Killarney and the Ring of Kerry

7/2/2010


This Friday we finally jumped the bus to the long awaited Killarney/ Ring of Kerry excursion. I was nervous about the buses but they were really easy to navigate and we arrived in Killarney and were booked in our hostel and for the Ring tour by 4pm.

We then took a walk around the area and checked out a church and the college in town before picking up things to fix for dinner.

We headed to a pub near the bus station to wait for the rest of the group to arrive. Half of the group was told to get off at a wrong stop along the way so we were very relieved when everyone made it.

After everyone was checked in, we headed out for the night and heard some amazing trad music and then moved on to another bar with an AMAZING cover band and eventually ANOTHER pub with the best cover band I have EVER heard. They played every single one of my favorite bands.

After all that we entered a nightclub in the back of the last pub where I recommend everyone who breathes to go. There were laser beams and FAKE SNOW! YES, I SAID FAKE SNOW. It was glorious. All this made for a LATE night and a long next morning.

We got up early for the Ring of Kerry tour and were sad to see tons of fog. I was really sad but the sun came up and BAM it was a beautiful day. 60 degrees and blindingly sunny!

Just like everyone says, the Ring of Kerry tour really is a must do if you're ever in Ireland. There is a tower that monks built around 200 or 300 feet high that was built to evade the attacking Vikings. It has a door twenty feet up which the monks reach by climbing a rope. INTENSE. There is also an island where more monks built their home after cutting footholds into its sheer rock face where two tourists died last year. It can only be reached in the most perfect weather conditions.

We also drove through Daniel O'Connell's hometown which was really amazing. My Ireland in the 19th course revolves around the unification and O'Connell's leadership role in it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_O%27Connell). WE later drove by the home he spent the end of his life at. It was really neat to see a little of what I have been studying in the flesh... or rather stone? His home town has tons of monuments and a church that is dedicated to him instead of a saint which is a BIG deal.

We drove on the side of a mountain nearly all day and chased sheep at a couple beautiful stops. We also stopped in the city where Charlie Chaplin regularly vacationed and walked on the beach for an hour. The water was beautiful and the waves really made me want to run in for a dip.

After lunch we drove to a ring fort that overlooked yet another amazing view splattered with sheep and got a little sunburned. I would just like to interject that I violently twitch and freak out when we drive past a CASTLE and the tour guide SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

We finished the trip by driving through the Killarney National Park that we were going to visit later and saw some wild goats and learned about the estate near Killarney that has Ross Castle in it.

We went out again that night and listened to trad music at yet another amazing place and danced like maniacs in the club (without fake snow this time) until they kicked us out. These towns have a definite drought in women, my friends and I accounted for 95% of the female population in the place no strike that the whole town. There were ten in total on the weekend trip.

This morning we packed up and headed over to the national park which was beautiful and green, green, green. Ross castle was only a mile walk through the park which took no time. On the way we ran into five deer. The castle was HUGE and amazing. It is built on a side of rocks right on a river where a rowing team was practicing and a bunch of swans were swimming. I decided it was a good idea to climb the side of the castle and sit on a rock ledge. It was great until I saw how high I had gone and remembered that I am afraid of heights... yikes. The view was beautiful though. We took the long way back to the hostel to check out.


This weekend I had moments where I would feel a surge of overwhelming happiness about my Ireland adventure. They made me feel even better about flying over for school. The town was PERFECT, the music was AMAZING,and I really had a good time getting to know a couple of the girls better too. It could not have been better in any way. There were even hot showers. No lie.

I wouldn't trade this weekend for anything.

I am going to try playing with the city inline hockey team this week which I am looking forward to. Also planning a trip to Scotland, Cork, and Belfast!