Fasten Your Seatbelts/Remember That Turtle Joke for the Party... Heh heh heh

After a week of mundane reading and studying, I headed to Co. Kerry for the day on Saturday. Waking up at the unreasonable hour of 5 a.m., I cabbed it to Heuston Station, Dublin and caught a train to Killarney. Needless to say, I passed out pretty hard listening to some Irish tunes on that trip. Got to Killarney at about 10 a.m. and immediately boarded my bus (nearly missed it) for a tour of the Ring of Kerry. We ventured out anti-clockwise, as they call it, and stopped for photos at almost every turn. On a sidenote, if you think the roads in Philly are bad, try driving in Kerry. My God, it seemed like every few seconds I was gonna fly out of my seat and slam my head on the roof of the bus. I guess the benefit is I got a free rollercoaster ride out of it. Anyway, the route circled around the McGillycuddy Reeks (the largest mountain range in Ireland). The rain clouds stopped us from seeing the tops of the peaks.

Then we drove through "bog country." It looked kind of like a post-apocalyptic world. The grasses are completely red and steam rises from cracks in the ground and the road. It reminded me a little bit of that ghost town in central PA where the coal mine set fire to the place. We stopped in for some "breakfast" at the Red Fox Inn only to find out that they didn't serve food. I asked for a cup of coffee and they said they'd only sell it to me if I asked for whiskey in it. Wild. Keep in mind this is about 11 a.m. I was given the option to do a 15 minute tour of the Bog Museum for a fee of 10 euro or chill at the bar. I opted for the latter. We got back on the bus and drove to Killorglin. This town of about 3,500 is known for it's King Puck festival where the male population camps out in the mountains to find the "best" wild goat, bring it back, and parade it around the streets. Also, Oliver Cromwell's men sailed down the River Laune to pillage the town during the Irish campaign. Next was Glenbeigh.

As the roads gradually narrowed, the weather cleared up and each scene seemed more beautiful than the last. Glenbeigh nests on the mountains along Dingle Bay. The peninsula beach on Rossbeigh is famous for its annual horse races (they sprint in a straight line on the sand). Apparently, lots of scenes from Far and Away, Leap Year, and P.S. I Love You were shot here. The town literally has one road leading in and out of it, so our driver (cautiously) maneuvered his way on the side of the mountain. We snapped a few photos then ended up in Kells (no relation to the book). Kells would be my neighborhood if it were displaced onto a bay that opens up to the Atlantic. Also, this far west, the official language is Gaelic. If you don't speak Irish and don't have a tour guide, you might be out of luck trying to communicate with the people.

The following stop was Cahersiveen. Barely a town, the little place was birthplace to Daniel O'Connell (Irish patriot and Catholic freedom fighter). We saw the ruins to his two story, "lavish" stone home from the 18th century. One of the only Catholic churches not named after a saint is also in the town- O'Connell Church. Getting to the Western most tip of the "Ring," we drove through Portmagee where we could see Valentia island off the coast. Then, the weather decided to change into something amazing.

We arrived in Waterville around 1:30. This coastal town used to be the vacation spot for Grace Kelly and Charlie Chaplin way back when (you can actually stay in their hotel). After much deliberation, I've decided that Waterville is the most beautiful part of Ireland. The place is UNREAL. The actual town rests at the bottom of the mountains along the Atlantic. From the enormous beaches, you can see miles of royal blue H2O and the Skelligs. Skellig Michael (Michael's Rock) is a UNESCO World Heritage site where monks in the 4th c. built a monastery. It's an island that takes the form of a small, steep mountain. I was dying to go there, but you can only get to the island on a ferry that runs from April to August if the weather is good enough. Then you climb 765 steps to the top where the beehive houses and praying rooms are. Puffins are a big fan of the island and the Waterville area in general. I love puffins. They're boss. Also, there's consistently a large dolphin population in the area. If you're lucky enough, you can swim with "Fungi," Ireland's most famous dolphin in the summer months. Anyway, I was really taken back by the scenery and had a pretty hard time realizing that it was the same Ireland I'd been in all this time. Take a look at the pics and see if you agree with me:

Waterville. Woah.

We grabbed lunch at a place that overlooked the Atlantic and some of the islands immediately off the coast. Besides the insane price of 15 E for lunch, the view was nothing like anything I'd ever seen. The tour continued on along the coast, stopping at a few beaches. Carroll's Cove, which had some decent waves, is a pretty big surf spot. The tour took us through Caherdaniel, a small town where Daniel O'Connell took residence in his later life. Besides the rocky beaches, its home to the national Gaelic Football champions and a Celtic stone fort (to protect against Normans, wolves and bears).

When our tourguide said we'd be stopping in Sneem, I said "God bless you." Actually, it's a quaint village that Charles de Gaulle frequented because he thought it was so beautiful.

Sneem River

The rocky road tooks us through the Black Valley, where it's said there's no light that shines during some points in the winter due to the mammoth shadows of the mountains. The EU is currently building a forest in that area to increase Ireland's lumber output. Yeah, I didn't think it was that interesting either, but my tourguide did.

The final stops of the tour were Moll's Gap, Killarney National Park, Carrantuohill (Ireland's tallest mountain), Ladies' View, and the Killarney Lakes. The Irish have a funny way of naming things. Moll's Gap is named after a woman who made moonshine. Ladies' View gets its name from Queen Victoria's visit to Ireland. She didn't want to venture out of her carriage, fearing her feet would hurt, so she sent her ladies in waiting up the mountain to find the most beautiful view and describe it to her.

Killarney National Park

Then it was back to Killarney. I had an hour and a half to kill before my train came, so I went out exploring. It's actually a pretty big town and definitely my favorite of any on the West coast. There are three large churches in the town and a big shopping district littered with pubs. I finally scored a sweet Irish sweater from the Aran Islands from there: victory.

My train left around 6 p.m. and I got back to Dublin at 9:30. What a day.

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Yesterday (Monday), I had the pleasure of seeing Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman" (in a version by Frank McGuinness) at the Abbey Theatre. The sold-out performance (every night since its premiere) starred Alan Rickman and Fiona Shaw (both of whom worked on the Harry Potter series). The set was stunning. It recreated a cold version of 19th century Oslo, complemented by beautiful costumes. Much of the subject matter of the play functions as metaphor to the current Irish economic situation with the burst housing bubble and default on loans. It was also interesting to see a contemporary performance that wasn't strictly postmodern in nature. The play was definitely worth the revisit and adaptation.

After the show, I stuck around and met Professor Snape, himself. Mr. Rickman was more or less what you might imagine: The Alan you all know and love. To be fair, his performance was far removed from anything I'd seen him in previously. His delivery was eerily good as the mentally unstable, jaded banker who lived in self-exile. Anyway, I was able to snap a picture with him

Me and Mr. Rickman

Well that's it for now. Gotta get through a test and a paper before I head off to London this weekend (just in time for the Harry Potter premiere).

Until next time.