Ireland, part 3

We didn't go into Cork for mass Sunday morning despite the fact that two churches were only about 15 minutes away from the hotel; one didn't off-street parking (and I didn't want to mess around trying to parallel park the rental) and the other looked sort of hard to get to. So after breakfast we drove through rain / mist / sprinkle to another lovely B&B, Friars Glen, in Killarney. We arrived around noon and were quite surprised that our room was ready for us. Hosts John and Mary and their assistant, Brigid, were all friendly and helpful. John spent 20 minutes or more explaining what was nearby and suggesting things for us to see and do. After relaxing for a bit -- and enjoying the warmth of a turf fire! -- we walked the half mile or so to the entrance to Killarney National Park. We had intended to continue walking in the park, but changed our mind when we were approached by jaunty car driver Neeley, who talked us into riding with him and his horse, Roger. Pretty scenery, including a waterfall and the gardens at Muckross House.

We suppered at Molly Darcy's Pub, a 10 or 15 minute walk from the B&B. A delicious BLT for me and an ordinary seafood chowder for TWW; for dessert we shared a wonderful bread and butter pudding with brown bread ice cream.

Monday: Breakfast was enormous, as usual, but this one featured porridge, which we were both curious to try. Not very good, even with Bailey's to pour over it. If I eat it again I'll use a whole bowl of sugar on it. A small van picked us up at 9:45 and took us to a shuttle bus that, in turn, took us to a tour bus that took us on an all-day drive around the ring of Kerry. I was expecting a lot of beautiful, dramatic scenery like the Pacific Coast Highway. No such luck.  Maybe we would have enjoyed it more if we'd done some research and had known what to expect. And maybe too if we'd driven ourselves and been free to stop wherever we wanted and veer off the main highway to explore a little bit. As it was, the highlights of the trip were:

• a shepherd / dog trainer demonstrating how border collies herd sheep, and
• the Kerry Bog Village (six dwellings with thatch roofing, restored to their original condition).

Supper at Molly Darcy's again (Dan cheeseburger, which he ate with a knife and fork; MLE, half a chicken) and then, surprisingly – because it was unadvertised – an hour or more of irish music , mostly sad and soulful except when the dancer(s) came on, at which time it got very lively indeed.