Ross Castle - **
Ross Castle is quite cool and in a very pretty part of the park, but I wasn’t really that interested in it even though I got some nice pictures. However it wasn’t the castle that really caught my interest, it was the tour options for the lake. You could jump on with a tour boat and get some local flavor, rent kayaks and a guide, or jump in a rowboat and traverse the lake on your own. It had been a long time since I did anything nautical so naturally I goaded Janet into letting me row us a nondescript distance in an unfamiliar foreign country on a rowboat that we just watched get bailed out by a strange Irish man.
While we were getting set up the guy who rents the boats mentioned there was an island at the center of the lake called Innisfallen that holds some old monastic ruins. This is exactly what were had planned the Skellig Michael trip out for so we decided to take on the lake.
Innisfallen, Lough Leane - ***
Picture courtesy of Janet Schuellein
Innisfallen turned out to be the best experience of the trip for me. It was a combo of the effort to get there, the natural beauty, the majesty of the ruins, the brave deer that inhabited the island, and the perfectly balanced weather.By the time we arrived I was soaking wet and exhausted from rowing, singularly focused on tying us off at the cement pier. Janet urged me to look and when I did, I saw the first of too many beautiful sights we saw on the Island.
In front of us was a lush green lawn, a towering cone-shaped tree, the rough walls of the 7th century monastery, and about 8 deer looking at us with curiosity (title picture above). It was straight out of a painting and none of our pictures quite do it justice.
As we finished the main hike around the island and returned to the pier I could see a group of kayakers coming with a guide. We did everything we could to scare them off including Janet's best viking war cries, but they still invaded.
McKenzie’s Cafe - ***
15 New Street, Killarney Co. Kerry
We dropped off our laundry at the local laundromat then went on the prowl for some lunch. We ran across McKenzie’s, checked out the menu and decided to order.
The food was all homemade by the owner and was delicious. Everyone was nice to us as we debated our choices. The coffee was awesome and it had a great ambiance of upscale cafe, the first we really saw in Ireland. Remember to order Americano unless you like it strong!
We went back for dinner later that night as well and even though they were closing up we were able to order a second round of food and drinks. It is definitely worth a stop in just for the food, and the generous serving of coffee is another excellent excuse.
Quills Woolen Mill - **
28 High Street, Killarney Co. Kerry
Janet loved trolling through the Woolen mills for new pieces or good prices and loved this particular location. It was pretty big and had plenty of things to check out. They also had a big markdown on many of their items, I didn’t realize until later that this was the Irish summer and as such we were probably looking at lower prices on many items. I wasn’t complaining!
The Danny Mann Inn, Round 2 - ***
98 R877 Killarney, Co. Kerry
Not much else to say except that if there's music playing go there. Get a seat in front if possible, you don’t really have to order food after 9pm so don’t feel bad. Another great band and great traditional music.
Well said! Innisfallen was one of the best visits. I suggest a thermos if coffee and sandwiches to extend your stay if you venture across (just remember to clean up-Chris sweetly picked up trash we found ).
ReplyDeleteJanet (the Viking also known as Dreamcrusher)