Killarney: the calm before the awesomeness

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Today I arrived in Killarney around noon, a little weak in the knees from last night haha I stopped in to an outlet mall which was right next to the bus station to pick up a hat b/c it smelled like it was going to rain. I was right, and the hat has come in handy a few times today : )

I found my hostel with no problems whatsoever; Killarney is a really small town, full of nice people and geared toward Eire-philes (it's more than a little touristy haha). I've been fighting my instincts all day today about buying a super-cute illustrated book detailing 6 different Irish legends. So far, i've held out. we'll see how it goes.

No sooner than i'd put my bags in the storage room in my hostel here, Neptune's Town, and sat down to check the internet right quick, than the three German girls from Cork walked in! haha we said hi, they got checked in, and after grabbing some lunch we took a jaunting car ride (carriage ride) through part of Killarney National Park out to Ross Castle, which was absolutely gorgeous. The carriage driver had a face right out of a caricature. I'm not saying he's ugly or anything like that, but when he smiled, even his biggest, his teeth never showed, and his eyes would turn in to these little crescents hahahaha i couldn't help but smile when he laughed. He looked like something straight out of a WWII-era cartoon :P oh, and he spent the parts of the carriage ride (when he wasn't filling us with history) playfully hitting on one of the German girls, which all of us thought was hilarious.

After the carriage ride, the girls wanted to go shopping for postcards, so I accompanied them. It was kind of fun seeing all the knickknacks and what-nots Killarney tourist shops had to offer. That's where i saw that book, and i may end up buying it. maybe i'll hold off and try to order it online from the states if it still sits as a must-have.

Deciding to skip Skellig Michael has opened up the schedule a bit, and i'm eyeing up a night in Doolin, then about a day of transport to Portrush where the Giant's Causeway is, and a day in Belfast before catching transportation to Dublin airport and spending the last night there. So far it looks promising, it'll just be a matter of catching the right transportation pieces. i think having this day-tour of RoK Sunday is what makes everything else work. A lot of transportation shuts down in rural Ireland on Saturday and Sunday.

it's been a pretty quiet day altogether, and i kind of needed that after yesterday/last night haha. tomorrow's the big day! i promised myself that after Iraq i'd see the Ring of Kerry. I'm so excited i can't even describe it.

Adventure Awaits!

Jordan

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