The Emerald Shores of Ireland - Part 16

The Emerald Shores of Ireland
A trip journal by David Bowers
9/2/08-9/11/08
Part 16

We arrive at the loading area and with 13 of us, the other groups load in 4, 4 and 3, and the carts seat 4, so that means Bob and I get a private cart. I notice one key difference, in the pictures jaunting cars usually have the 4 seats facing outwards to the sides, on these cars they are still sideways but they face the inside. There is also a door that closes over the back opening, which I am sure is all for safety. To tell the truth, I was a little nervous about getting into the jaunting car when I saw the one step you have to assist you is barely larger than my foot. Bob climbed up first with the help of the jarvee and I, and then I climbed in, no problem. Since there were only two of us the jarvee took the other seat and closed the door. We were offered a blanket and introduced to our horse, Susie, don't ask me what the jarvee's name was.

We start on our way, and even though we are in the back of the pack, our horse seems eager to catch up to the next horse. Our jarvee jokes that our horse has a thing going on with the next horse, and also that since its 5pm, our horse is excited as we will be his last fare of the day, then they get to go to the stable. As Jerry said, even though our jarvee was friendly and very helpful, willing to stop when we wanted to take pictures and all, the narration was a bit more than jibberish. He pointed out some trees and the children's playground, and then he took us to see Muckross Friary. We parked in a jaunting car parking area, and our jarvee indicated this was as far as he was allowed to take us. He invited us to get out and take about 15 minutes to explore the Friary, then come back, and he'd be waiting for us. Since we had not yet paid him for the ride, I felt quite sure he would indeed wait.

We walked up the walkway, and looked at the signage before heading in. You first go through a graveyard, what we though was interesting is that not only can you some pretty old graves there, but you can also see some pretty new ones as well, in addition there wee some examples of celtic crosses. We headed into the friary building, or what is left of us. The walls are all intact, but the roof is totally gone. You can see in the walls where the windows and doors used to be, but they are also missing. So it's the ruined shell of the former Muckross Friary. In the first room, on one side we could clearly see a stone altar, and on the other side we could see a bunch of scaffolding. As I mentioned earlier, there are all sorts of preservation and restoration projects going on. The scaffolding is protected with a wood fence and numerous no climbing signs , then is covered in fabric most of the way up. We pass through a high tower in the center that still has glass in the windows and come to another roofless room, and I realize that might not have been an altar I saw before, these may be crypt style graves. We headed back under the tall point of the building and went down a short dark hall and came out into a nice courtyard with a tree in the center of it, more scaffolding, and some very dark passages leading off of it. We decide not to chance going further into the building and head back towards the graveyard to meet the others on the tour I'm still curious about the first room altar or tomb, I mean it does have steps going up to it like an altar and it has some real nice stone engraving work, like a frieze, leaving a great example of art behind it.

After we all met back up, we returned to our waiting jaunting cars and continued the ride. The next segment of the ride took us around some of the large lakes, offering wonderful views, and with a helpful jarvee, who even recommended a photo spot and everything it was a fun time. I did note on the walkways that you have to look out for the exhaust the jaunting cars produce, to put it nicely, if you are walking about the park, like several people were.

It was right after the nice views of the lakes with the mountain like hills in the background that my camera told me it had taken enough pictures for the day. Oh sure I had the battery low indicator almost every night, so I charged every night. When I got back home, I laughed when I saw a sign that said a heavy duty camera battery should be good for 80 photos a month - I was averaging 200-300 per day. We next went around the outside of Muckross House, just outside the formal gardens and we could see the vine covered walls of the mansion. I'm not sure I approve of driving the jaunting cars through the grass, but based on the ruts that were already worn into the grass, it won't be the first time, and it probably won't be the last. Besides, its their park so if they feel its fine, so be it. We then returned to the jaunting car loading area, and our jarvees took souvenir pictures of us, using our own cameras, for no extra cost. We got out of the jaunting car and then started to settle up. The lead jarvee thought I was personally banking the entire 13 person excursion and presented me with a bill for €127. I was not left on the hook for long as we have an honest group who probably didn't even realize what was going on, and when they all joined us to pay, she was agreeable to €9 per person. Since €10 is such an easier number, we told them to make it an even €10, and then settled up. We had no sooner started up the ramp from the jaunting car stand that Jerry was leading the rest of the group down the hill from Muckross House. Talk about timing, and we still had some time left to make use of the comfort station located at the coach park. After we boarded our coach we had some fun watching a coach pull in, realize the lot was full, and then have to back all the way out.

