County Kerry is “as close as you’ll get to the mythical Ireland,” according to the Lonely Planet Guidebook. An’ sure it is: a beautiful land of green fields, sheep and gorse, ancient rock walls, with purple mountains hovering in the distance. One can almost imagine behind the fog lie the shimmering gates of Tir na nog. The countryside is what I imagined Ireland would look like – rocky. It is an unforgiving land

Killarney is a lovely town, bustling with colorful shops and pubs, sure to be crawling with tourists in the summer. We enjoyed our stay, but will stay further off the beaten track on our next trip to the Emerald Isle. Our B&B, while the “best pick” of Lonely Planet, blared Enya through the hallways. One of the restaurants showed Riverdance on repeat. If I worked in Killarney, surely I would go mad.

Kerry is home of Killarney National Park, the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, and the tallest mountain in the country Carrauntoohil. Our hiking guidebook is Carrauntoohil & MacGillycuddy’s Reeks: A Walking Guide to Ireland’s Highest Mountains by Jim Ryan. Our first day in Killarney we hiked part of walk #17: Caher from the Lack Road. With a hunk of good Dingle Cheddar and some crackers, we were good to go. It was steep, but we had pleasant weather and the sheep kept us company. The lambs are in abundance – just as cute as can be. Ryan had to ruin it by ordering lamb stew for dinner, but I, as a vegetarian, can coo all I want over the little fluff balls.

Thursday we hiked the Gap of Dunloe, along a tarmac road. The weather held off for the most part, but we never did find the path up the mountain. Some of the hiking trails are well marked and others are not. On an abandoned cottage I saw my name graffitied for the very first time – thrilling! The road took us over picturesque stone bridges and along blue mountain lakes. It was grand. Next time we will rent bikes in Killarney and bike through the Gap and take a boat ride along the lakes. A jaunting car (aka a horse-drawn buggy) can be hired to traverse the Gap as well.

Friday we climbed the highest mountain in Ireland via the Devil’s Ladder. The thing is appropriately named. I thought for sure if the rocks didn’t kill me, the wind would. It was cold. It was steep. It was intense. It was foggy at the top and the view was obscured. But the company was fine and I felt good having made the climb. Climb every mountain, and all that. Whoot! I even saw a green bunny. It’s Ireland, isn’t it, so why ever not? It matched the mossy grass exactly. I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t almost stepped on the poor wee thing.

The Ireland countryside is slightly rolling hills with farmland stretching for miles in either direction. A landscape of green and brown, dotted with puffs of white sheep. It is familiar; it could be any stretch of farmland in western Washington. Unlike Sweden and Germany, the small towns that crop up are, surprisingly, not dominated by towering church spires. They are a hodgepodge. A mishmash. New buildings mixed with meandering old rock walls. Stone ruins appear out of nowhere; a bit of history seamlessly integrated with modern life.

Towns line the road from Dublin to Cork; pubs entice the weary traveler. Cork is a breath of fresh air. Bright colors jump out, cheering the sunlight and the merry rolling river and the enthusiastic hordes of shoppers. Rowhomes flash pink and blue and green along narrow curving streets (see photo).

The Gift of Gab

Just north of Cork is Blarney Castle. I searched the hilltops for signs of a ruined stronghold, while my quarry hid itself away in a valley. I thought castles were supposed to guard the higher ground? Apparently not. The picturesque stone ruin sits in a lovely park of cherry blossoms and a burbling brook. When you visit take time to explore the gardens. Perhaps bring a book and a picnic lunch. Ryan took some video of the grounds, which I’ll post when we get better internet. The site is a mecca for tourists, but we were lucky to have few compatriots in our quest for the stone. The site is extremely well signed with interesting tidbits of history and cartoons.

Queen Victoria is said to have first coined the term “to talk Blarney” when Lord Blarney was able to talk for hours without agreeing to a thing. Legends abound about the origins of the Blarney Stone, but one thing is for sure: launching a writing career would not be complete without a pilgrimage to kiss this magic icon, thereby obtaining the Gift of Eloquence. To do so, the aspirant must climb to the top of the tower, up a very narrow circular staircase, then lie back over the edge of the precipice and pucker up. An attendant is there to whisk you through, preventing over much contemplation of the stone itself. I’ll put the video of my homage up at the end of the week, as well as photos.

