During breakfast this morning, a family from Georgia (the USA, not Russia) heard us planning our day--a drive to Kenmare, sightseeing along the way, which will bring us geographically closer to tomorrow's agenda which is driving the ever-so-popular Ring of Kerry. Their plans were identical, except they were very worried about the traffic on that Ring of Kerry. Since they were also clutching Rick Steves' guidebook to their chests, we reviewed Rick's driving suggestions together. As long as we do what Rick tells us, we will eliminate any traffic hassle on that popular peninsula. That was all well and good, but they had even more concerns regarding, well, everything. Perhaps, because they had rented a brand new shiny, scratch-free Mercedes Benz, while we've been happily bouncing from curb to curb in our little Nissan. After thirty more minutes of sipping really good, but strong, coffee, I began to get a little jittery myself. Maybe we would all be crushed by a tour bus, or fall over a cliff while backing up to let a different tour bus pass or, oh no, be pushed to the end of the line as a hoard of tourists rush the ladies restroom. It was all ugly. Fortunately, BC at that point stood up calmly and said it was time for us to get on the road.
We waved good-bye to our new friends, drove away from the B&B and were lost within two blocks. Fifty miles later we found ourselves driving south instead of north, and by early afternoon, had made so many mid-course corrections, our map of southwest Ireland was worn, torn and unreadable beneath its hot-pink highlights. You might be wondering why, in this world of sophisticated GPS technology, we were so often lost. It's a long story, but I'll tell you anyway. Consider it an educational story:
Middle daughter, Kristi, had sent us their GPS which had a chip in it for the British Isles--including Ireland. It saved us more than a few dollars--always a good thing. She also sent instructions that we put it in the car, play with it and become familiar with it since it is a different model from our own. I, instead, plugged it into the wall and played with it in the comfort of my kitchen quickly mastering the little bugger. Middle daughter had sent the GPS itself, European adapters, the car stand for the GPS, the car plug-in for the GPS, instructions, and a few other parts. When I tell you I was all about packing light and small for this trip, you'll be way ahead of me. I opted to leave behind the car stand for the GPS which, unfortunately, turned out to be the one absolute necessity for power to the GPS when it was in the car. Oops! Whereas I could plan the route the night before and carefully write it down...it definitely wasn't the same as hearing that lovely voice instructing us to, "Make a U-Turn as soon as possible."
Thus, today's sight-seeing was cut a bit short. Out of the four planned stops, we visited one. It was a good one, though.
A visit to Muckross House, Gardens and Farms definitely takes the better part of a day. The grounds cover a huge amount of perfectly manicured acres, and families were scattered throughout with picnics-a-plenty, pony cart rides, friendly frisbee competitions, and simple relaxing, and enjoying life with family and friends.. I do believe the Irish are a smarter with their leisure time than we Americans.
Muckross House itself is beautiful, and boasts 60+ large and overstuffed rooms. Interestingly, the tour guide explained that many rooms had doors in them that went nowhere, simply to give the impression to visitors that it was an even bigger house than it was, which struck me as being a bit excessive. The house was built in the 1840s during the Irish Famine and, since I've been kind of wrapped up in the famine, it took some of the fun out of the "oohs" and "ahs". The guide also explained that Queen Victoria once visited Muckross---including this very room we're in right now-for a very short period of time. That short period of time turned out to be even shorter than expected. It was one-night. Fortunately, the Queen had given the owners of Muckross House a five year notice before her visit, so they would have time to prepare. And, as it turned out, the family prepared so well, it led them down the road to their eventual bankruptcy.
The thirty-odd miles from Muckross to Kenmare led us through a small portion of the Killarney National Park. Because of the late hour, we couldn't stop and explore everywhere we would have liked, but it's on our list for next time.
After we found our B&B--a small home with three en-suite bedrooms--and settled in a bit, we wandered into town looking for a place to eat. When we spotted this little pub it seemed only right to go in and lift a Guinness to Grandma's memory. We had lit a candle for her a few days before in the Black Abbey of Kilkenny, and this is certainly just as appropriate. And trust me, Grandma would have loved it!
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