge with us! We hope to catch up with her again in Killarney on one of our rest days.
We checked into the Benners Hotel and settled into our room. Our window is street facing.
After checking emails and texts, we decided to check out the restaurant downstairs for a light supper. The Atlantic Fish Chowder was fabulous with a touch of dill and chives and a side of Irish soda bread. We both enjoyed it immensely! A side order of chicken wings topped us up.
We settled into the evening and listened to the Wednesday night street traffic while writing notes and blogging.