We then headed back to Tralee, and I realized we drove past Killarney Cathedral, so we did in fact take a Ring of Kerry tour, in terms of making a full circle drive. On the way back to Tralee, Jerry advertised that we had dinner on our own that night, but just in case anybody would be interested he had reserved some seats for the hotel dinner. The hotel dinner would be at our own expense, of course, and the negotiated rate would be €23 plus drinks. I asked Bob if he would prefer to eat on the town or in the hotel, and owing to him being tired, it being a Sunday, which Jerry had already mentioned a lot of stuff closes early or doesn't open on Sunday, and with it getting dark early he would prefer to eat in the hotel. So we raised our hands when he took a count, okay that's 7 for dinner then. Meet in the main restaurant, not the banquet room.

When we arrived at the hotel, we had time to go upstairs, freshen up, and repack the carry on bags. During the day somebody mentioned on a prior trip having their passport in a plastic lined passport protector and the passport inside getting damaged with moisture from sweat. This of course meant I couldn't wait to check my own, since it sits behind a plastic window in its fabric holder. The idea is you can show it without having to pull it out of the case, and it has a pocket for your regular ID the same way. Of course, I have found in the real world of travel, airports and passport agents would prefer to have the actual document, out of its case in their hands. No damage there, and we were glad the hotel left the extra pillows in the room. I started to put a large pile of pocket change on the end table, and for some reason decided to sit there and count it. I was shocked to find out I had nearly €20 in change. I think this comes from my own reluctance to fiddle in change, but a count of it revealed I would have to do a better job of it. The coinage units mostly follow ours: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent, and 1 and 2 Euro coins. The 20 cent coin was a hard one to get used to since I am more used to dealing with quarters, and I never did see the 2 cent coin. Those 1 and 2 euro coins start adding up in a hurry though. Before diner, bob mentioned he was low on Euro, and if I could pay the restaurant check tonight and he would pay me the equivalent in US Dollars. Fair deal wit hme, and we head on down. We get to the restaurant about 5 minutes early and wait till 5 minutes after our appointed time, and thought we had been left alone, but the others had already been seated. No problem, we were shown a table and handed a special menu. The menu was the banquet style menu, except this time it had the notation of the price for the meal service.

It was similar to what we had been having in service, we got some bread, we ordered beer and wine as suited us. When it came time to choose an appetizer, Bob went with the melon salad again, and I ordered the French onion soup, hoping it would not come from the puree school of soup. A short time later our first course was served and where before Bob got a little melon and fruit in a sundae glass, tonight he got a much larger salad plate sized assortment of fruit. I was even more pleased when my soup was served. It was served in a large bowl, much larger than you would want soup in, but that was because that was the outer bowl that held a sourdough bread bowl full of honest to goodness see the ingredients soup. After having soup puree the last couple nights, seeing real onion, croutons and thick melted cheese was a decided plus. The broth was a lot lighter in color than we are used to, but it was still great soup.

Next came the main course, and we had both elected the Cajun style blackened salmon. Hmm, both Cajun and blackened, this should be nice and spicy. Our plates come and we each get a very generous cut of blackened salmon atop a bed of mixed vegetables and a couple boiled potatoes to the side. It is easy to see why we assumed this was the extent of our main course, but then they sat another plate with more mixed vegetables and three scoops of mashed potatoes in front of me. We thought this must have just been a courtesy plate of additional sides to share, I mean the sides on our main plate are more than ample. They then set a similar side plate in front of Bob. Wow, talk about a feast! We joked to ourselves about how much better the meal service is when you are paying for it, than when it is included in the tour. After the main course, we finished it off with some lemon cheesecake. All in all not a bad meal for right around €60 with tip for 2 people. I had asked what the local tipping custom was, but the manager just gave me the unhelpful advice of "Tip what you feel is right", so we went with our usual tipping custom. We left the restaurant and after inquiring about internet service, I learned the public guest computer was out of service, but they did have wireless available if I had a laptop with me. We decided to just head up to the room, it may not seem like it would, but two back to back days with a lot of bus riding can really take it out of you, I think on past choir tours, we called it "Bus Coma". I have a feeling we may have over tipped when our server went out of their way to greet us and thank us profusely as we were boarding the elevator. Time for another great shower, and then off to bed, with a bit of world news from the TV. Even in Ireland, the United States managed to dominate the news coverage with the bank bailout.

