What were we thinking, but what a wonderful time.

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 So a bunch of us decided to take a trip out to Killarney to see the national park and to see the famous Ring of Kerry. We took the train out to Killarney, and it was a nice ride; very scenic and very smooth. We arrived in Killarney, and it was pouring with rain. It took as a while to find our hostel, but we were so happy once we got there. The first destination was to the Ross Castle in the Killarney National Park. It was still raining, but we were prepared and headed out. Mid way to the castle, we started seeing signs for road flooded. Well, we still kept going, and we finally made it to the part where the path was completely underwater. We met a couple of Swiss guys, damn Swiss, who told us that it was not too far to the castle and that the water was not too high. Well, after about 500 meters through water that came up to my knees, and I was the tallest in the group, and water that was freezing, we made it to the castle, which was closed for the winter. After that excursion, we decided to head to the other part of the national park which included an old abbey and the Muckross House and Gardens. We were told by the woman working at the hostel that it was only a couple of miles away. Well, nearly 10 miles later, through the wind and rain, we made it too the park. Another kilometer later we made it to the abbey, and another 1.5 kilometers, we made it to the Muckross House. I still have blisters on my feet from the journey. I have some photos from those places as well. Well, we took a cab back from the house to the hostel. It felt amazing to get some dry clothes on. That night we ate out, hit up some pubs, drank the local beer, and enjoyed some live music. The next day we got up bright and early to get on a bus tour for the Ring of Kerry. I have to say, although it was very foggy, and raining, the landscape in Kerry is absolutely amazing. I hope the photos do it some justice. We also had the pleasure of having the fastest bus driving in all of Ireland. We we going 60 mph over bumps and around tight corners on cliffs. We all we feeling a little woozy from that even though I thought it felt like a fun rollercoaster. Well, after that it was off to the train again. The only trouble with the train was that I did not have a return ticket, and I nearly did not get on. Plus, we had to switch trains at Mallow because our train was being decommissioned for the night. All in all, despite the rain, it was a wonderful experience. I recommend it to everybody!