Horses and Road Trip to Limerick

The view at the turning point of our horseback ride!

The roads to the horse farm were so narrow that they were barely wide enough for one car, and when you saw someone approaching , you needed to find a place to pull off, while trying to avoid putting your car into the mud on the shoulder of the roads. The maps stopped having any markings at this point, we were too far off the main highways of Ireland, and therefore had to rely on the faded red signs that said "stables" on trees on one side of the turn or the other to get to our final destination.

I'm not sure how to ride english, but I'll try it!

When we got there, I knew we had chosen the right place, instead of the far more commercialized riding stables in the large tourist cities. Joyce owned the small stable yard and Sonya was going to be the one to take us out. Joyce was running around like a mad women because one of her horses that we were planning to ride didn't return from the mountain where they graze. They saddled up the horses with english style gear and we mounted our horses. I was on "Mig" while Paul took out her son "Kiko". Mig was an old professional and was close to 37 years old, while her son needed to be on a lead line so Paul wasn't run off into the sunset never to be found again.

I'm seriously in paradise.

Since we were the only couple on the ride, Sonya let me lead with Mig and we took off trotting forward as long as she would let me.  It was a beautiful ride and I was sad to see it come to an end.  I would have stayed there all day.  It sure gave me the fever to own a horse, and brought me right back to my youth of when I used to have my imaginary horse "Brownie".

I wish this horse could come home with me...

From the stables, we hit the road in order to arrive at our next destination, Limerick.  We weren't exactly sure what to do when we got there, but we were pretty tired so we stayed in and tried to recuperate and make plans for the following day.  We had one full day on the west side of the country, so we needed to spend it wisely.  Luckily for me, I convinced Paul to drive us to the Cliffs of Moher.   It was a long drive, it was freezing outside, but it was surely worth the trip! 

(You'll see why in my next entry)

New puppies on the farm!

Kilmare and The Ring of Kerry

Things you see while driving in Ireland.

Blurry deer running through the Killarney National Park.

Well, because Paul is a rockstar husband, I convinced him that we should drive to a tiny farm outside of Kilmare and go horseback riding instead of spending a bunch of money on gas doing the Ring of Kerry, which is a popular attraction for almost all Ireland tourists. It is approximately a 5 hour drive and with stops can take you all day. Rick Steve's guid book raved about a town called Killmare, and told travels to all together skill Killarney. After visiting the two, we couldn't agree more. Killarney is overpriced and a tourist trap... stay in Killmare. We had no choice since Groupon did our bookings, but our time roaming the streets in Killmare confirmed our opinions.

Sights along the Ring of Kerry.

We had to stop and take photos numerous times!

One of the Ring of Kerry bays.

The drive from Killarney National Park to Killmare was crazy cool. It's the start on the Ring of Kerry (clockwise, as suggested by Mr. Steves), and the roads are small, narrow, and fast. I was super nervous riding shotgun, but Paul was having a blast driving stick around the tight corners with the locals tailgating him. We saw some great views too, there were some amazing views of the mountains, bays and lakes in the National Park. We also came close to hitting a few deer and sheep. I wasn't quick enough on the draw of my camera for the deer, but we did see quite a few sheep roaming the roads and countryside. Apparently during the tourist season you can stop in at a sheep farm and watch their border collies heard the sheep with commands from the farm owner. They also do a sheering demonstration, but, as the story goes, they are closed in the off season.

Our small town coffee shop, what a cute, quiet little place.

Peace.

As a compromise we decided to drive a portion of the Ring of Kerry. We made it to the town of Sneen, here we stopped for a coffee and to roam the streets momentarily. It was fairly obvious that this was a stop for tour busses and those who need a coffee while tourists drive the Ring of Kerry, because it was a ghost town while we visited. Regardless, the bakery was cute and our espresso was perfect. We returned then to Killmare to grab some lunch and roam the city center for about an hour.

The moment we parked, we could smell the wonderful aroma of fire grilled something or other. It was pizza, and with that first smell it was determined that we were going to have outdoor fire roasted pizza for lunch. The streets of the town are packed with vendors in the summer selling food, produce, and crafts during the summer months. A few of the dedicated vendors were out there on the rainy afternoon. It was delicious. We wandered to find another coffee shop, adorable little storefront and sweets display. Latte in hands we hit the road to find the tiny horse farm in the countryside of Kilgaren.

I wonder if Foley is an Irish name?

Fire roasted pizza on the street in the city center of Killmare!

Killarney

Just a small February flood.

