Chauffeurdriven tour in West of Ireland with Dove chauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

This morning i collected my latest arrivals at Shannon airport, Barbara and Phil, all the way from Illinois. (pictured above). The morning was bright and sunny, and this only improved as the day went on. What a lovely way to begin an Irish vacation.

 We made our way to Galway, where they were to have a laid back day, as they were tired after their journey, and did not sleep on the plane. We did take a trip around the city of Galway, and in the photo above, my friends are pictured in Salthill Park on the seafront, with Galway Bay and the hills of County Clare in the background. This was the area where i was born and reared, and we swam all Summer long down on the seashore here. Yes, you can swim here. Remember we do have the Gulf stream on our western shores, and it does keep the waters nice and warm, well warm enough for us anyway.
If you are used to a heated pool, then you might find it a little cool.
Today was a lovely start to a new tour with a lovely couple,who are on this special vacation to celebrate a very large anniversary, 55years of married life together. Congratulations, and i will do my very best to make sure that you have a lovely vacation.

Chauffeurdriven vacations in Ireland with Dave Hogan and Dovechauffeurdrive

My latest tour with Dorothy and Joanne has just ended, and they were a joy to be with. They were here to enjoy Ireland, and i know that Ireland did not let them down. Here are some of my favourite photos from their trip.

In the photo above, dancing together in Lisdoonvara at the Matchmaking Festival.

Loving their visit in the sun to the Cliffs of Moher.

Arriving back in Killarney in their boat, at the end of their trip to the Gap of Dunloe.

 Having fun with that great street entertainer, Eric, on the main street in Killarney. He is a true blood busker, and make sure you say hello to him for me.

Pictured together in the grounds of the Blarney Castle. Please ignore the rubbish you see printed about the Blarney stone being unsafe to kiss. The stone is at the top of the castle, and always attended during the day, and the castle is all locked up at night. Ignore the fun-spoilers.

Cuddling this lovely new born baby lamb in Dingle.

Enjoying a warm greeting from these two lovely local ladies in Cove.

And what better way to finish an Irish tour than with a full Irish breakfast.Its all there, bacon sausage , black and white pudding, mushrooms and scrambled eggs. Ohh, and toast. 

Finally, a special word of thanks to these two ladies, who were such great fun. 

If you wish to contact me, you can do so from the enquiries page on my Blog or website.

You can also e-mail me 

dovechauffeurdrive@gmail.com

Jameson's Distillery on chauffeurdriven tour with Dave Hogan and Dovechauffeurdrive

 My ladies, pictured in the fountain garden at the front of the MacDonald Carlton Hotel this morning. This is a really nice hotel located on the outskirts of Kinsale, and i would highly recommend same.

 Our destination today was the wonderful, and famous, Jameson Distillery in Middleton county Cork. A tour of this distillery is a real treat for any whiskey lover.

 Another lovely picture of the ladies in front of the distillery, with a real life still on the lawn.

 The ladies really enjoyed their tour, and the free whiskey samples available at the end of that tour. There is also a shop there where you can buy whiskey to take away ,and it is not uncommon for many people to purchase takeaways. In Joanne's case, her purchases maybe went a little too far. I know that she said her Dad likes a drop, but this is going a little too far.

 After leaving Middleton we made our way to Cove, the famous harbour at the mouth of the river Lee in Cork. It was from this port that the vast amount of our emigrants departed on their way to the New World. It was from here also that the Titanic departed on her fatal, final, and only voyage. Here we have Joanne, pictured with a large cruise liner in the background.

 Here we have the ladies, pictured with the Cove Heritage center in the background.

 What a lovely picture. These beauties posed with my pals in their lovely period hand made costumes inside the heritage center.

 Annie Moore and her two young brothers were the first people to register at Ellis Island in 1892, and here we have the ladies, seated at the foot of this memorial to that famous trio.

Our final visit today was to the wonderful Charles Fort on the hillside overlooking Kinsale Harbour.

Chauffeurdriven tour to Blarney Castle and Kinsale

 Joanne and Dorothy in the grounds of the Blarney castle today.The trees have their Irish woolen sweaters on.

 The weather was fine when we arrived in Blarney as you can see from the picture of Joanne and Dorothy in the grounds of the Blarney Castle with the castle in the background.

The ladies may look slightly chopped off in this picture but i was trying to include the top of the castle, and the opening you can see in the top wall where the daylight is peeping through. That is where the famous Blarney stone is located, and you can actually see someone preparing to lean back up there to kiss the stone.

 This is a view of the town of Kinsale from the hill at Charles Fort.

The massive fort was built to protect this strategically important harbour from a possible invasion by the French or the Spaniards.
Our weather was to turn very misty and foggy as the afternoon wore on, which did not allow for many great photos. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little better.

Joanne sends her greeting to Auntie Barb, her Dad Bob, and all back home. Both Dorothy and Joanne send very special greetings to Bob on his birthday.  Happy birthday Bob, all the way from Ireland. They hope to raise a toast to all of you when we visit the World renowned Jameson Distillery in Middleton in county Cork tomorrow. Wish you were here to participate, you would enjoy the world's best whiskey.

See you tomorrow, here on the Blog.

