Killarney

We made two important discoveries on the way to Killarney. The first was made in Tralee as we filled the gas tank for the first time; small cars have better gas mileage than big ones. The second learning came to me at a McDonald's, as Steve and I sipped milkshakes and pondered the wonders of the first; every fourth person here looks like me. An explanation follows:

The black Irish are those with white skin, black hair, and green eyes. They are the descendants of the shipwrecked sailors from the Spanish Armada. (Let's face it. The Irish are very friendly people.) I have the same coloring and have always felt somewhat like a freak, even in my own family. People with black or brown hair have brown eyes, or at best, hazel eyes, and often, dark skin, especially in California's Central Valley. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to fit in for a change.

I consider Pierce Brosnan to be the prototypical specimen.

Notice the similarities.

In Killarney we made another discovery: the old adage, "Sometimes less is more," is true. We couldn't wait to check in to the B&B and then hit the shops. But no sooner had we parked downtown and started looking around, than we found that all the shops looked the same and "crafts" means souvenirs in Irish. And the variety did not even come close to that found in Dingle.

After a couple hours of earnestly searching, we had all but given up on Killarney. But then we decided to visit St. Mary's Cathedral in Killarney. It was beautiful and quiet and a good place for us to regroup. We then ventured a walk in

Killarney National Park. It is enormous, as may be expected of a national park, and reminded me of Sherwood Forrest. Also as expected, we saw herds of cattle and deer but no Robin Hood.

We also came across Knockreer House, a charming cottage and a show piece of the park.

Not yet savvy as to how long seven kilometers are, we decided to walk to Ross Castle.

During our perambulation, we noticed some workers feverishly trying destroy a cluster of gigantic rhododendrons. We had to ask why the slaughter. "Because they are not native to Ireland and they will eventually take over," they said. A little further on we noticed a stand of bamboo. We decided that warning them about the invasive nature of bamboo would not be appreciated, so we let it drop.

To Be Continued