Carside Killarney

Hello again my funky fashion friends! Jess and I thankfully didn't drink to much the night before so we were up at 9:00am this morning. Unfortunately, no one else was, at least John Francis wasn't. Catherine set up the night before for Jon, her brother, to pick us up at 10:00am and take us around Killarney for the day. She also told us he was likely going to be late. So, Jess and I were up at 9:00am, had breakfast of toast and jam and were fully ready by 10:00am but we were destined to wait another hour before John showed up which was really fine with us because we got some relaxation time in our room before we set out for the day.

At 11:00am John Francis showed up and took us off for a road trip of sorts across Killarney, much like how Michael took us on one of Galway. We made more stops with John though, who was very nice and knew lots about the history and legends of the area. We started by stopping off at his house to pick up his son, John Michael, to drop off at work and had a quick sit down inside over coffee. Here I was smothered in kisses and affection by their two lovable dogs Sam and Toby whom I adored. Dogs tend to not like me quite so much, so it was nice to get some attention without having to try too hard this time! We didn't stay long though and after we dropped of Jon's son he took us driving past a few landmarks, churches, and schools in the area before we hit Torc Waterfall. There we parked the car and took a short hike up the trail to see the waterfall. Because of the drought there's less water than usual, but it was still lovely! We also hiked a bit further to get to a looking point with a fabulous Killarney where we took photos and John explained the history of several islands you could see on the water.

From there we hit Ladies View, a popular looking point so named because allegedly Queen Victoria's ladies maids especially loved the view from that point. There's a restaurant up there and they certainly get a lot of business because everyone wanted pictures of the view. There's not trees in the way there, a common issue in Killarney, and you can see for miles past the hills and mountains of the area.

On our drive further John told us the road from Killarney to Kenmare is haunted by a literal hitch-hiking ghost. The ghost is the figure of a woman who appears on the road when you see her and upon passing appears in your backseat where she stays until she so pleases before she disappears. John himself has never seen the ghost and no one knows the history of her, such as who she was or how she dies, but even still she's a fabulous ghost story!

We continued to drive past a few more lookout points, going through the Black Valley and the Gap of Dunloe, most of which we spent driving especially slowly behind jaunting cars, or horse drawn carriages, because while the road is used as a two-way street it's only wide enough for one vehicle at at time. They apparently realized this at some point and put in 'pull over' spots where one car can temporarily pull over so the oncoming car can pass without hitting them. If you're wondering what people mean when they talk about narrow Irish roads, that's what they mean.

Our second to last stop on this journey took us to a Saint Mary's Cathedral, the larger one as there are two in the same area because that's how they roll in Ireland. We did drive by the smaller one but it's not as fancy so the tourists don't flock to it. Anyway, the outside looks as old as it is and the inside is just beautiful. Stained glass rests in every window and candles are lit in every corner to give it a sensational flame-licked glow. The best part was how quiet it was. Everyone whispers in the cathedral and it adds so much to the ambiance of the area to hear a multiplicity of nothing. John told us when he was a boy, before they did renovations, him and friends would climb to the very top of the cathedral and have lunch overlooking the view.

  After a good long wander about the cathedral we went to Muchross Restaurant, which is on the property of the farm and abbey Jess and I visited the day before, to have lunch together. The restaurant is semi-buffet style in that you get a tray and take the food you want and load up, but you pay for each item individually once you reach the counter. I got a lovely lasagne boulanaise and Jess got a vegetarian lasagna, both of which were delicious! The Irish load up their pastas with whatever they can, America take notes! John, Jess, and I sat and ate for about and hour before John got us an ice cream cone from the desert section. I had been told in advance that I simply had to try the Irish cones and they were good, but I really didn't see much difference between their soft serve and ours. Perhaps it's different from the kind served in other parts of Europe? Not that I didn't like it, of course I loved it, I mean who doesn't love ice cream? So we happily ate that before heading out into the gardens for a scenic walk back to the car. While at the bathrooms, however, John ran into Catherine's friend who works on the Muckross estate and who had gotten us into the farm for free the previous day and she gave us free passes for a tour of the Muckross House!

The tour was guided, as I said, and they don't allow photos, but it was a very educational tour and I actually really enjoyed it! Jess and I used to go on house tours all the time when we lived up north with all the mansions and whatnot and even compared to those this was delightful! Our guide, Sean, was soft spoken but knew quite a lot and told us all about which rooms in the house were in the same state they'd been in when Queen Victoria visited and how servants traveled through the house and that the phrase 'Saving Face' comes from the use of an invention which blocked ones face from the fire as they sat in front of it so the ladies beeswax makeup wouldn't melt off. At the end of the tour the giftshop was playing a match on the radio and John realized he'd like to watch it and Jess and I were ready to relax so he drove us home where we said our thank you's and good-byes and spent some alone time in the house to recharge.

That recharge time was spent by Jess napping and taking a walk in the backyard to see the excessively impressive view of the mountains while I emailed all my pictures so far to myself because I have taken so many that I was running out of space. It sounds like I'd taken a thousand or something, but it was only around 200, which is apparently too many for my poor dear phone to handle. During that time Catherine and Pat returned home and we all sat down for a dinner of chicken, mashes potatoes, and baked beans. We talked with Catherine until about 11:00pm about our day, our life, and everything else despite dinner having ended ages ago. We did want to get up around 9:00am to be ready for another adventure by 10:00am, and Catherine, unlike Michael, does like to get to sleep at a respectable hour, so we said goodnight at parted ways. Jess and I went to be with no idea what the next day would hold, but you know what, it's sort of fun not knowing what adventure awaits us!