Gap of Dunloe on chauffeurdriven tour with Dovechauffeurdrive and Dave Hogan

 Today was the ladies day on the Gap of Dunloe tour, which is a journey on the horse drawn carts, on an ancient road, up through an ice age gorge, followed by a journey in the open boats down through the lakes of Killarney, and back to Ross Castle in Killarney. In the picture above we have the ladies boat arriving back to the Castle at the end of their journey.

Pictured together in the sunshine at Ross castle in Killarney.

 Tonight we dined in a lovely Mexican restaurant in Killarney, Casita Mexicana, and if you do like Mexican food, then give this place a shot while in Killarney. It is just off High Street in the town center.

After leaving the restaurant we stopped off in the main street to listen to Eric, a great street entertainer, who, donned with his Donald wig, had everybody in virtual stitches. He is quiet a character.
Tomorrow we leave Killarney behind as we begin the next leg of our journey, on our way to the Blarney Castle and Kinsale.

If you need me just drop me a line.

Dingle on Chauffeurdriven vacation with Dave Hogan and Dovechauffeurdrive

Joanne and Dorothy at Inch beach on the Dingle peninsula. This was a rather misty day, which did not allow for the best visibility, but we did have a lovely day regardless.

A patchwork hillside near Dingle town, and a lovely photo of Dorothy.

Dingle is famous for its ancient beehive huts, and here we have the two ladies, posing inside the entrance to one of them near Slea Head. Unfortunately, many of them have been damaged, due to people removing the rounded roof stones to build other structures.

This was a real treat for the ladies, the holding of this lovely four week old lamb near Slea Head. The guy, with the same hair colour as the lamb, is yours truly.

Now Dorothy is getting up close and familiar with the lamb, in another lovely photo.

Here we see the ladies, inside one of the Beehive huts.In the photo below we have the ladies enjoying the message on this multi coloured van.

Another lovely picture of Joanne, sitting on the wall near Slea Head, with the misty haze, adding to the beauty of this wonderful place.

These two guys are obviously locals, and look like they are waiting for somebody inside the house to bring them their breakfast.

The Celtic Steps Show in Killarney is a feast of the best of Irish dance and music, and that was where the day ended for us last night.

Waiting patiently for the show to commence. This is a show well worth attending, and is held in the auditorium at the Killarney racecourse, and really lovely venue in a magnificent setting.

To finish off my Blog today, what better way than with this really lovely picture of Joanne with her pet lamb. She could have brought her home with her.

Killarney, Torc, and Ladies View on Cauffeurdriven tour with Dave Hogan and Dovechauffeurdrive.

 How better could you post a picture of the famous "Ladies View in Killarney than to have a lady doing just that. Here we have Dorothy, taking in this spectacular view from high in the mountains outside Killarney. This is the spot where Queen Victoria stood, and declared this to be "the most beautiful view in the Kingdom".

 On your way up to Ladies view you can spend time enjoying a short stroll through the woods to see the lovely Torc Waterfall. Here we have Dorothy and Joanne, making their way through the trees on their way to the Falls.

 It may not be Niagara, but it is beautiful, and what a lovely picture of these two lovely ladies, as they pose together, with the waterfall in the background.

 Another lovely picture of the ladies, with the magnificent lakes of Killarney in the valley down below.

 We just had to get a picture of the ladies posing with this berry laden tree adding even more colour to this magnificent area.

Well if you are looking for Leprechauns, than this is the kind of place you are most likely to find them. Make sure you come here at night, but be prepared, as these little guys like to play tricks on you, especially if you are a tourist. Just make sure that you do not try to play tricks on them, nothing annoys them more. Like a lot of us Irish, they like to clown around a little. Political correctness is not a big deal with them. Maybe we could learn from them and not take everything so seriously, and learn how to laugh at ourselves again.

Chauffeurdriven vacations in Ireland with Dave Hogan and Dovechauffeurdrive

The forecast for this day had been rather poor but what a lovely surprise we had in store as we made our way into the Burren of County Clare and the Cliffs of Moher. In the picture above we have, from the left, Dorothy, and Joanne, standing on the roadside on the Corkscrew hill in the Burren with Galway Bay in the background.

Our first stop off was in Lisdoonvarna where the largest world's largest singles gathering, and the Annual Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival takes place. In this picture we have the ladies once again pictured outside the Matchmaker Bar, ont of the many venues for the festivities.

The ladies just had to take the dance floor inside the pub, and remember, this was all happening around midday. Just imagine what it would be like here later that evening.This Festival runs for a period of six long weeks, beginning in September. Still time to get there if you are looking for a husband or a wife?

Well, i did manage to extricate them from the pub, and i can tell you that that was no easy job.

We arrived a little later at the awesome cliffs, and here we have the girls basking in the beautiful sunshine.

Another lovely view of the Cliffs in the sunshine.

Here we have the ladies once again at the top of the climb with O'Brien's Tower in the background.

Our journey was to take us around the coast of Galway Bay where the slab limestone slopes down to the sea.

A field of mixed breeds of ponies, including a large Connemara pony nearest the camera.

Finally, a picture of my own little pal, Taffy, when we finally made a stop off at my home on the way back to Galway.
What a lovely day was had by one and all today, and the surprise of the unexpected glorious sunshine was a great bonus.