Day 7: Monday. September 8, 2008

This morning we awake, and make it a point to be punctual after yesterdays dash to the bus. We don't want any more of that reputation, so its model citizens day. We head down to the banquet room for breakfast, and the hotel must have had more groups in this morning as there were more buffet lines set up. Mostly the same as the day before, and with the big dinner I had, I went with a lighter meal of fruit and cereal. We were out and on the bus noticeably early and seek to resume our proper slot in the seat rotation, which puts us in row 5. We start the day with a drive to Gougane Barra. We start the drive there while a soft rain falls outside. On our way there we drive past a castle arch in Macroom that is showing off some cannons out front. Macroom Castle is long gone, a city park sitting on its grounds, but the castle arch and a couple cannons remain as historical markers. We pass through the village and notice advertisements for Murphy's Stout on the walls, Jerry mentioned that this is a local competitor for Guinness, based out of Cork. Not to worry as we would also pass a fully loaded Guinness truck, not refrigerated enclosed truck, but instead more like an open flatbed proudly displaying its barrels of Guinness to the world.

We then passed a stately looking building that might have been city hall, and which review of my photos reveal had half staffed their Irish flag. We continued through the rather pleasant town square and like most roads it seems we started going down a road that runs alongside a river. We passed back into the countryside, as it would just not be a day in Ireland if we could marvel at the greener than green grass of the heather lines fields, with rivers and streams flowing peacefully in the valleys. We passed by farms, a few houses, a couple villages, and one house that looked like a mansion, with a wonderful setting.

We had been driving down one of Irelands two lane country roads when Jerry announced we were leaving the main road for something a bit smaller, a one lane road into Gougane Barra. We heard the story about St. Finbar, and my initial reaction was Saint Who? Anyway, he was the 6th century bishop of what would become Cork, and is said to have lived his life in hermitage at what is now Gougane Barra, he is also credited with createding a monastic settlement which has grown into the modern day city of Cork. Jerry pointed out a small stone chapel sitting on an island in the lake, the island that is claimed to the be the actual hermitage site. It was then announced that we would take a rest and Mass stop here. We parked the bus in the parking lot right next to a pub and hotel. It was raining lightly as we started to head to the lakeside to get photo of the chapel as it reflected in the water surrounding it. Jerry had also mentioned another site of interest, and that is that the park has won Ireland's Top Toilet award for the best public toilet.

I was a bit confused at first, as I didn't realize we would be having Mass inside the little chapel on the island until Father started getting his equipment out of the bus. First though, a trip to the Top Toilet, which was pointed out to us by a handy directional sign made to look just like a road sign. We walked along side the water with the reflections of the chapel getting better and better as the sun started coming out. We passed the locked gates blocking the bridge out to the island, and continued on to the top toilet. We did pass two wooden rowboats docked on the mainland side, which added to the park like setting. We arrived at the restroom building and found not a simple brick building but a round building complete with what at least looks like a thatched roof with a dome skylight in the middle. Well, it certainly is an attractive restroom building, and inside it is clean and well kept up, but I wouldn't say the inside was anything special. I noted the building was proudly displaying its award plaque, and I'll just comment that if in an Irish speaking area, and judging by the official park welcome sign, this is such an area, remember that "Fir" means men, and "Mina" means women. An important travel tip, just for you. After the rest stop we headed to the gates.

The Emerald Shores of Ireland - Part 15

The Emerald Shores of Ireland

A trip journal by David Bowers

9/2/08-9/11/08

Part 15

It has been said that Charlie Chaplin really admired the Kerry region, and we saw evidence of that as we passed a statue of Charlie Chaplin in a park alongside the road. In this park was a bus pulled over and its tour group enjoying a picnic lunch. Jerry mentioned that the German tours generally prefer to have picnics instead of lunch stops at restaurants, this is facilitated by the fact that German tour busses will sell lunches to their passengers, and I suppose if they take them to a park off the side of the road, that sort of makes them a captive audience. In a similar vein he noted that Italian busses are often stocked with a coffee bar, and one tour operator he was talking to once noted that on a week long tour he can sell upwards of 400 cups of coffee. I don't recall coffee sales on the Italian tour bus I rode in Italy. It seems that Europeans have no qualms about taking bus tours to other European nations instead if air travel, and Ireland is not a problem as they have ferries that can accommodate the busses. Jerry noted that Irish busses, as a rule, don't sell any sort of food and drink.

