I walked to Heuston Station for my train to Killarney in County Kerry (I was named for it, my mom took a trip there during college). I arrived with time to spare and had the breakfast meal in the cafe there (black and white pudding this time), pretty good. The train ride itself was an uneventful four hours, not very many people. When I arrived in Killarney, I was expecting to get a ride from the hostel I was staying at (because they said so on their website). When I called, I found out they paid a taxi to meet the bus, and I didn’t feel like waiting with my bags for over 3 hours, so I paid about $8 to take a taxi to the hostel.
Once I unpacked, I felt like exploring. My first priority was seeing Ross Castle, southeast of town, and I took off walking. I thought it would take about an hour, but it ended up taking nearly two to get there. It’s a fantastic site, with great views of the Lower Lake there and on the path towards it.
I went into Killarney having missed the ride back by minutes and decided to get some dinner, stopping at Murphy’s Bar on College Street. I had the steak cooked in Guinness, which is served as a stew, and of course a couple pints of the black gold as accompaniment. It hit the spot, especially after a long walk. Of course, it was another long walk back to the hostel, and the main road was quite dark, except for headlights. I luckily remembered the light on my Digital Video camera, which made a nice flashlight substitute.
[Originally published at GoHither.Net]