I think I am slowly falling in love with Ireland. Not a passionate sensual infatuation as with Spain, but a developing realisation this a lovely place with lots of familiar and comfortable qualities.

Today we caught the bus from Tralee to Killarney, just a 40 minute ride. We have two nights in the Killarney Lodge Guesthouse, an elegant and charming house full of fine antiques, beautiful paintings and open fire places.

We arrived about midday and thought we would just have to drop our bags and go see the town for a while, but they welcomed us and said our room was ready and would we like tea/coffee and biscuits. We have a room about three times the size of the one we had last night.

Killarney is principally a tourist town being on the Ring of Kerry, and a naturally attractive location on the shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park and the Killarney Lakes. It has a history of tourism going back to 1747 and in 1861 was visited by Queen Victoria and entourage. With the exception of Dublin, Killarney has the most hotel beds of any town or city in Ireland, and the population is only about 12,000. Killarney is another buzzing town with brightly painted shops, pubs, cafes, hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions. It is famous for its ‘jaunting cars’, horse-drawn carts, operated by local jarvies.

We have had a walk around town and sorted out a bike hire shop for tomorrow when we will go out into the Park to see Ross Castle and Muckross House. It is a stunning blue sky day, warm and no wind so we had lunch sitting under an avenue of cherry trees in the grounds of Killarney House looking at Purple Mountain and the MacGillicuddy’s  Reeks (the Black Stacks) a mountain range that includes the highest peak in Ireland, Carrauntoohil, at 1038m. It was so peaceful and relaxing listening to the clip clop, clip clop of the jaunting cars.

Three years ago Barbara and Jo went for a ride in the jaunting cars and Barbara wants to go again to see if the jokes of the jarvies are still the same.

Today is Father’s day in Ireland and lots of families are out picnicking and all the pubs and restaurants are advertising father’s day lunch specials.

Irish proverb for the day: “The older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune”.