Past the park, we saw something that I forget what it is, it's a small stone building much in the shape of the Gallarus Oratory we saw the night before with a series of huge stone rocks in a row leading up to the building. The area seems to be popular with tourists, and earns points from me for having an American flag along with the Ireland flag. From here the road kept getting higher, and we passed another roadside park that has a statue of Mary in a little green space separating the road from the park. We kept going until we arrived at our lunch stop, the Scariff Inn in Caherdaniel. Jerry made a special note that we should be sure to check out the fabulous view they have. By the time the road gets to the little end in the road is even with the dormers in the upper level windows. Just past its Irish flag, I see the sign, a sign inviting me to "Enjoy Ireland's Best Known View (fog permitting) From our Vista Bar"

We walk around to the end of the building to the entrance and step inside, as I suspected we had to walk down a flight of stairs into the Vista Bar once we entered the building. Another American item caught my eye, it was a folk art throw that represented the Betsy Ross 13-star flag with hearts instead of stars. Perhaps they wanted to make their American lunch tour group feel more at home. The throw was folded as to obscure the message "God Bless America" on the throw, well obscure it except if you can read mirror writing. We continued down into the stairs to the Vista Bar, and even from a distance the view out the windows is breathtaking. Hey look, it's the second snooker table I have seen in one day. They have skillfully laid out their restaurant so to get to the cafeteria serving line you have to walk through their gift shop. We managed to get out of the gift shop without buying anything and headed down the cafeteria line. I decided to try another Irish favorite, the shepherds pie, which was served with a dinner roll, cole slaw and tossed salad. Interesting to see those two together. When we got to the beverage case I was looking over the beers and I guess they sensed I didn't see what I wanted as a server approached me, "Drink from the bar?" I ordered a Guinness, and they had it out to me and on my tray before I got to the cashier station. Here is where I really hope the cashier collected for my Guinness, a reasonable assumption, as I know the bar attendant didn't ask me for payment nor did I stop at the bar on my way out. After I paid the cashier a waitress picked up my tray before I could and carried it into the dining room. Gee, I don't really need help, but then I noticed they were carrying everybody's trays into the dining room and seating people. We joined a single who was eating alone in our tour to better use a table of four.

Shepherds Pie is a neat concocation, you take a base made of meat, add to it some mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes, and then cover that all up with melted cheese. Pretty good quick lunch if you ask me. After eating our food, we left the table as the dining room was still busy with people looking for tables. Besides this way we can check out the view from the Vista Bar, and then we found out we can see the same view from the parking lot which has the benefit of not having to take pictures through windows. So we slowly gathered in the parking lot, taking pictures, socializing and looking around.

Back on the road we heard the legend of the Captain's House. All it is really is a house that is built to resemble a boat. Of course the locals and the guides can't let it go at that, so a legend has been made up about how the house belongs to a sea captain who wanted a home we could feel at home in. We then saw some nice beach areas along the shoreline. Further along we passed a house decorated with caricatures of famous Irish writers, I think we might have seen O'Connell's house, I know we saw the sign for it, but if we did I didn't have my camera ready fast enough.

Our next stop would be Sneem, and it would be a rest stop. Here we were able to get off the bus, take rest stop and then we had about have an hour to walk through the quaint little town. The main square was lined with two story stores, each with its own distinctive color, yes they might even be the same building but they want to make it clear that it is a different business. Again they use colors we just don't have, or at least not commonly use, making the village a prime candidate for getting "quaint European village" or "quaint Irish village" photos, right down to its Shell gas station by the bridge. Speaking of the bridge it overlooks a cascading rapids that runs down to a park below, and beyond that you have nice view of the village of Sneem. Walking back through the village, we stopped for an ice cream as a desert after our lunch. It seems like every other store in Sneem offers ice cream. Down one road we say a Doctor's Surgery, with hours that make our doctors look accommodating. Something like two to four hours a day. We took several pictures, enjoyed the town square with its old fashioned announcements board and modern art sculpture in the middle. After our stop at Sneem, we veered off the Ring of Kerry road, and headed towards Moll's Gap.

More scenic shots as a river cuts through a valley, and then we headed into Killarney National Park. Jerry mentioned we should be fortunate there are so many trees to enjoy, as during the years under English rule they had viewed Ireland as an inexhaustible supply of wood and deforested darn near the entire country. What wasn't left by deforesting was taken for "military reasons" to eliminate hiding places the Irish natives were using. He noted there is a problem though, there is one kind of plant that is growing so thick that it is cutting off sunlight to the ground below, if you drive through a patch of them, which we will, you will think you are driving through a tunnel. Our next stop was Ladies View, don't worry gentlemen you can see it to. So named because the Lady referrd to was the Queen of England who chose this sport as her favorite scenic spot in the area. Now we get to see it. It's a nice overlook where you can see the lakes of Killarney in the distance while enjoying the hills and valleys.

