Irish Blitz: Killarney, Kilkenny, Dingle, Blarney, and Cork

Alright, a lot to cover here, so no screwing around.

Aw, look at the little puppies!  Look at their floppy ears!  They’re so cute!

Ah, no screwing around, I said!  Sorry, got distracted there.  Well, I was fortunate enough to have members of my family come and visit me for the past week!  Last Saturday, my mom, my Aunt Annie, and my cousin Karen arrived in Ireland, happy, peppy, and full of jetlag.  Then the next day we caught up with my Uncle Johnny and Aunt Sue over in Killarney (map: http://bit.ly/b9XGwU), practically making it a family reunion (well, for the Hudacs’s, maybe 1/5^th of one).  Killarney in County Kerry is an interesting town because it’s nestled around Killarney National Park, the largest national park in Ireland, which in turn is centered around the Lough Leane (lough being Irish for “lake”):

There are a lot of hiking trails around the park, including one to the magnificent Torc Waterfall:

Rickett’s Glen, eat your heart out!  There were many other sights to be been, such as the Muckross House, a Victorian mansion owned by the Herbert family which was actually visited by Queen Victoria herself in 1861:

Also there’s Ross Castle, a 15^th century estate for the Earls of Kenmare situated right on the Lough Leane (unfortunately the inside was closed for the winter, but you can do silly stuff with the outside like I did in the last picture):

My family then took me to a pub for dinner, when Uncle Johnny told the waitress that it was my birthday a few days prior (I was unfortunately in the bathroom, so I couldn’t stop him).  Soon enough, the lights were dimmed, and the staff came out to sing “Happy Birthday” to me and present me with cake and ice cream on top a chocolate-drizzled message:

I guess I had it coming.  Anyway, on Thursday my mom, aunt, cousin, and I journeyed eastward to the city of Kilkenny (map: http://bit.ly/duo0q8).  Kilkenny is often called Ireland’s medieval city because the city’s layout, as well as many of the buildings, has remained unchanged since the middle ages.  The embodiment of this is the late 12^th century Kilkenny Castle:

A fort turned mansion for the Butler family in the 15^th century, its eastern wall was destroyed by (who else) Oliver Cromwell in 1650, giving it its current “C” shape.  The insides are furnished to look like it did in the early 19^th century, with swanky portraits and libraries and dining halls (I’d show you pictures, but we weren’t allowed to take any, and I’m not that stealthy).  Another interesting building was St. Canice’s Cathedral, built in the 13^th century:

I really liked the graveyard; many of the graves are so old that the engraving has completely eroded away.  Apparently, one of the graves is for John Kearney, who was a bishop until his death in 1813, and just so happens to be the great-great-grand uncle of Barack Obama.  Funny how that works out.

Next on the Irish Blitz is Dingle, an ocean town on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry (map: http://bit.ly/drtQoi).  Dingle is a very popular tourist town, and we were lucky enough to visit it in the offseason without the crowds (unfortunately that meant we couldn’t swim with Fungie, the Dingle Dolphin).  But we got to see boats and the ocean and stuff:

And I got my hand bitten off by a statue of Fungie:

My mom and I even ventured to the aquarium, where we got to see zebra fish, sharks being feed, and I got to touch a super friendly sting ray (it was practically jumping out of the water to say, “Hello!”).  On the way out, we took the scenic route known as Connor Pass, and (after some dangerously narrow roads down the edge of a cliff) pulled over to take in the sights:

Yeah, I think I can live up here.  Anyway, I had a lot of fun with my family, and I was very sad to see them go (along with their rental car, which gave me a nice vacation from stupid buses).  But the adventure just doesn’t stop for me!  The next day, the International Office set up a bus trip down to Blarney and Cork just to ensure that I remain traveling and sleep-deprived.  Blarney (map: http://bit.ly/b87VsB) is of course famous for the Blarney Castle:

And the even more famous Blarney Stone (stock photo provided because I couldn’t get a picture of it myself without paying €10):

