Sunday

Sunday, we awoke to a fabulous breakfast in the Blue Pool Restaurant. Besides ordering an omelet, I also enjoyed a fabulous variety of meats, fruits, and cheeses. I know I ate salami and brie, but the names of the other tasty options remain a mystery to me. All I know is that they went great with my bowl of blueberries and raspberries and glass of banana smoothie juice. Mika was brave enough to try kippers. We all debated with Edward that, despite his opinion, tea is not more masculine than coffee. After breakfast, we took a taxi to Ross Castle. Much like Blarney Castle, in the tower house design, the castle is nestled away between the woods and the lake. We went on a tour of the interior. The castle had actually been rebuilt using medieval methods and was furnished with antiques from the period.



No pictures were allowed inside the castle, but the tour provided a nice respite from the non-stop rain outside.





After having our fill of castle, we called another taxi to take us back to the hotel. I took a video so you too can experience the thrill of driving on the left side of the road.

Once back at the hotel we had lunch at Molly Darcy's Pub. I opted to smuggle in the packaged pastry I took from breakfast and an apple from the reception desk and the complimentary coffee from the lobby. Since, Laurie and Sarah and Edward went the 12 euro fish n' chips route, I don't think anyone minded. Afterwards, I was the only one who wanted to get back out into the rain, but I just had to see more of the park. So I had a relaxing, solitary walk through Muckross Park. First stop, the bull pasture. Check out that hip nose ring.

Walking on, I didn't stop at the Abbey, but I did make sure to snap some photos of the trees our carriage driver pointed out. Here's a 400 year old cedar (so he says).

And a, sadly, deceased Redwood. Imported from California, the tree actually experienced one of Ireland's dry spells and died from lack of water.

This is just at tree that I thought was neat. The branches you see stretching towards the sky are actually the size of trees.

Emerging from the forest, I bypassed MuckRoss House in my mission to make it to the waterfalls and back before the others got the bus home. I did stop to take more pics of the lake beside the mansion.


Like a Bob Ross painting isn't it?

Here was a swan fishing amongst the reeds.

Heading back into the forest, I took a different (foot)path than the one the carriage took us on. I crossed this crystal clear stream, fat with rain.

Eventually, I made it back to the falls and found it just as lovely. You can see in this video how swelled with rain the Torc Waterfall was.

Compare these pics from Saturday and then Sunday.


There were some people loaded with gear ready to take one of the hiking trails around the falls. I watched them disappear up this long stair without envying them their rainy journey ahead.

On the way back I took the smaller paths by the lake. This stump would have made a great bench if it hadn't been so wet.

I lucked out while I was walking and happened to see a huge grey heron like bird up ahead, before I scared it away. I was afraid I couldn't get close enough to take a picture, so I started taking a video instead. It may be blurry, but you can trust me, it was a beautiful sight.

By the time I made it back to the hotel, my shoes were soaked through, but Mika was still in Molly Darcy's Pub. We called a taxi and took the bus home. We shared pictures, ate dinner, and went to bed happily exhausted. I look forward to the day that I can return to Muckross Park and spend an entire day exploring all the little paths twisting through the gardens and forest.