As we headed on, Jerry was just a bit late in asking us to pay attention to the next road sign. Oh I saw it, but I didn't get the camera ready in time. It looks like the traditional Irish road directional sign pointing across the road, except it was painted in bright colors and the warning was "Leprechaun Crossing". This, of course, prompted Jerry to tell us a leprechaun tale, after first making sure we were all familiar with the little playful elves that protect the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and all that stuff of Irish folklore. His story was that one day a boy was walking and he spotted a leprechaun, taking firm hold of the little guy and not daring to let go or let him out of his sight, he asked "Where is the pot of gold?" The answer "The pot of gold, oh its just right in the forest here, let me show you". Keeping a firm grasp so as to prevent escape, the leprechaun leads him deep into the forest., indicates a tree and says the pot of gold is buried right under this branch. Now this forest is full of the same sort of tree, and the boy lets the Leprechaun go, and of course the little man disappears in a hurry. The boy starts trying to work the ground but alas the ground is too hard. He decided to take a sock off, and tie it to the branch that was indicated, run home, get his shovel, and come back and get the loot. This plan worked just as intended until he got back to the forest, and found the same identical sock hanging from the same exact branch on every tree in the forest. Anyway, I hear the sign is taken in every night due to the constant roadway theft at night, by day it is next to a craft store that can keep an eye on it. I did not go into the store, but I have to wonder, if the signs keep disappearing if the store has considered mass producing them and selling them in the store? I know Kennywood amusement park sells their famous yellow arrow signs in the gift shops for a similar reason, just like they sell the mission bells that line the main mission highway in California. At least that allows honest people the chance to buy what they covet instead of having to turn criminal.

Switching to a grimmer topic, earlier on our trip, somebody had asked about the Irish Famine, and Jerry indicated he would hold that story until he had suitable time, and now he figures he has suitable time. Before I begin, I will say it was fascinating hearing about a historical event that I've heard before from the Americans point of view, being told by the Irish point of view. Instead of an Immigration story, its an emigration story. The story as we have usually heard it is when we learn US history in school, about the melting pot society and the great influx of immigrants in the 1800's It as usually explained that the reason they wanted to basically leave everything behind and start over in a strange land is they were coming for a better life. Now we hear the story from the other side.

You may recall during the week Jerry had laid the foundation for this when he talked about feudal society on the first day, and the about the difference between the castle dwellers and the cabin dwellers on the third touring day. It only make sense that on the 5th touring day (6th day of the trip) we have the story come to a head. You might recall I mentioned how the commoners were only allowed to keep enough money to live a bare bones lifestyle, if that. As it turned out the Irish diet was heavily laden with potatoes as they were the only crop that could sustain their lives given their small land areas. As you might fear, this works out fine until the potato crop fails, which it did, several years in a row. When the potato crops failed hunger became a real issue, and that was including possible eviction by heartless landlords when the money stopped rolling in. Lack of nutrition lead to diseases spreading very rapidly. What's worse, is there was ample food in Ireland to share on a food aid basis, but as the people of Ireland continued to suffer, England continued to export large amounts of the food from Ireland for its own use. Public assistance wasn't helping out much either, as the rules were written in such way to preclude most from being eligible. There was a rule about if you had more than a quarter acre of land, which in an agricultural society is highly likely, you could not claim public assistance. Some fled to the workhouses on the sheer hope of being allowed in and being fed. Those that could, started to emigrate from Ireland, often to North America. Those who couldn't afford it were sometimes sponsored by their landlords who wanted to be rid of their now non-producing tenants with a sort of international severance package. Most though caught boat rides on unscrupulous ships that were either low priced or they traveled free on an indentured servant type arrangement.

Here is where the situation worsened, as the owners of the boats had very dangerous practices, for starters they would crowd the boats way over their intended capacity, oftentimes turning former cargo holds into massive dormitories with very close quarters. Of course the more room in the boat they use to cram full off vulnerable poor people who are willing to risk it all in the hopes of a better life, the less room they have for provisions. Severe overcrowding, with inadequate provisions is sure to be a disaster waiting to happen, and it was. Estimates say usually a third of the passengers on any of these boats usually dies en route and since the other passengers who were in tight quarters for maybe a month or more didn't want to deal with the stench and possible illness that could be invited by hauling a dead body, they mercilessly threw them overboard. Jerry quipped that the sharks used to just follow behind the boats. Arriving in America was no assurance either, as we had instituted a quarantine program to prevent whatever disease they had from spreading into the United States. The quarantine period is said to have been the last straw for some that made it. Jerry admitted that since there is no good documentation of what really happened, the political sides will skew the death/emigration rate as suits their cause. Those who wanted a free Ireland compare it to a genocide by England on the Irish people with a large toll on the population, those in favor of staying with England will say that it wasn't nearly that bad, and cite a much lower number.

