Killarney & Gap of Dunloe

On Sunday Andrea and I packed our bags for a six day adventure.  Our first stop was Killarney, a town just west of Cork.  We stayed in Neptunes Town Hostel, a hostel right in the city centre. 

On Monday morning we got up bright and early for our day at the Gap of Dunloe.  The Gap of Dunloe is a narrow mountain pass between the largest mountains in Ireland.  

When Andrea and I were booking this tour we had the option of walking, riding in a "jaunting car", or riding a pony through the Gap of Dunloe.  Andrea and I were seeking adventure and were hoping to ride a pony down the 7 mile road.  When we told the farmer our decision he looked us up and down, made this crazy face, and asked us if we had "pony experience".  We did not know this was requirement.  Unless he thought that riding a horse at summer camp once would cut it, I didn't think I was qualified.  We also learned that there would be no guide leading us.  Just me, Andrea, and two ponies.  We decided to go with the "jaunting car" which is essentially a horse and carriage.

Andrea and I hopped in the cart, got really cozy with a random couple, and started on the trail through the Gap of Dunloe.  Although it was overcast, the scenery was amazing!  

It was our horse's first day back from a long lazy winter so his owner ran next to the horse for the whole 7 miles!  

At the end of the 7 mile trail we entered the Killarney National Park.  

After eating lunch at a little cafe we got on the next leg of our journey, a boat!  This boat would take us through the chain of lakes and rivers back into Killarney.  

About half way back to Killarney it started down pouring rain.  Luckily the driver had some tarps for us.  Being on this small boat on a choppy lake was quite scary though!

That night Meghan, our friend Michael, my roommate Laura, and her boyfriend Johnny came to Killarney to go out.  They all joined Andrea and I in our hostel room.  Next stop...Limerick!

Cobh

Last Saturday Andrea and I went to Cobh (pronounced "cove").  Cobh is about 20 miles south of Cork and lies on the edge of a bay near the ocean.  Instead of taking the train to Cobh like most, Andrea and I found a boat company that cruises down the river from Cork to Cobh.  You're looking at our little tug boat, Spirit of the Isles...

Leaving the Port of Cork:

It was great to be on the water! Here are Andrea and I in the back of the boat.  

We drove past the headquarters of the Irish Navy.  The captain of the tug boat told us this fun fact: Switzerland (land locked) has a larger Navy than Ireland (an island).

Here are pictures pulling into Cobh.  This town was so adorable! Post card material??

Cobh, a town not typically seen by tourists, has seen a lot of business in the past few years due to the fact that April 15th is the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking.  Cobh, Ireland was the last port of call for the Titanic before sinking in the Atlantic just four days later.  Andrea and I went to a Titanic museum in Cobh where we learned about the ship, Irish passengers that boarded in Cobh, and about the sinking.  It was very interesting.  Unfortunately we weren't able to take pictures inside.

After the Titanic museum Andrea and I walked around the town, walked inside St. Colman Cathedral, and had a few drinks at a local pub.

Cobh was one of the major departure ports after the potato famine.  Almost 2.5 million Irish emigrated to America through Cobh to start a new life. Below is a sculpture of Annie Moore and her children.  Annie Moore emigrated from Cobh and was the first immigrant to ever pass through Ellis Island in New York City. 

As we were walking to the boat that morning a local pointed this building out to us in Cork.  Brace yourselves everybody, this is the tallest building in Ireland...

Blarney With Andrea

On Friday Andrea and I went to the Blarney Castle.  It was different from when I went with Hannah and Carley.  There were a lot more flowers and blossomed trees!  It was beautiful.  Here are some pictures!

A cave under the Blarney Castle:

Making her way to the top of Blarney Castle!

Andrea was quite terrified when she got to the top of the castle.  It took her a while to get down to kiss the Blarney Stone but she did it and bought a souvenir photo to prove it!

Fota Island Zoo

The past few days have been beautiful here in Cork!  Sunny, blue skies, and 70 degrees.  On Wednesday Meghan and I set our alarms just to walk to this park to sit on a bench and sit in the sunshine.  I got sun burnt!  It's never felt so good. 

Andrea got here yesterday morning!! It was a great reunion.  I barely let my sister drop her bags off before Meghan and I whisked her off to Fota Island Zoo with us.  Fota Island is about 15 minutes away by train.  This was our first time on the train!  The train was an experience and it wasn't exactly what we were expecting.  Meghan, Andrea, and I came to this conclusion: the train looked like a train on the outside, it looked like a subway car on the inside, it rocked like a boat, and had the speed and sound of a bus.

Arriving on Fota Island:

Waiting for the train!

Feeding the birds...

This thing is called a Mara.  It's the weirdest looking animal!  We concluded that if a deer, rabbit, and dog somehow reproduced it would look like this...

Pengin!

Dublin-Sunday & Monday

On Sunday we got tickets for the On and Off Bus.  This is a double decker tour bus that drives around to the different tourist sites in Dublin.  We got on and off as we pleased.  The second story of the bus didn't have a top so we were able to sit in the sunshine all day between stops.  Ever since Sunday the weather in Ireland has been incredible!  It has been 65 degrees and blue skies.  It sounds like it isn't even this nice in the summer here.  By the looks of the forecast I will be enjoying the sunshine all week!

Here are some pictures from Sunday and Monday in Dublin.

Christ Church:

The bus drove us through Phoenix Park.  This park is twice the size of Central Park in NYC and is the home of the president of Ireland.  Does this house look familiar?

One of our stops was The Old Jameson Distillery.  We watched a video of the history of Jameson whisky, learned how it was made, and had a sample of course!

Below is one of the most famous streets in the center Dublin, O'Connell Street.  This street is named after Daniel O'Connell the revolutionist that I learned about on the Ring of Kerry trip.

Next we made our way to Trinity College.  Trinity College is essentially the Harvard of Ireland.  The campus was absolutely beautiful!  Trinity College library holds the Book of Kells.  The Book of Kells are the four Gospels written by Celtic monks in the year 800.  Both the Matthew and Mark books were on display.  I was not able to take pictures inside the exhibit but the calligraphy and drawings inside the books were amazing!

Next we got off at the Kilmainham Gaol.  This prison was built in 1796.  It housed and was the execution location of many famous revolutionists during Ireland's fight for independence.  Our tour guide had many gruesome stories to tell!

The part of the gaol shown below has been in a lot of different movies.  The original Italian Job and In the Name of the Father both have scenes shot in this wing.

On Sunday night we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner.  We headed to The Temple Bar afterwards for drinks with Meghan's mom.  Here we met some interesting and friendly Romanians, Bulgarians, and Italians.  

Walking to the bus stop on Monday afternoon:

This is the Ha'Penny Bridge.  It got its name from the fact that it used to cost half of a penny to cross.  This is Tipperary River that flows right through the middle of Dublin.

I have no school this week so I have been enjoying the sun the past couple days!  I am also running errands and cleaning my room before my sister gets here on Thursday morning! I cannot wait to see her!  We have a lot of fun things planned for the next week including the Fota Island Zoo, the town of Cobh, and another visit to Blarney.  We will also be going to Killarney to see the Gap of Dunloe and our last stop will be Galway.  Stay tuned for posts about these trips!