Cobh is pronounced "Cove"

And the flower of the day is the Rhododendron. Mandy has recommended to me the book Rebecca, in which the flower plays a prominent role in the emotions of the main character, set in England. We've arrive during their brief bloom here in Ireland, and they played a prominent role in our day. The usual low, mossy rock walls were frequently replaced by towering, overhanging, bright blooming tree sized shrubs. At Killarney National Park, we saw the oldest in the area, at 200 years. A beast of a grove of a flowering tree.

A short walk to a huntsman's cottage turned tea room, a jaunt in a jaunting cart, a waterfall, a castle, a walled garden, a rock garden, and a prehistoric copper mine made for an intensely scenic day at Killarney. At the hunter's cottage, it was time to try a scone, with a pot of tea and milk, topped with fresh devonshire cream. It's perfectly clear where myths of leprechauns and fairies arise. One expects to see them under every mossy rock around each trickling stream bursting with lush tropical looking flowers.

The copper mine, reputedly in use since 2500 BC, is also a site for young Irish children to lose their ball in a small bog, retrieving it with a crooked stick, and not a little fear and drama.

Do the jaunting cart drivers wear golf caps just to lure tourists on their search for charming Irishness, or just because they like them? Either way, we are satisfied.Lue lisää