Rainy
We pulled on our full rain gear for the short walk to the train / bus station in Tralee this morning. I was anxious to leave the hostel, so we didn’t stay to make ourselves breakfast.
The bus trip to Killarney took only 40 minutes. Once there we checked into the Railway Hostel, a busy youth hostel with a European flavor, and kids hanging out in the lobby, watching TV, surfing the internet, and making plans for their next stop.
All the rooms were named for TV characters or animals – we got to stay in the Chimpanzee Room! This is a very nice hostel, bright and clean, with a window, a skylight, and, most importantly, towels!
The rain cleared after a while, and we walked through town, checking out the tourist shops and those selling Irish woolens and Galway crystal.
We also toured the Friary and St. Mary’s Cathedral, which was at the far end of town – built in 1855, it was not that old, but pretty impressive, and had a transplanted standing stone on the front lawn.
I collect plates from all our travels that hang on my kitchen wall, and found a nice one that said, “Slainte” (SLAN cha), which means “to your health” or “cheers”, and got my mom a gift from Cork.
The Fodor's Guide was right about Killarney - there really isn't too much here of interest!
We got back to our room early, had dinner in, and read for a while – I finished my second novel, which means tomorrow’s quest will include finding a bookstore, and a new book to read.
I listened to the birds singing outside the window, and wondered if there were more birds here than at home because I’ve been acutely aware of them throughout our trip. I came to the conclusion that I’m probably just hearing the birds because we’ve been sleeping with the windows open everywhere we’ve stayed. There are no screens on the windows here, they are just open. Why don’t I open the windows at home?
Tomorrow we travel north to Limerick, a working class town with some history and a castle!
