Torc waterfall and the surrounding mountains

We escaped from the manicured gardens of Muckross house and went seeking Torc waterfall.

We walked through open fields and then into a forest.

crossed under a bridge

and the stream came into view

it was a quite lovely waterfall as well. Even if it was a bit crowded (observe the corner of somebody's blue umbrella on the left).

But almost everybody turned around at the waterfall and went back, not bothering to go up these really beautiful steps.

We climbed the steps and ended up above the waterfall in a sort of cleft between two mountains.

There was a marked loop, but there was also a different trail through a wildlife preserve. We left the loop and headed off into a mossy forest.

It was pretty. The stream ran right next to the path and everything (including us) was covered in a light rain.

Then suddenly the trees just stopped. It was as if they couldn't cross some invisible line. We left the forest and walked out onto the open mountainside.

It was still raining. But it matched the scenery.

The trail went on forever. We hiked over a few hills of the mountain and still the line of the path went on and on into the distance. We could see it on the mountainside far in front of us.

Eventually we turned back. Muckross closes it's gates at 7:00 and charges a 37euro fee if you want to get your car out after they've closed.

Too bad. I would've liked to see where the endless path led.

Never ending Mount Brandon

Early evening on the Dingle peninsula we decided to stop by Mount Brandon. We read the sign about the old pilgrimage trail and decided to climb part of the way though not the whole 18k. On the way we noticed a strange, whistling, wailing noise. . .

upon closer inspection it turned out to be the stone walls that were making the strange noise. We thought it was perhaps the wind blowing through cracks in the walls.

The view was really nice, but the climb... we kept saying, "let's just get to the top and then we'll turn around." But we never got to the top. There were countless little ridges that looked like they would be the top, but we would climb to one of them only to discover that the trail went on.

But this is a pilgrimage trail after all. Perhaps it was a purposeful design of the path. Even when you seem to reach the top of the mountain there is always another mountain to climb.
I hope the ancient pilgrims enjoyed it. It seemed to me that the sheep were laughing at us.

Graham crackers in disguise

Pub Adventures

We were looking for the Cobblestone. We got very lost. 'Round 10:30 after asking about four different people for directions we decided to call it quits and try again the next night. Stopped by some place called the Brazen Head as we happened to drive past it.

was a little bit strange with a bunch of guys playing what sounded more like American Bluegrass then Traditional Irish

Turns out we were only a couple blocks from the Cobblestone. Using extensive research on googlemaps, interrogating a taxi driver, and remembering the route to the Brazen Head, we had a remarkable smooth journey into Dublin and pulled up right outside the Cobblestone.

There were some very good fiddlers.

Funny thing I noticed is that there are no street signs. So Googlemapping the route doesn't really help because you can't turn right on King street if you don't know which one is King street. Best just to count the turns and go with the flow. Doesn't really matter how you get there as long as you do right?

Biiig Hotel

So our hotel near Dublin was rather large. Here we start from our room. . .

down the hall and turn right. . .

down another hall. . .

turn again. . .

past the staff elevator. . .

around another corner. . .

down a really long hallway. . .

turn right again. . .

down another hallway, observe the exit sign

and finally to the stairs (or the elevators on the other side of the hallway)

once we get to the stairs it's down four flights, another hallway and finally to the lobby. It is rather amusing that the lights in the stairwell and in the hallways near our room are triggered by motion sensors.

Besides the main building there is a whole other hotel building and a separate conference center and a different building for the gym. Big place. Oh, and did I mention that the hotel is in the middle of their own big golf course?

The Rock of Cashel and Hore Abby

So on the way back to Dublin from Dingle we stopped at the Rock of Cashel

Instead of going inside the castle, we walked around it, looked down a hill and saw this

we walked a little further and found a path down the hillside . . .

through a sheep pasture

we got to the bottom of the hill and had a nice view

crossed a street and found this

(click the sign to view it larger)

and a gate, and a path with a little company

like this guy

then we got into the ruins of the old abbey

flowers. . .

the sun came out and it was quite pretty

and there was a great view of the Rock of Cashel

I liked the old abbey, cows, sheep and all

eventually we went back to the Rock of Cashel and toured around there

but I still think the Hore abbey was my favorite part of the day