Winner Winner Chicken Dinner - Killarney and The Ring of Kerry

So after Cork, we took the train to Killarney to save ourselves 3 hours. (The "we" by the way is Emma, Caroline, me, and this guy Joey from Boston who is in the same program as Caroline and Emma).. So, all the while I have been reading Jack Kerouac's "On The Road," which just makes me feel good about traveling. Anyway, we booked a hostel in Kenmare, which is a town on the Ring of Kerry (Iveragh Peninsula), but we later found that we missed the bus to Kenmare, so we stayed in this AWESOME hostel called The Sugan. It was just so cute. The decorations consisted of coffee mugs hanging from the ceiling, a cozy fireplace, and lots of traveling photos and wind chimes. The hostel keeper, Martin, was so hospitable, and really energetic. He's from Poland and runs the hostel with his wife. He built a fire for us immediately upon entering, so we were sold. The beds, everything, were just so cozy! Best hostel ever.
Afterwards, we explored Killarney a bit, looking for a place to ride horseback through the National Park. A local pointed us in the direction of O'Sullivan's Riding Stables (I think the O'Sullivan's own Killarney) and we were on our way for 1 hour! Now, I've never been on a horse, but this was awesome! We hopped right up, my horse was named Budweiser, and we both trotted and walked with the horses. Maggie- tell Clare I give her credit! My legs were burning afterwards!! It was a good burn, a productive one. The horses were fun, and very tall. I liked riding a lot actually.
We later explored the National Park by foot, which we were told was the first national park in the world. We were delighted to walk it, and we saw Ross Castle (and this was just another castle).
That evening we grabbed some (salty) tomato soup and grilled cheese in the pub across the street, and watched the soccer game (Manchester United vs. Chelsea). It was cool, but again, we were beat! The next morning we explored Killarney some more, but then caught a tour bus around the Ring of Kerry, which contains the highest mountain in Ireland. It was the hilliest ride, and the bumpiest, but we had fun. Our tour guide, John O'Neill was a hoot, and he told us tall tales as most Irish do. He joked about Bill Clinton, the current political problems, old Irish folklore, etc. Bill Clinton one-liner: "When Bill visited Ireland, poor Monica (insert Irish last name) had to take down her store-front sign, but it did say, 'Monica's wash and blowdry'" Ha.
Another joke/life lesson:
A farmer told me once, 'Ya know John, if the Fresian (B&W) cows are layin' down in the mornin' I won't go in the field to tend them. If they're layin, it's gon' to rain, but if they're standin, the sun will shine.'
And I said to him, 'Well, what if some are layin' and some are standin'?' and he says to me, 'Well then that's just some sun with a chance of showers.'
Screw that I says, that's b*llsh*t. And I know about b*llsh*t. One day the bull says to the crow, 'How are ye crow? Fine day isn't it?' The crow says, 'No bull, it's not fine; I'm dying and all me feathers are fallin' out.'
'Well,' says the bull, 'follow me around for a week and eat me droppings, you'll be back on yer feet in no time.' So the crow did just that. He ate and ate, and grew stronger and stronger. He grew so strong that he flew to the top of the highest tree in the farmer's yard. He cawed and cawed as loud as he could all day long; after all, he was so strong now. One day he CAWED CAWED, and the farmer shot him dead, straight at the top of that high tree. So ye know, b*llsh*t will get ye to the top, but it won't keep ye there.

I liked that joke. But anyway, John was typically Irish and had a perfect accent. Very entertaining. The Ring of Kerry had breathtaking views, but overall, Killarney and the ring were crowded and we were excited to get to Dingle, where we hoped it would be less crowded. Killarney was a great cute town; I could see why it was called "Ireland's tourist hub." All I could sing the whole time was Bing's 'Christmas in Killarney' (I thought of you Dad.) The photos, whenever they are uploaded, will explain my happiness more explicitly. I just love Ireland.