Ireland Recap - Killarney to Castleisland

September 10

After enjoying a wonderful breakfast at one of our favorite B&Bs on our trip (Crystal Springs B&B), we packed up and headed out fairly early for a scenic drive of the Ring of Kerry, which is located here:



We were really bummed that it was overcast and drizzly this day, but we still had SUCH an enjoyable day, and the views were still pretty spectacular. It was truly a day in the Irish countryside, complete with cattle grazing on the mountains overlooking the ocean, sheep and cute little farm houses, and lots and lots of somewhat narrow, windy roads. We were glad we could at least see the Gap of Dunloe that we hiked the previous day:



Shortly after beginning our trek, we pulled over behind a bunch of tour buses at a scenic lookout and found a cute little Irish boy there with his donkey (named "Heather") and two little pups, which rode in the baskets on either side of the donkey (so cute!)


I think most of the pictures speak for themselves, so without further ado:


Unfortunately, most of the day, it looked like this through the windshield:



But we still saw some pretty incredible views, such as these:


A couple hours into our drive, we stopped for lunch at a cute little place near Cahirseveen that boasted the "best view (on a clear day)". Of course, it wasn't a "clear day", so the view was pretty foggy, but still beautiful.



Fortunately, we drove a few kilometers down the road, and it was miraculously MUCH clearer:



At the end of the beautiful scenic Ring of Kerry, we entered into Killarney National Park, and just had to stop at a lookout over the beautiful lakes below.

Killarney National Park

We also took a short pitstop at the trail heads for the park, and while Mark rested his eyes after a LONG day of driving windy roads, I got out and explored the trails for a few minutes, before we headed on over to check out the Torc Waterfall.

Torc Waterfall

We drove a couple more hours before arriving in Castleisland, where we were staying for the night. We were hoping to be lucky enough to check into our B&B early and rest for a while, but the hosts weren't there (our check-in was supposed to be 7pm, and it was only 4:30), so we headed into town to explore a bit.

Castleisland is a nice little town, but it's not the touristy metropolis like many of the other towns we stayed in, which was slightly refreshing. However, this meant we had a heck of a time finding somewhere to eat! We even asked a little old man on the side of the street if there was somewhere he recommended, and he suggested we drive back to Killarney lol

We finally discovered a little cafe and had some sandwiches and fries for an early supper, then walked around a bit more before returning to our B&B to wait for the owners to return.

Tailor's Lodge B&B - Castleisland

This little B&B was, by far, our favorite little B&B we stayed at. It was not even remotely decorated in our taste, but it was so cozy and warm and the hosts were FABULOUS!


We were so exhausted from the busy trip thus far that we decided to stay put for the night, so we made some tea and relaxed in the beautiful lounge, catching up on news from home via email and Facebook, and watching Slumdog Millionaire. It felt like home there, and I'd love to just spend a whole week there, just relaxing :)

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For full photo dump:
https://photos.google.com/u/8/album/AF1QipM8nZvVnwDx5TGmqyBjS4eqRtbmV5Hx8u83fTet