Thursday, October 14, 2010

Killarney (I'm not feeling creative at the moment)

So you know how I was going to grab some grub to help me figure out what I wanted to do tomorrow? Yeah, well that went out the window when I decided to call the local stables to find out if I could go for a trail ride this afternoon through the National Park that Killarney is so famous for. And, wouldn't ya know it, there was room on the ride. So I got off the phone with this lovely man and realized that I had to book it if I was going to have any hope of arriving on time. Away I went, arrived a few minutes early, and had time (en route) to eat a granola bar that I sensibly packed in my backpack before leaving London. Good thing Marianne cooks a hearty breakfast. Had an amazing ride, even though I've never ridden English before and my legs wanted to fall off by the end because I'm not used to the extra work (riding Western really is relaxing. You don't have to post when you trot, you can rest your heels back in the stirrups... you really just chillax). It ended up being just me and another woman plus two guides. Intimate group. But the views were absolutely spectacular. I kept taking pictures while we were moving, so I'm not sure how they'll actually LOOK, but I took them.

Post-ride, I opted to walk back to town (to stretch my legs a bit), and stopped in at a place called.... I forget. Shoot. I need to go check that out tomorrow. Never mind (thank you Google), it was called the Danny Mann Pub. Was feeling a bit lonely at first, over my pint of Guinness, but I had settled in and was enjoying my Early Bird Special (appetizer, main and desert for 19 euro!) when this Irish dude came up and... solicited me. I guess that's a polite way of saying it. He did the 20 questions thing, ending with the very frank, "So am I too old, or will you let me take you out for a drink later," and I accidentally laughed in his face. He laughed with me, which I think made it OK, but I told him that I was only looking to go to bed. So off he went. LATER in my meal, a more pleasant interruption arrived in the form of a Hawaiian guy named Jesus (hey-zeus). We chatted about American academia (and other lofty subjects). Was delightful bullshit; I definitely enjoyed it.

Back at the B&B now, trying to stay conscious long enough to write this... I'm pooped. Bedtime for Katie.

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