This view from my window, last night because it's prettier than in the daylight this morning
Although it was pretty this morning too, because ... wendyweather ... so here it is
You know how at home Aussies say it's not the heat that gets you it's the humidity? Well here it's not the cold that gets you it's the wind. If the air is moving sooooo chilly. Fortunately we like chilly. Every cafe owner, hotel staffer, attraction guide that sees us going outdoors always says 'really, rug up it's cold out there' and we smile and say 'we know'.
Can you believe it - we were down to breakfast early ... early! Wendy and Michael! The nice lady asked us what we were doing, and then explained that the Irish don't do Sunday morning. They sleep late, due in part to the activities of the previous night. We proudly said we went to a pub last night and she said 'just one?' Add to this they offer 'Jameson whiskey' as an option for porridge, yep Ireland is A-okay in my book.
We enjoyed our stay in one of the Kils - Killarney. There are a LOT of places here that start with Kil ... Kilkenny, Kildare, Kilrush, Kilbride, Killucan, Killaloe, killarney, kilbarrick ... I googled it and apparently Kil is the Gaelic for 'old church'. I think the Kils are cities named for their churches. Mainly we enjoyed our stay here because of the Killarney Park Hotel which is 5 star at it's very best.
Our visit point on the way to Limmerick today was The Rock of Cashel. As we drove the emerald hills turned to white and we rejoiced to see the rain turn to sleet and then snow.
Also we wanted to go here because it's located in Tipperary and we wanted to be able to say we've been a long way to Tipperary. We found the The Rock of Cashel, easy to spot up on the hill, tricky to find the parking lot, which was suspiciously empty, suspicious only until we remembered the Sunday thing.
This was the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion. In 1101, the King of Munster, Muirchertach Ua Briain, donated his fortress on the Rock to the Church. We couldn't walk around inside because ... Sunday. Ireland does not do Sunday in an open-to-the-public kind of way, but it was nice to stretch our legs and walk around it. We love walking in the gently falling snow.
Rejection awaited again when we arrived in Limerick at 4pm, 'no you can't check in, the room is not ready you can wait in the cafe'. The cafe staff were not happy to see us either, it was very crowded and man o man it was loud. The Irish have the gift of the gab, they seem to speak all at once, very fast and at volume that would put a jet engine to shame. Clearly this was not going to be a Killarney park Hotel kind of experience.
We went for a walk in the People's Park, very pretty, although in the wrong direction for any sights, so we went back to the car and drove to King Henry's Cathedral - it's a church that's closed on a Sunday, go figure. We drove passed King John's Castle also closed (surprise!) and the cathedral next to it - how can the churches be closed on Sunday?! At least, we figured, we know where everything is for tomorrow. I hope they do Mondays.
the People's Park
The Restaurant is another Michelin rated one, don't tell MGM but I could get used to the Michelin life-style.
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