Mostly Sheep

To follow up where the last post left off...

On our second day on Valentia Island, we braved the weather (lots of wind, lots of...mist?) and took a little hike to the south-western edge of the island to see Bray Tower.  The walk was mostly a mystery of green and fog with some sheep spattered around us, but the whole time we were walking along a high cliff above the ocean.  Bray Tower kind of snuck up on us, because we couldn't see much more than 30 feet in front of us, but it's beautiful and incredibly lonely out there on the edge of the island all by itself.  See the photos below!  Along with the hike we managed to grab lunch at the only hotel on the island in the village of Knights Town, and take a little stroll around another nearby village of Portmagee.  Portmagee is where the Skellig excursions are based, so there is a whole bunch of Star Wars hoopla now that people know part of the most recent movie was filmed on Skellig.  By a whole bunch I mean there are a few t-shirts for sale, and a couple of photos of Mark Hamill.

On Thursday morning we drove from Valentia to Cork city, and stopped by Blarney on our way.  The castle is really beautiful, but our walk around the grounds was just as enjoyable.  There are nine giant standing stones from the druids, and a full poison garden!

In Cork we stayed in an honest-to-god treehouse.  It's wired and plumbed, wedged between three big trees on top of a hill, and has an incredible view of the entire city below.  The owner even sent up a basket of warm croissants in the morning on the pulley!  Highly recommend.

Our second day in Cork was mostly spent walking around the main part of the city, drinking coffee, and people watching.  We managed to grab a pint at the oldest pub in Cork (Mutton Lane), some great fish and chips (at The Fish Wife), and found a neat record store called The Bunker.

Enjoy the photos below!