Looking back on this trip, these are our reflections.

1. It was a good combination of exercise and touring. The walk on the Dingle Peninsula was an experience we would definitely do again. The walking got us closer to the people and the country.
   
   
2. Using a car to tour during the second week removed us from the immediacy of the experienced, but it kept us dry and allowed us to cover greater distances.
   
   
3. The recommendations of Rick Steves in “Europe Through the Back Door” were generally excellent, though we observed that prices were often higher than he’d indicated. I wish we’d stuck to his recommendation, returned to Dublin a couple of days earlier and taken the train to Northern Ireland.
   
   
4. We found out that if you are getting enough exercise, you can eat like a pig and still lose weight and head toward being as trim as a racing snake.
   
   
5. It is great to have cybercafes available so you have the option of keeping up with what’s going on in your other life.
   
   
6. I learned that Art goes through museums much more slowly than I do, so I need to take a book or find someone to talk to. Otherwise, the caretakers at the Book of Kells exhbit and other places may yell at me!
   
   
7. Art learned that he can wait to eat breakfast until halfway through the serving period, and I learned that if I promise I’ll get up to make it to the halfway through the serving period point, I can get up.
   
   
8. We learned that it’s important to have clean laundry and that it’s worth paying 5 to 10 pounds to have someone do the laundry for us.
   
   
9. We didn’t need as many clothes, but we needed more of some things than others.
   
   
10. Comfortable shoes are a critical necessity when walking.
    
    
11. “Green road” means mud in the rainy season!
    
    

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