...then his name would have been Muckross. (Or Mucros, in Gaelic.)
But more on that later! It's slowly dawning on me that every day I spend over here is going to be my new favorite day, though today's adventure might just top anything else. We left Dingle for good, just when we were starting to get familiar with the place. But as always over here, it's on to bigger and better things. Literally, in this case, since the city we've spent the day in (Killarney) is more than double the size of Dingle, and the city where we're spending the night is larger still--Cork!
Our first stop was Killarney National Park, which is about ten thousand acres of land crisscrossed with what I can only describe as bike paths that the locals use for jogs or walks or leisurely rides on horse-drawn carriages. It reminded me of the Douglas Trail back home, if it were surrounded by thicker, greener woodlands and the occasional ruined castle.
We were divided between four carriages and give the abbreviated tour of the park. Our horse was named Tom, and he was driven by a kind old man named Mick. (Imagine Maurice from Ever After with a tan and you've got Mick.) He took a liking to the three girls in our group whose names started with 'M' (Megan, Marie, and Molly) and teased and flirted with them the whole time. It was a riot and we all enjoyed ourselves, though I think if it had been me he had taken a shine to I'd probably have been a little uncomfortable. But it was all in good fun, and soon enough we were deposited at Ross Castle, in the middle of the park.
We didn't get to go inside this one, but we walk3ed around the grounds quite a bit and took some lovely pictures. Let's face it: I'm from America. We don't have castles. I'd be perfectly happy sitting myself down on the (very wet) grass and staring at one for hours. But there was still more to see, so we piled back onto the bus and headed a little further into Killarney where we found yet another national park.
Okay, it wasn't a national park, but it easily could have been. We went to Muckross House. Which should also be called Muckross Manor. Or maybe Muckross Castle. Whatever you call it, when it was built there were 11,000 acres of land. Now there are 25,000 hectares (I think. I'm not positive I'm remembering it correctly). Whatever it was, it was huge. The front doors open up onto this gravel path that disappears into the trees at the horizon. And to the right of the house, there's this huge sweeping lawn that goes right down to Muckross Lake, which is surrounded by giant, beautiful trees on either side, with a backdrop of misty mountains behind. This was the view these people had from their dining room. I kid you not, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I can't imagine what it would have been like to live there. Wake up every morning and look out over your acres of land. Of course, the children were all confined to the upstairs unless they had express permission to come down, so they probably weren't spending a lot of time out on the lawns, but I just kept thinking of giant croquet games or being able to play an actual soccer game on your lawn.
The house was just as impressive. When you visit historical sites in America, they cordon off all the areas where you aren't supposed to go in order to protect the valuables from damage or theft. You stand in the doorway and peer in at the artifacts. Here, they give you a friendly reminder not to touch anything and let you straight into the room, no ropes or cords involved. We saw beautiful chandeliers and a giant crystal window that made the room seem sunny, even though it was raining outside. We saw a secret gentleman's game room into which no women were ever allowed to set foot. There was a writing desk with a secret drawer, bell cords in every room and beside every bed for calling servants to your side, and never ending corridors and staircases. Queen Victoria came to visit and it took them six years to prepare for her arrival.
Anyway, it was just fabulous. No wonder we were all thinking about Pride and Prejudice the whole time, though. On a somewhat related note, I have decided that Ireland is the place to go when you want to take engagement or senior pictures. It might be the most picturesque place in the world. It's certainly the prettiest of all the places that I've been.
On a completely unrelated note, I thought I'd give a shout out to anyone out there who has seen the Avengers, or more specifically, Thor. We had a moment in the pub last night when we all realized we were drinking water from one pint beer glasses. (I know, I know. I'm dying to quote Lord of the Rings too.) One of the girls mentioned how good the water tasted, so I pantomimed taking my glass and smashing it against the floor, yelling "another!" We dissolved into laughter. It's nice to know that we can enjoy the pub experience just as much as the locals, but without the alcohol.
And related to that, another shout out to any friends and family that are currently watching the season finale of Korra (which is actually starting to air RIGHT NOW as I type this!) and who have seen or will be seeing Brave: I...am in Ireland. But I still do wish I could be watching with you! :)
The directors bought us all heritage cards, meaning we have access to most of the sites we come across from now on, regardless of price. That should make for an interesting next couple of days! We go to church tomorrow here in Cork, then head out to Blarney Castle. No verdict yet on whether or not I will actually kiss the Blarney Stone...
Internet at this hotel is only for computers (ethernet, no wifi) so a huge thanks to Marie for letting me use her computer! I uploaded all of four pictures to my first post, but it took so long that I decided to wait until later to do the rest, as this isn't actually my computer.
Well, Happy Saturday everyone! If I don't post anything tomorrow, look forward to more stuff on Monday!
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