We arrived in Killarney after a hefty dose of driving to check into the International Hotel which was located in a perfect downtown location.  It was so centrally located that we parked our car where the horse and carriages normally park during peak tourist season.  We did our homework and researched a few highly rated places to eat and hit the streets for a nice dinner and perhaps a stop at an Irish Pub.  We located three of the restaurants on our list and all three were closed for the off season or only open on Friday and Saturdays.  Monday night was not very popular for local restaurants.  We found a Bar that Paul looked into before we left for vacation, Courtney's Bar.  It was one of the few open establishments, so we decided to give it a try, maybe they had some fries or something.  We ordered a pint and I finally tried an Irish Whiskey.  There were only two other locals in the bar, so we chatted for a moment and they asked us why the heck we decided to come to Ireland in January?!?  Haha, it was too funny.  The bartender gave us each a glass of complimentary scotch to celebrate!  We then took his suggestion for food down the road at Murphy's Bar.  We ordered the cheapest thing on the menu and found out that Killarney is a very expensive town that relies on almost exclusively tourism. 

View into Kilarney National Park

One of my favorite pictures from our Honeymoon.

For our full day in Killarney, we started by driving to Ross Castle.  This is where we realized that many of the attractions on our Heritage Pass cards were closed in the off season to tourists.  There were only two local men, a dog, a flooded parking lot and some flooded boats.  However, we managed to get some great pictures and from there we decided to check out the Killarney National Park which has quite a few attractions nestled inside.  We went to the Abbey and when we pulled into park, we found a couple that I took a picture for in Killkenny at the castle.  Haha, we asked if they were perhaps doing the Groupon tour too, turns out there were!  Haha crazy that we continued to go to the same destinations at about the same time.  They told us to drive between each attraction, and unfortunately we thought we needed the walk and ended up spending most of our day in the park on foot.

Muckross Abbey.

Storm clouds are moving in.

We walked around on a self guided tour in the Abbey.

First we went to the Abby, where people today are still burried.  It was nicely preserved and you could take the stairs to three levels.  Afterward we started in the direction of Muckross House.  We took the hiking trail which put us right on the bay.  We arrived and found out the next tour wasn't leaving for a while so we used the time gap to quickly walk back to the Torc Falls.  I was moving my legs as fast as possible to keep up with Paul on the wooded walking trails.  The walk was beautiful, but we knew our feet were going to be tired by the end of it. The falls were well worth the trek back.  They were a wonderful sight.

Center tree in the Abbey.

Muckross house on the other-hand was probably not worth the wait.  I think our tour guide was an off season veteran, but basically what we took away from the experience is that rich people bought the house, went bankrupt and then more rich people bought it.  That set of rich people died from pneumonia and then someone took all the land and gave it to the government as a national park.  The house was well preserved, but we were unfortunately not able to take pictures.  Hunting was a big hobby with those who lived there and I wanted to take a picture of some of the sweet mountings, but no dice.  After freezing through a very slow tour, we finally escaped to walk in the rain to our car.  Haha, it was funny looking back, but unfortunately we wasted a good portion of daylight in that dark, cold, old estate.

Muckross House, and interesting tour indeed.

Paul in Kilarney National Park.

We went back into town to warm up by a coffee shop near our hotel, and the Georgia Groupon couple walked in.  Haha, we seriously thought alike.  Turns out they were also on their honeymoon, were living off of granola bars, and thought the prices in this town were outrageous. HAhah.  Perfect.

Chilly walking in the woods and back to the Abbey.

Torc Falls

The perfect detour for Muckross House.

Rock of Cashel

We found it! iPad navigation success: Rock of Cashel

Taking shelter from the rain in the Rock of Cashel, definition of vintage.

Rick Steve's travel book suggested we check out this spot while in central Ireland in the town of Cashel.  We pulled into the town and easily spotted the castle up on a hill right outside the city.  It was a windy day and the outside of the castle was covered in scaffolding for renovations and restoration as many of these places do in the winter off season.  We got into the castle just as the rain started to hit.  Apparently people were not as tall back in the day, because only 5 minutes after entering Paul nailed his head on a 14th century door frame made of solid stone.  Ouch.  

Mind your head, tall friend. 

This table is an original! Many more originals here than other castles!

Looking out into the rainy courtyard before it closed!

A little size comparison for you!

Sad, they closed... it's just a little rain!

I love the green mossy landscapes of Ireland.

The furniture and many of the artifacts in the Rock of Cashel are original and date back centuries.  They are beautiful.  We watched a movie of the history and shortly after the staff told us that the outer grounds were closed for weather.   It was rainy and windy, but nothing compared to what the locals are used to I'm certain.  We weren't able to explore the other towers, the church or the graveyard.  It was unfortanate.  We cut our losses and tried to get our money worth out of the parking by walking down to the city center for some coffee and a place to warm up.  We enjoyed the refuge from the rain for a bit and thought since the weather had shaped up we would try again to get it.  Unfortunately, despite the calmer conditions the outside attractions were still closed.  Oh well, it was off to Killarney.

Walking up to the Rock of Cashel to see if they've opened, the answer was no.

A walk through the city, and grabbing a quick coffee. Simple joys.

Green and gorgeous.