July 21, 2018
Kenmare
Anyone who has known me for the past 10 years has heard me mention Kenmare at least once. After doing some research at home for years, I wrote into my notebook that if I could ever travel overseas, I would want to visit Kenmare for the stone circle. It became a dream. One that I wrote down. And one that came to pass.
As we were planning this trip, my friends emailed, making sure that if we had any locations we wanted to specifically see that we spoke up. Right away I told them Kenmare. I had to see Kenmare. And it did no disappoint.
When the day came, I’ll admit, I was nervous. Because this was the location I wanted to visit, it felt like there was a lot of pressure on me to deliver a good time for everyone else. Thankfully, the small town did not disappoint. With the colorful architecture and the wonderful shops, there was something for everyone!
During our entire trip, we decided we would spend our money on travel and things to do. This meant we wouldn’t spend our money eating out a lot. Thanks to the lovely Airbnb’s we stayed at, we were able to make food for the most part and take it on the go. But on occasion, we would eat out…at the cheaper locations. No specialty food, but plenty of the garlic mayo that we loved.
Ironically, as we walked around Kenmare, we spent a good thirty minutes trying to figure out what to get for lunch. After stopping at a few restaurants to view their menu for prices, we finally decided on a Spanish tapas restaurant. We’re in Ireland…and we chose Spanish food. I don’t care, that shit was delicious. It was a fairly warm day as we sat outside under the hot sun, so drinks were a necessity.
Finally, the afternoon arrived and it was time to visit what we had come here to visit. The local stone circle. Of course, we had to find it first. this meant we had to find the tourist center. While the group talked with the lady at the front desk, I wandered into the back where they had laid out models of the stone circle, long with some historical facts about the site and Kenmare as a whole. Honestly, if I wasn’t in a group, I never would have found the place because I just stayed in the back of the building with the exhibit the entire time.
Once we had found a map, we began to make our way there. Hidden in the back of the town was the entrance to the circle. With no one manning the small hut, we dropped our money in the box before walking up the small trail.
The sight itself felt like it had been turned into a tourist spot that few people ventured to anymore. But standing there with those rocks, my mind was instantly gone. Immediately I started to carefully look over the middle stone, before wandering to the stones encircling it.
I’m not entirely sure what my group was doing at this point. My head was in a completely different place, plotting and conspiring as to how my characters would end up here, or even if they would end up here.
I took photos of everything, leaving nothing to chance when it came to my memory. It has a tendency to fail me constantly, which is why I was so terrible at tests. Now my notebook is practically bursting with information of Kenmare as a whole, including the geography.
Needless to say, this stop was well worth it. Wish I could tell you more about it but….spoilers…
Oh, and did I mention there is a wishing tree on the site? A freaking wish tree! How cool is that?
Up Next:
Dublin
…great blog 🙂