Now, I made up my mind a while ago that I wasn’t going to kiss the stone.  Firstly, I’m one of those boring people that don’t believe in superstitions (the “gift of gab” seems pretty stupid and annoying anyway).  Also, my grandmother told me not to kiss the stone on her deathbed because (and I’m quoting here), “People pee on it.”  So I was planning on doing something else, like blow the stone a kiss or tell the stone that it wouldn’t be right to kiss because I didn’t think this relationship was going anywhere.  But then I gave into peer pressure (stupid cute French girls), and ended up kissing it after all (once again, no photo because I wasn’t paying €10).  It’s a rather nerve-wracking experience, because you have to lay down on a yoga mat and lean backwards under the castle’s battlements while holding onto these rails for dear life (even though there’s a safety cage underneath it as well).  To give you some perspective, here’s a zoomed-in picture from the ground, and the Blarney Stone is located just on the other side of where those handrails are:

Who thought of this tradition anyway?  After that fun time, the bus continued to the Republic of Ireland’s second largest city, Cork (map: http://bit.ly/cdAkQ4).  People from Cork seem to have a bit of a reputation in Ireland.  They happily call themselves “The Rebels,” a name they also give to their football and hurling teams.  Due to the county’s more socialist leanings, there are many signs and t-shirts saying that they are in the “People’s Republic of Cork.”  However, people outside of Cork seem to look at them like people in the United States look at people from New Jersey: self-centered and arrogant people who think their county is the only one that matters when it actuality it is quite overrated (hmm, I may have just lost friends thanks to that last sentence, from New Jersey and Cork).  Also, Cork parallels New Jersey with its bad drivers; as my family discovered driving around Ireland, anytime another driver does something stupid, like cut you off or pass you on a no-passing road, they almost always have Corcaigh (the original Irish name for Cork) on their license plate telling you where they’re from.

Well, now that I’m done bashing the hell out of Cork, let me tell you of my experiences there.  Unfortunately, we were only allowed three hours in the city, but that was enough to hit all the major points.  The coolest thing I saw was Saint Finbarre’s Cathedral, built only in 1879, but still pretty cool:

The entire outside of the cathedral is covered in statues and friezes, including some biblical figures outside of the doors:

From left to right, they are Philip, Bartholomew, Simon, John the Baptist, Andrew, James, Thomas, and Matthias.  Also interesting is the golden Angel of the Resurrection located on top of the sanctuary roof:

Legend has it that if the angel either falls or begins to play his horns, then the apocalypse is nigh!  Great, another thing we can blame on Cork!  Also in Cork are the English markets, where local produce, souvenir, and candy sellers entice tourists with their lower-than-average prices.  I also spent a great deal of time in the Crawford Art Gallary, which has a lot of portraits and replicas of marble statues in the Vatican:

So that was Cork and the Irish Blitz.  If you can’t tell, all this traveling is starting to wear me out, and I think I’m going to take a little bit of a break.  This will allow me some relaxation time for my beard to grow out for No-Shave November.  Here it is after the first week:

Little scruffy, but it’s getting there.  Anyway, I think I’m pretty much done exploring the Republic of Ireland.  I’ve now hit all the major points that I wanted to: Dublin, Galway, Cork, Kilkenny, Killarney, Dingle, Wexford, Cashel, Drogheda, Newgrange, Cliffs of Moher, and of course, good old Limerick.  I think I’m now down to three more adventures, all within the United Kingdom: (1) Edinburgh, Scotland possibly in two weeks, followed by (2) the capital of Northern Ireland, Belfast, with the Butler program for Thanksgiving, and then (3) a trip to Liverpool, England sometime in December (with a possible stop on the Isle of Man on the way back).  Of course, I’ll update my blog following these adventures, so keep reading like you guys always do.  A new poll is up, which is basically me just trying to figure out who my audience is, so please vote!  As always, thanks for reading!