So, there is the Irish Potato Famine in extreme Cliff's notes version. The history lesson allowed us to get to Muckross House part of Killarney National Park,. We enter the park and pull into a crowded coach park, taking the last parking space remaining. Large friendly signs warn us the exit gates will automatically close at park close. We depart the bus and head up a trail stopping just outside Muckross House. Muckrosss House is one of those giant mansion homes in the center of a park and garden, sort of like Biltmore back in the United States. Here Jerry divides the group up into those who want to ride the jaunting cars, and those who want to take a walking tour with him. We join the jaunting car group, which winds up being 13 people. At about this time, a representative of the jaunting car attraction meets us, and Jerry gives him some instructions regarding what to show us and the like. This particular area of the park is motor vehicle free, and in addition to guided park tours, the jaunting cars can also serve as a sort of taxi service. One the details are arranged, those of us who are to take the ride head off with the jarvee, and the rest of the group meets up with Jerry.

The Emerald Shores of Ireland - Part 14

The Emerald Shores of Ireland
A trip journal by David Bowers
September 2, - September 11, 2008
Part 14

The food came, and Bob's melon salad looked a bit small in a sundae glass, and I must admit I was thinking of chicken and bacon salad as in pieces of meat on top of lettuce. I must have totally blanked on the concept of chicken salad, like you would find on a deli sandwich, but that's what it was except it had big chunks of chicken and not a lot of sauce. The cream of potato soup followed the puree school of soup preparation, and tasted like watered down mashed potatoes, with no chunks of potato. The pork loin was good as well as the usual sides it was paired with, and the apple crumb cake was a cross between apple cake and apple pie, it looked like a cake with its rectangular slices, but it tasted like Dutch apple pie, complete with pie filling. Unlike Jurys Inn, towards the end of the meal the barmaid came back around to settle bar tabs making that process that much easier. We were informed to return to the same tables in the morning for breakfast.

We then returned to our room, and turned the news on TV, it wasn't CNN, it was something like Skynews or something like that, but it had the 20 minute news loop format. I'd say there are most a dozen TV channels, maybe a couple more except in the 19 channels on most TV's some were taken up by audio feeds from radio stations. At first I thought it was just a limited hotel TV package, until I looked at the TV section of a newspaper and realized that yes, it really is just that limited. Jerry quipped towards the start of our trip that while in the hotels, we could take a look at Irish TV, and said "That will be good for about 5 minutes" He wasn't too far off, he would later quip that the state run broadcasting service, RTE, stands for "Really Terrible Entertainment", in actually it's the initials for Radio Television Ireland - in Gelic.

It was soon shower time, and when Bob was finished he reported having all kinds of difficulties with the shower. Seems the water would not turn on unless you turned the cold water on first, and if you turned the cold water off, it all went off, and he couldn't get it quite hot enough to his liking. I brace myself for another sub par shower, but I do take slight consolation in the fact I have a bar of soap to use. I got into the shower and saw what looked like an old style two faucet system except the faucets were mounted on either side of a metal box like enclosure. Recalling that in Ireland, cold is on the left, I turned that one and yes water came on. Then I looked over to the right, and the other faucet was weird, I could see it was calibrated in degrees Celsius, so what we really have is another way of implementing the same shower setup we had seen the past three nights. Whereas before the outer knob controlled the flow, and the inner knob controlled the temperature, here the left knob is the flow, and the right know is the temperature. I noted the knob would not turn past 38C which just isn't hot enough for me, but then I noticed a red button that functioned like a child proof top, squeeze in on the red button and the knob will turn past 38 up to a more reasonable setting. Having figured that out, I had the best shower so far this trip, and I find comfort in the fact I get to have it again tomorrow. So with that, we prepared for bed, and with the help of ordering up a few extra pillows, had a good night.

Day 6: Sunday, September 7, 2008

This morning we woke up, ready to start out Sunday morning, and after getting ready we appreciated the fact we got to stay here a second night, and we put the stuff we absolutely couldn't be without in a fold up gym bag and left the hand luggage in the room as well. We headed back to the banquet room and found our same table. We spotted the buffet setup in the next room. I liked how the juice dispenser sits in a bed of ice, but found the breakfast buffet to be lacking. Sure it had eggs, beans, and bacon, but what happened to the puddings I was acquiring a taste for. They did have breads, cereals and a fruit bar, so it was more than enough just no breakfast meat to my liking. So, we all got seated at table, and there was a hot thermos like pitcher, the kind you serve hot drinks in. One person at out table is feeling helpful and goes around, asking if we want coffee, and filling the coffee cups provided. We had just moved on to adding cream and sugar when the server sit an even larger thermos down on our table and says "Here's your coffee!" We slowly take a taste of the hot beverage we thought was coffee, and found out it was tea. Well, I've heard of people using cream and sugar in tea, so why not try something new. It wasn't bad by any means, but I chased it down with a real coffee.

