Killarney Kicked My A**

I spent my weekend in lovely Killarney! We went biking around the National Park and Ross Castle the first day and then we went for a relaxing carriage ride around the park the second day.  For anyone who knows me you may have had to read that last sentence twice because surely I didn't say I went biking (for those of you that don't know I'm really scared of bikes) but believe it or not it happened. 

Proof!

 

 We biked about 12.5 miles which definitely kicked my tuckus but we got to see some of the prettiest scenery I've seen since I've been here.  It was exactly what I had pictured Ireland to look like before I got here.  We got to bike through some hills, or what they call mountains (the tallest mountain in Ireland is in Killarney), around a lake, to a castle and even trekked our way to see the Torc Waterfall.

It was a little rainy and somewhat chilly but overall a really great day for a bike ride! On the trail around the lake we passed fields with grazing cattle, people out for an afternoon stroll, and horse drawn carriages. It was so picturesque!

Personally, the 'mountains' in this picture, and if it were a clearer picture you would probably agree with me, reminded me of what the islands in Jurassic Park looked like and I was just a little disappointed that I didn't run into any dinosaurs, but maybe that was just me.

 

After we biked for awhile we ditched our bikes and took about a mile walk to see the Torc Waterfall.  It looked bigger in person but I think you get the picture - it was b-e-a-U-tiful and definitely worth the time it took to get there.



 

After our adventure to the waterfall we decided to bike our way to Ross Castle, because who doesn't want to see a castle?! We didn't get to go inside of it because we didn't really have time to wait for the next tour but it was still really cool to walk around and take some pictures.  If you've been keeping up with my posts you know about the Audrey getting lost debacle and it was here, at Ross Castle, that we were experiencing a part two to the ongoing saga.  We left her alone for 10 minutes and POOF she disappeared along with a couple of the other girls we were with.  All was well and we eventually found her and the other girls but it was a sticky situation for a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

Once our group reunited we headed back to the Rent-A-Bike store to check in our bikes after a 5 hours day of biking.  Lets just say that I have not been in so much pain in my life and it was hard to sit for a couple of days.  Next time I'm requesting a seat with some cushion or I'll just bring my own.

 

 

Day 2 of our weekend adventure started with breakfast at our hostel and then we were off to take a carriage ride!  I love horses so I was totally pumped for this part of the trip.  We paid for the 30 minute trip through some of the National Park and it was awesome! Our guide was so nice and told us a lot of history about the park that we didn't know, for instance the National Park was donated by an American!

 

 

Say 'Hello' to George the horse! Unfortunately I didn't get our wonderful tour guides name but he was awesome!

 

Just some other people enjoying a carriage ride first thing in the morning!

 

After our lovely morning we grabbed some coffee on our way to the bus station and then grabbed the 11:30 bus back to Cork.  It was a really awesome weekend and I would totally recommend visiting Killarney to anyone thinking about coming to Ireland.