Days 1 and 2: Home to Killarney, Ireland

Days 1 and 2        6/27/17 - 6/28/17

We met at noon at the Jr/Sr. High School and took two vehicles to the Detroit airport.

The members of the club going to Explorica's Best of the British Isles tour:

      • Mike Weeks
      • Shari Weeks
      • Derek Jorgensen
      • Kaiden DeBoer
      • Jill DeBoer
      • Jennifer Anderson
      • Vicki Warner
      • Robert Simpson
      • Thomas Miles
      • Steve Miles
We arrived at the airport with a little time to spare despite the road construction. We had no snafus at Metro and moved through security pretty easily.

We got to Chicago (ORD) on time and made it to our gate in time for boarding. The plane was pretty full and we took off on time.

We arrived in Shannon, Ireland 50  minutes early!! It was a breeze going through customs and all of our luggage made it also. Our tour director and bus driver were not even at the airport!!

We met the other groups while we waited at the airport. Hymie had a group of adults from the Ann Arbor area. Lisa had seven students from Little Rock, Arkansas as well as two other adults.

Our tour director Anne Marie arrived shocked that we were there so early. The bus driver arrived and we loaded the bus up. We left the airport and headed for the town of Adere.

Adere has some buildings that were replicas of older houses with thatched roofs. We spent some time exploring the town, but not a lot of shops were open so early. Anne Marie said that a lot of the Irish start their day slowly and are not necessarily punctual for when they open. It's an easy going mentality.

We got back on the bus and headed for Killarney. We spent the first part of our time there exploring and having a meal. we ate at McNamara's, a restaurant that had a friendly gal behind the counter.

After we ate, we explored a little bit, getting groceries at Tesco and seeing the cost of a a night at a youth hostel, which is 20 Euros per night. We also saw some old churches and visited stores in the downtown location.

While we wanted to get our rooms a the the Torc Hotel, we went to Muckross house, a manor that had been converted into a museum. It had picturesque scenery and colorful gardens.

Jill and Kaiden with the beautiful landscape at Muckross House


The weather was cool, but that was better than rain. We had a brief shower in the morning but it was splendid, especially when the sun came out.

Some of our group took a "jaunt" with horses and a cart to see the grounds.

We got back in the bus and headed for out hotel. Most of us dozed as we made our way out of the main part of Killarney.

We arrived and had a few hours to freshen up before our 7:00 p.m, meal. We were all happy to have access to wifi for our phones.

We had fish and chips for our meal. Everyone stayed down and ate as the groups got toknow each other.

Once the meal was done, the participants took off to get ready for bed.

1 Euro = $1.1421

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