From Blarney we continued on to Killarney in County Kerry, where we will spend the rest of the week. Killarney hosts the tallest mountains in Ireland and a host of historic sites, as well as the magical Ring of Kerry.

I have dreamed of Ireland: of walking in the footsteps of my ancestors, of listening to the uilleann pipes over a pint of cider, of walking o’er the rocky green hills with the scent of magic tinglin’ on the mornin’ wind. I walked off the plane early Saturday after many torturous hours without sleep and stuck with a bad romance novel (ugg, what could be worse? Rape is NOT an acceptable activity for a hero. Never, never. NEVER!). The customs officer made it all worthwhile when I handed her my passport – “So, KEEH-rah, how long is your stay in Ireland?” To hear my name pronounced correctly on the first try – it’s grand! I’ve dreamed of this moment for 25 long years.

The Black Pool

Ireland’s capital was built at the mouth of the River Liffey where a deep harbor made it attractive to the Vikings to build a world-class trading city out of a tiny settlement. If you are interested in learning more, Edward Rutherfurd’s book The Princes of Ireland covers the first 1000 years of Dublin’s history through the fictional lives of a few generations of Dubliners, covering the pagans, St. Patrick, the Book of Kells, Brian Boru, the Vikings, Christ Church, and King Henry II. The book is a great way to learn the history of this great city for people who don’t like reading history books, though the fictional sketches aren’t very happy. (‘Tisn’t a romance novel, ye ken?) The second book in the Ireland Saga is The Rebels of Ireland, which I haven’t read. If you want a great read about The Troubles check out Leon Uris’ Trinity. Michael Collins, staring Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, and Julia Roberts, and is a must-see movie about the establishment of the Irish free state in the 1920s.

In Dublin’s Fair City

The city lacks the towering office buildings that make up most international metropolises (at least in the historic downtown where we stayed). The short Georgian rowhomes, with the elegant doors that make up tourist posters, create picturesque brick streetscapes. The Temple Bar neighborhood is rife with narrow twisting streets, packed full of bar-hoppers in the evening, even on a Sunday. The large pedestrian mall of Grafton Street, where the movie Once was filmed, is an excellent example of good planning (says the former city planning student). On Saturday we wandered the streets, saw the Molly Malone statue (see photo), visited the lovely Victorian garden of St. Stephen’s Green and enjoyed a pint at The Stags Head in the Temple Bar district where the bartender regaled us with tales of the beauty of Killarney, our next stop and his hometown.

Church and Crumpets

On Sunday we escaped a sudden shower (one of many) inside the medieval Christ Church Cathedral, the oldest church in the city. Though typical of a gothic church, the colorful floor tiles made it unique. Afterwards we walked east through the hodgepodge Dublin Castle and on to Merrion Square where we had Afternoon Tea (and escaped another shower) at the Merrion Hotel. Merrion Street is the place to go if you want to take your own photographs of Georgian doors. In the evening we had planned to take the Musical Pub Crawl to learn all about traditional Irish music (my favorite), but jet lag caused me to miss the start. We wandered the green bridges over the Liffey until we found a little pub with a two man Trad band.

Treats for Next Time (and there will be a next time)

We did not see the Book of Kells at Trinity College because the Lonely Planet Guidebook warned us that it was really only the Page of Kells on display. I own a copy of the illustrations at home anyway. Next time I visit I would like to take the Easter Rising Tour and see the bullet-ridden Post Office.

My complete photos of Dublin are up on Flickr (including some video), but the internet service here in Killarney isn’t fast enough to upload photos, so you’ll have to wait to see the Ring of Kerry and Blarney Castle till I get back to the Westin Dublin on Saturday.

Monday we left for Killarney in County Kerry, driving through County Cork where I kissed the Blarney Stone, thereby securing my future as a writer (or at least a blogger).