There was some confusion regarding our assigned time to be on the bus, and by confusion I mean strong opinions that the departure time ranged anywhere from 8:00-8:30. Our group usually does better than this, so I am thinking he may have stated two different times. We went up, retrieved our coats and the gym bag, and headed out. The elevator was full, so I took one for the team and dashed down four flights of stairs. Well, I guess those of us who thought 8:30 were wrong as our group ran out of the hotel bringing up the rear. Well, I hope this is the first and last time we are the last ones on the bus. We headed to our assigned seat rotation seat, but it was taken, so Jerry pointed us into the empty front seat. Sure, it's the same seat we were in yesterday, but we do have another scenic drive day, so maybe good things do come to those who wait.

We headed out of the hotel, and we first passed alongside a domed indoor water park. What a neat idea given Ireland's history of bad rainy weather in the summer. Our first stop today is Killarney Cathdral for Mass. We arrive at the church, which owing to its position is hard to get pictures of and head inside. The church has a lot of windows which helps to allow a lot of light in which gives the place a light airy feeling. I noted that this cathedral, while the altar has been moved to center of the church, still has the tabernacle way at the back in its original spot. This led to a pause before and after communion where some people whispered "Where did he go?" An interesting piece of art was above the altar the church had the usual suspended crucifix above the altar except the two beams were different, and this time the vertical beam was short, and the horizontal beam was really long, it just looked different. I also noted the church has provided televisions for the benefit of those with out a clear view of the altar. What I noticed was that even though we had a small private mass, which seems unusual on a Sunday morning, the television system was still on, and it changed cameras from altar to podium as required so it was manned and operating. As we were finishing up, people must have started arriving for the 10:00 Mass as they came in and took seats off to one side. When Mass ended we headed out to the bus, by way of walking back past a large crowd in black suits, almost tuxcedos carrying black folders that looked suspiciously like music folders. I also noted another tour bus parked out front, so I am willing to bet that there is a touring choir heading into perform Mass right after us. Having been on a few church choir tours with Mom, I know what that's like.

We next headed out of Killarney alongside a river to start the Ring of Kerry tour. The Ring of Kerry is another one of Ireland's famous scenic drives, and again we were lucky to enjoy perfect weather conditions for it. On the outskirts of town, we stopped, but did not enter Kerry Bog Village, which is another historical park where you can see thatched roofs and the like. Jerry commented that its much like Bunratty Folk Park on a smaller scale, and that we didn't really need to see it. We did though, stop in the neighboring pub for a rest stop, and I noticed the Bog Village and Pub were doing a big business with attendants parking busses almost as tightly as he could reasonably get them. We were told that the house specialty at this particular pub is the Irish Coffee, or coffee mixed with whiskey and topped with whipped cream. Bob and I decided we'd like to try them, so we headed into the Red Fox Inn.

The pub was buzzing full of tourists, and when we entered we noted on one side they have the bar, but on the other side they have a sales table expressly for the purpose of selling Irish Coffee. We got in the short Irish Coffee line and they had row upon row of glass coffee cups sitting there with shots of whiskey already poured into them. All they needed to do when you ordered was add the hot coffee and the whipped cream. (Not from a can either). We took our Irish coffees and headed to the dining area. I noted a postcard rack where they sell "Their famous Irish Coffee recipie". And we tried to take photos of ourselves with our Irish Coffee when a tour mate came up and got our photos for us. I also took a close up photo of the large County Kerry flag in the pub before we headed to a quiet corner of the pub. They had plenty of tables, but we decided to just stand. I also noted the room we were in had a non-alcoholic coffee bar in it was well. After finishing our morning pick me up, we took a look around the pub using its large facilities, and I took a look in the gift shop. In the gift shop I noticed a nice green Ireland shirt with the word Ireland in celtic script, and its even in my size. So I bought the shirt and as I was heading out I made the big blunder of the trip. I snatched up a Ring of Kerry book in the wrong language. I think I got the French version, so that's €5.50 down the drain, but hey I do get the nice pictures that are in the book. The T-shirt was a good deal at only €9.95.

After I left the gift shop I took a look towards the back areas of the pub and chanced upon a coin operated pool table that just didn't look right. Getting a closer look, I realized the table was equipped with Snooker balls just as I suspected. I returned to the main room o the pub and if I thought it was crowded before, well now the main room is just jam packed. I decide to head out to the parking lot and wait there, I left the pub and I spotted Bob outside as he had already decided to get out of the crowd. After the pub stop we started on the scenic drive

The scenic drive was similar to Dingle Penisnula as we drove around the outer border of another peninsula like area with the sea to one side and the mainland to the other. In fact at one point I think Jerry mentioned we could see the Dingle peninsula from where we were. We also had a good dose of Irish history today, first hearing about the Penal Laws which might be of interest as this deals with all the laws Great Britain had passed to try to suppress the strong Catholic presence, really trying to make like so hard on them they would convert. Stuff like taking away rights to vote, hold public office, own a horse worth more than 5 pounds and so much more all aimed at making life very hard on them. He referenced some of the long tern hunger strikes that went on, and early forms of civil demonstration that went on. I liked the line where the leader, a Daniel O'Connell I believe who had rallied a lot of the Catholics at the time into a large group who were civil and not forceful in their protests and then saying "Would you rather me hand them over tp some hothead notw that they are well organized?"

