Day 14: Killarney National Park, Ring of Kerry, Kenmare, September 12

We awoke to better weather, ate breakfast, and headed outside to await our horse-drawn carriages. We boarded our carriages on the busy street which was a bit disconcerting; as a former horse mom, when I see horses around traffic, I cringe.  However, it appeared that these horses were used to the busses and cars maneuvering around them and were calm while we climbed aboard. Our carriages lined up to head into Killarney National Park toward Ross Castle.

At the castle, we jumped down from our carriages to explore the castle and surrounding grounds. Set on the "Lower Lake," the grounds were gorgeous. The beautiful blue sky and sunshine also helped the atmosphere this day. This castle, though mostly ruins, was one of my favorites. The nooks and crannies, little staircases leading to short, small doors, and narrow slits for windows were charming, as was the setting on the lake with mountains all around.

Our ride continued through the park, with wonderful views. We saw a herd of red deer, an Irish species that have inhabited Ireland for nearly 10,000 years. They were off in the distance and it was difficult to get good pictures on a "jaunting" cart ride, but, I think the driver must have slowed or stopped for the picture below.

There was a lot of standing water throughout the park which our carriage driver told us was unusual. The amount of rain we had gotten the previous day was atypical, even though Ireland does have a lot of rain. After all, the rain is what makes Ireland landscapes so many shades of green. We learned later that some of the roads we had traveled the previous day were now closed due to flooding.

Our carriage ride ended near St. Mary's Cathedral, and a few of us entered looking for rest rooms before boarding our bus. It was definitely worth a side trip, even though we didn't find the restrooms.

Back on the bus we headed toward Kenmare with a rest stop for a group picture taken by a photographer. Below the mountains of Killarney it was a great choice. I don't recall the name of the place. And, I can't find the group picture I purchased the next morning. It has been tucked away in a "safe spot."

Our lunch stop was in Kenmare, a small, charming Irish town. The meal was at Davitt's, a restaurant and Bed & Breakfast, included with the tour. After lunch Bob and I headed to a corner store we had seen on the way to lunch. We had to get pictures because this was only the second time we had seen "Finnegan" displayed anywhere on our trip. And, it was the first time we'd seen "our" spelling. On the way to take pictures, we had passed an antique shop that I wanted to explore. By the time we got back to that store, it was closed for lunch. It turns out that many small Irish shops close for a lunch hour. I was disappointed, but there were lots of others shops to explore.

Our bus was parked on the edge of town, across a small bridge. Along the bridge were some of the flowering shrubs we had seen numerous times on our trip, most often through the bus windows. This time I could get close enough for pictures. The one with a red flower shaped like a ballerina is the Irish Fushia and grows wild along the roadsides.  The purple one that looks somewhat like lilacs, a bit past its peak in September, is Butterfly Bush.

A highlight of the day was seeing a large rainbow across a lake while driving the Ring of Kerry after lunch. Though it had started to rain a bit, there were still stunning views, even through the raindrops!

Upper Lake, Killarney, Ring of Kerry

Ring of Kerry. Sometimes sitting up front on the bus was a little scary!

That evening we joined some of our fellow travelers and wandered around Killarney looking for some live music. We were surprised to see the streets packed with people standing around as if waiting for a parade. It turned out the "parade" was the Cannonball Run.  People with "supercars" drive through Ireland to raise money for charity. We were, I guess, quite fortunate to be here to see this parade of expensive automobiles. And, we heard them. They were extremely loud. 

Cannonball Run, Killarney

Live music?  The Grand did not have an early show, and after wandering around for a long time, we found one pub with some music where we had a nice chat with our companions. When we finally headed back to our hotel, low and behold, there was live music at the adjoining pub.

Surprises/Cool Stuff:

• The bus did squeeze through that tunnel in the picture above. 

• We passed by the Dunloe Ogham Stones while driving the Ring of Kerry. These stones are now standing in the open but were rescued from an underground passage. Ogham is believed to be the first form of writing in Ireland. 
  
  
  
  

• Killarney National Park is, reportedly, the first national park in Ireland. The initial acreage was owned privately by a family who, in the early 1930s, gave the land and Muckross House to Ireland, to be known as Bourn Vincent Memorial Park. Later, additional acreage was added to create the park which is now approximately 26,000 acres. The story we heard had something to do with the only child of the family being a nun, but this site disputes that story and gives more of the history of Muckross House, the families who owned it and how it was donated to Ireland.

• Killarney National Park is open 24/7 for pedestrian traffic and is a very safe park.  

• When someone wins an election in Ireland they say he/she "runs home."