After settling in to our first night in the stables, I was still under the weather, so while the rest of the fam ventured out to the Gap of Dunloe, I stayed behind to cough in peace and quiet.
For those who opted not to walk the 7 miles through the Gap, there were jaunting cars to to carry visitors through the scenery.
While the rest of the fam was out all day, I decided to explore the property a bit.
After some time talking to the sheep family, I took in some more of the property.
Tuesday, most of us ventured to Kenmare. Hubs and some of the other guys golfed. The rest of us wandered the little town in search of woolens and other souvenirs. Some may have also sat outside with a pint or two as we all meandered up and down the couple of streets that made up the town. I might have also had a couple of amazing oat milk lattes and a delicious affogato.
After dinner Tuesday night, when we still had a respite from the clouds, several of us walked down to the pier to see what we could see.
On Wednesday, a brave and adventurous group journeyed out to Skellig Michael, where they climbed up a very scary and steep route of 618 stone steps, to see the famed monastery that sat at the top. TG, Hubs, and I were not part of that group. Those of us who stayed behind “enjoyed” a “scintillating” stop on the infamous Moran Family Infrastructure Tour: The Transatlantic Cable Station. The entire “museum” consisted of a single room dedicated to transatlantic communications, in particular, the trials and tribulations of the Transatlantic Cable Project. It was not photo-worthy, but if you’re so inclined, you can learn about it here: https://valentiaisland.ie/valentia-transatlantic-cable-station-post/
Once the climbing crew was finished, we all found some lunch and then met up at the Skellig Six 18 Distillery (named for Skellig Michael, natch) for another kind of tour. It was a bit interesting, as this was a true, working distillery. We learned about various aspects of distilling both whiskey and gin. The best part was the tasting at the end. First, we tasted the whiskey (TG had a soda). I’m not a big whiskey drinker, but I will say it was quite smooth. Then came the gin. THAT was a treat. First, we drank it straight up. It was really nice! Smooth, a bit fruity but not really sweet. Then, we added some ice, tonic, and a wedge of grapefruit. I dare say it was the best G&T I’d ever had. Though it was not as budget friendly as it would have been if we purchased it at the duty free, we did our part to support this small business and bought a bottle each of gin and whiskey to bring home.
Stay tuned for more adventures in the next installment.