For stretches of time, instead of a narration, Jerry would let us enjoy the scenic drives on the trip with soft background music on the busses on board entertainment system. This caused a fair bit of trouble at first, as I suspect the other busses CD players worked like those in your car, but this bus had a high tech audio visual entertainment system that kept giving them fits. When they did put the CD's into the dashboard mounted CD player, they played only on a speaker clearly meant for the drivers personal use. Eventually they did figure it out and he played a variety of contemporary Irish music, stuff from the High Kings and Sharon Shannon. I liked the music so much I bought my own set of the CD's off of Amazon. He even threw in a CD with the traditional Irish songs being played on panpipes. Jerry had mentioned earlier that there is no sheet music with proper Irish music, it should be played as the musician feels when they play it, and also that the songs are either usually very happy, or very sad with no middle ground.

Just like on the Dingle tour, we would occasionally make use of the roadside pull offs to stretch our legs, get some air and take photos. We did, in fact pull off where we could get a nice view of the Dingle Peninsula from the Ring of Kerry. What a way to tie the two days touring together. Shortly after the stop to see Dingle we passed by some houses, but what made one special is that it was equipped with a tall in ground flag pole, and on the flag pole was proudly flying the United States flag. Just something truly special when you see it displayed so proudly abroad. I suspect the owner of that house just might be a transplanted American. I hate to sound like a broken record but more greener than green heather lined fields, more breathtakingly clear bodies of water, I can easily see why anybody would want to move here. A bit later we passed a sculpture on the side of the road that Jerry referred two as the four monks in a boat, or 4 men in a tub sculpture., properly known as the Skellig which was built as a tribute to the Augustine monks. A bit further we passed a massive restoration project going on to restore the O'Connell Memorial church. I mean massive as in scaffolding almost completely covering the exterior of the building. Further along, we came to a storefront that announced it was a bookmaker. Given the large posters of horse racing in the windows, I doubt I would see the publication of any great works of literature inside. It is nice though, knowing that some nations take a "if you can't beat em" attitude and let it operate right out in the open, which may even mean its more regulated than shady back room operations, we then passed an Anglican church that has since been converted into a coffee house, and hey there is Tom's Tavern. We have a lot of Tom's in my family, I should feel right at home.

As we circle the Ring of Kerry we pass a fairly modern looking school, complete with hurling pitch in the back, then a building claiming to be the Valentia Meteorlogical and geophysical observatory, showing there is room for education and science way out here in the midst of all this beauty. Speaking of science and technology a bit further he pointed out a building he said used to be a trans Atlantic cable station, now a Garda or police station. We got s short introduction to the trans Atlantic cable. At issue was Ireland's desire to communicate with the new world the problem was the only means they had was by sending messages on boats that cruised to North America and back. The speed of these boats was an issue of course, you were looking at a month each way, and that is if you were lucky enough to have good seas and good weather, otherwise it could get much longer. The idea for a sunken cable wasn't a new one, as it had connected Ireland to England that way, and other European nations had cables. Going clear cross the Atlantic Ocean however, was untested. From what I was able to read later, it actually took several tries before they finally got one to work, at great expense as they had to hire two boats, build the cable have two boats cruise the ocean carefully deploying cable and then meeting somewhere in the middle and hooking it up. Eventually they hit on the right combination and had a working cable. It worked, but it was also pretty slow taking 3 minutes to signal one word. He joked about now, they get impatient if it takes 3 seconds for an American web page to load. The problem was that people back then, even though they finally had a faster means of communication, it wasn't fast enough, and they tried to signal faster and faster, causing the electric lines to heat up as more juice was being put through them. Finally just 3 months after the first cable line opened for business, they burnt it out. The investors didn't want to sink any more money into the project, but one Irishman realized that if he could control the only source of instant communication to the new world, that position ought to afford him some power, influence and wealth. He bankrolled another cable, using a thicker cable with more insulation learning from the earlier mistakes. He also used only one boat deploying all the cable going one direction then hooking ti up to the other station. And thus trans Atlantic instant communication began.