(South-West Ireland)

From Cork City, it’s easy to take a tour of the Ring of Kerry, a famous circular scenic drive in the southwest of Ireland in County Kerry. This part of the country is very green and lush, providing a treat for the eyes. Our tour bus left Cork early in the morning and headed west. First stop is a town called Killarney, one of the most frequently visited towns in Ireland.

Killarney is nice, quiet, and charming. Grant and I headed straight for a coffee shop. One note about Cork is that coffee shops are closed until late in the morning on Sundays. There wasn’t a singe coffee shop open, with the exception of McDonald’s and their McCafes, when we left Cork at 8:30. We had the misfortune of finding this out when we rushed across the bridge to the downtown area in search of Starbucks (as a last resort) before boarding our tour bus, only to find out even Starbucks was CLOSED.

Lucky for us, the coffee shop in Killarney had delicious coffee. We drank ours with delight as we bit into freshly baked scones. The scones in Ireland are different from the U.S. They are flakier and resemble biscuits rather than cakes.

After walking around town for a little while, we continued on our way west. On a bathroom break, there was a bar selling Irish Coffee, we couldn’t pass this up:

We knew we had arrived at the coast as the Atlantic Ocean crept into view:

The weather wasn’t so great but nonetheless, the fog that had caught up with us lent itself to a very hauntingly Irish atmosphere with a hint of sanguineness due to the beauty of the landscape.

Our last stop was the Killarney National Park after making a loop back from the coast. This area was beautiful and seemed to have more lush vegetation than other parts of the Ring of Kerry. It reminded me of a cross between a tropical Hawaiian rainforest and a coniferous forest of the American Northwest. Kind of an interesting mix, no doubt special to this forest.

One of the people we had met on this tour was an American law student on holiday. She was into discovering trendy bars and restaurants in Cork and was looking forward to going to a restaurant called Cornstore, which is known for its award-winning cocktails. At her recommendation, I ordered a cocktail made with chocolate and orange liquor. Not only were the drinks here delicious but so was the food.

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