Ireland - Day One

The end of a very nice day - taken near Blarney

View from Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle

Cork

Cashel

View from the Rock of Cashel

Rock of Cashel

Cool tree at the Rock of Cashel

Durrow

Geez, where to begin? After about 3 hours of sleep over two days, I made it to Ireland! Flying in, it was just as beautiful as it looks in all the pictures. We got in about 45 minutes early and customs went a lot quicker than I imagined it would. I remember waiting in lines in Australia and New Zealand that took about a half hour on average.

I had second thoughts about getting a stick shift car after I had gotten so little sleep, so I asked for an automatic, but I would not be so lucky. After a day of driving the stick shift on the left side, I'm getting better. I'll be a pro by the end of the week - if I don't wreck the car first! I didn't spend any time checking out Dublin because I knew I had a full day ahead of me. I'll be staying the last two nights in Dublin so I can check out the city then.

My first stop was a gas station to get some munchies and I was happy to see a lot of my favorite candies from New Zealand. I figured they'd have most of them here. After that I stopped in a cute little town (actually, they're all cute little towns so far) called Durrow. I snapped a couple photos there and then was on my way to the Rock of Cashel. Apparently some guy named St. Patrick hung out there. :) It was an amazing place and I would have liked to have walked around downtown Cashel a little more. Next time. Unfortunately my telephoto lens stopped working at the Rock of Cashel and I haven't been able to get it to work again since. Since I love my telephoto, I may be tempted to buy a new one. I definitely don't want to be without one on this trip! Too many photos to take. Speaking off, I only took 400 on my first day. :)  You'll be able to find more photos on my flickr account, as they get uploaded.

So then it was off to Cork. I didn't actually stay there very long because I needed to get to the Blarney Castle before sundown, but I did walk around the shopping district. It was in Cork that I felt like the roads here just take you in big circles, but eventually you get to where you want to go.

I kissed the Blarney Stone! You take a very narrow winding staircase up to the top of Blarney Castle to get to the Stone and someone holds you while you lean back and kiss it. The whole property was very neat there. I found my first Irish geocache in a neat walk around some interesting rocks.

After the Blarney Castle I headed over to where I am now - Killarney - where I got to taste my first Guinness with my dinner. People didn't lie to me, it is better over here! I knew I was tired after all the lack of sleep and traveling, but I guess I didn't know how tired I was. I was hoping to be writing this blog a few hours ago and getting on my way for the day, but instead I was sleeping. Sleeping for 11 hours! Today was to be the day that I would hike to the tallest point in Ireland. Since it's now approaching noon, I'm going to have to rethink my plans. I may try to find a shorter hike, or just drive the Ring of Kerry today. I've also got some brochures for some riding stables, so maybe I'll go horseback riding. I need to decide soon and get going!

I love it here!