Ireland: Part Two

**I'm not posting pictures for Parts Two and Three because my photo book is finished and you can view the best pictures by clicking here. Other than zooming or cropping I didn't alter the pictures (in other words I don't use Photoshop). I do have a setting on my camera that makes the colors more vivid but I suppose that's just like using a polarizer or something to that effect.

After leaving Kinsale we made our way to Killarney. Our plan was to visit Ross Castle and The Muckross House before checking into our B&B. We got to Ross Castle first and took pictures outside while we waited for the guided tour. It was a very informative tour, though like Kilkenny Castle we couldn't take pictures inside (bummer). After Ross Castle we started to look for the Muckross House. As we were driving along we saw a sign on the road that said Muckross House and there was a small parking area. I was skeptical that this could be the way to get to Muckross House but we went a bit further and not seeing another entrance we turned around and went back. We go out of the car and started walking past some jaunting cars. They were all trying to get us to pay for a ride but we declined and kept walking. Then one of the guys said it was 4km to the Muckross House. Seriously? I wasn't about to walk that far and then back. The guy told us that for 35 euros he could take us one way, past the Muckross House and Muckross Abbey, up to Torc Waterfall which was 5km away, then drive us back down to the house where he would drop us off. So we said okay. It turned out to be a pretty nice ride as the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing. We're also glad we accepted the ride because Torc Waterfall ended up being spectacular, especially after the rain that had fallen the previous few days. After the jaunting car driver dropped us off at Muckross House we went inside. Apparently this place was a guided tour only too, and the next tour didn't start for an hour and a half. So we walked around outside and took a few pictures and then left. On our walk back to the car we stopped by the Muckross Abbey which was also nice to see. The graveyard there was huge and I was surprised to see so many recent gravestones. How do you manage to get buried in a graveyard inside a national park?

By then it was about 3 pm and we were ready to check in to our B&B. We drove up the driveway but there was a note on the door saying the owners were out till 6:30. We weren't sure what we were going to do. So we decided to try and drive the Ring of Kerry. That didn't happen. We made it as far as Kenmare, stopped and shopped around, then headed back to Killarney. The road along the Ring of Kerry was very narrow and winding and there were plenty of times we almost hit a tour bus. It wasn't exactly fun. So we just went back to the B&B and hung out for the rest of the night.

The next morning we woke up and actually drove the Ring of Kerry. It didn't take nearly as long as I had planned and we ended up in Dingle around 2 pm. It was neat to see the scenery change once you get onto the Dingle Peninsula. It's so completely different than the Ring of Kerry. We checked into our B&B, the Seaside Haven, and relaxed for a bit before going out and doing some shopping. The owner of the B&B suggested Murphy's Pub for some live trad music so we found a nice table in the pub and had a few drinks. This is where I tried my first Irish coffee (with whiskey). It really wakes you up but was enjoyable so I had a second one. The music was good, though it was just a duo. I expected more people during a trad session but this seemed to be the norm. We stayed out till about midnight then headed back home. Our B&B has a couple locks on the door because the owners have a small child and apparently one of the other people staying at the B&B locked all the locks when they came home. When Brandon and I pulled up at midnight we couldn't get in the door because our key only worked for one of the locks. We felt bad that we had to ring the doorbell for someone to let us in but the owner said he was up anyway so it was no big deal. Oh well!

The next day was supposed to be our sea angling trip. We arrived at the dock and asked the guy if he was still doing the fishing. I knew it had been windy our whole trip but I figured we could just fish in the harbor or something. No such luck. They only fish in open waters and with 16-foot swells we declined the trip (Brandon said they weren't really 16-feet, the guy was just trying to scare us off). So we spent the rest of the day driving the Slea Head Loop on the peninsula, stopping off to check out the Gallurus Oratory. In my opinion it was a much more scenic drive than the Ring of Kerry and without all the tour buses.

After spending a second night in Dingle and going to another trad session, we headed to Doolin to see the Cliffs of Moher. Unfortunately it was overcast and extremely windy by the time we got there. We visited the Visitor Center first before heading outside to see the cliffs. It was very difficult to take pictures because the gusts of wind would blow your arms around and screw up the pictures. It also was raining off and on so we didn't stay long. But remember my co-worker who was going to Dublin on business? After the business stuff was done she decided to stay in Ireland for an extra 3 or 4 days to do some sightseeing. It just so happened that she took a day tour to the Cliffs of Moher that day and we saw each other there! It was pretty funny. She had to run to get back on the bus so we didn't chat long.

After the Cliffs trip we headed into Doolin to go shopping and grab some lunch. We found a little pizza shop and as we were getting out of our cars we saw my co-worker again. We had another good laugh, took a couple pictures together and then parted ways. After lunch we headed to our B&B, the Daly's House. I was told that Doolin is one of the best towns to hear trad music so we took a nap and around 8 pm headed out to the pub.

I should probably point out that Doolin is a really really small town. It's like 2 streets and that's it, though they have a ton of B&B's. But there's only 3 pubs in town. So when we went to O'Connor's we found that it was standing room only and it was jam packed with tourists. We were hungry and wanted to sit down for a bite to eat so we decided to try the next pub. It was just as packed. We left and tried going to Cullinan's seafood restaurant but they were closed for some reason. So we gave up and went back to the B&B. Between the crappy weather at the Cliffs and the overcrowded pubs the trip to Doolin didn't turn out to be as grand as I expected.