After getting all settled in, we went downstairs to watch some of the Olympics. Track was on, more specifically, some running event and pole-vaulting. The pole-vaulting was pretty sick. Anyways, eventually, we started talking with the only two other people in the room who spoke English. (Quite literally, everyone was French.) These two guys were from Guernsey, one of the UK Channel Islands off the coast of France. After talking for a little while, we decided to go to O'Connor's, the pub that my boss told me I had to go to. It wasn't very far from the hostel at all (although, in Killarney, most things are a ten minute walk at most).
At O'Connors, it was pretty crowded downstairs, and so the four of us figured that we could go and sit upstairs. We sat down in this party room and continued talking. It wasn't until a middle-aged Irish man came into the room and closed the curtains that we realized that we weren't at all supposed to be there. This guy got up to the front of the room and continued the show that he had started a few hours ago. He told a series of inappropriate jokes about an Irish couple, Tom and Mary. He also had a funny way of talking. It started out with a fast shout and just continued to get louder and faster. I thought it was all part of his show. However, we met him after the show. It wasn't an act. I am pretty sure that guy does loads of speed or something. But he was super nice. He got the 4 of us into the Grand Hotel for free. However, after a couple of pints, we decided to go back to the hostel and get some sleep. All of us were quite tired.The next morning, I woke up around 9:30 and Matt and I walked over to the bus station to get a bus ticket to Dingle for the day. I had been wanting to go just because I hear it is super pretty. However, the bus didn't leave until 1:05. so we went back to the hostel, where we met up with the two Guernsey guys again. We went to a pub called Danny Mann's and got a full Irish breakfast. Afterwards, the four of us bummed around Killarney for a bit until Matt and I had to catch our bus.
Dingle was a nice little town. It's right along the seaside, and the bus ride there was super pretty. However, it didn't seem like a place to spend much time in. We walked around. I took picture of Fungie, the dolphin that has been chilling around Dingle since 1983 or something. Then took the 4PM bus back through Tralee. The entire bus ride back took roughly two and a half some odd hours, but at least the scenery was pretty. That Saturday night, we just decided to chill in the hostel and prepare for Sunday.
Check out was at 10, and so we put our bags in the luggage storage so we wouldn't have too much to carry around the fair at Killorglin. The first bus out there was at 11:30, so we went to a cafe, grabbed some breakfast and made our way back to the bus station. The bus ride to Killorglin isn't terribly long, only 30 minutes or so. Despite getting to the fair kind of early, it was still super packed. The main street was closed off and lined with shops and at the centre is King Puck, in a plastic cage with grass on the floor, wearing a crown, all on top of a 30 ft high scaffolding tower. Near the library, there was a band playing, a man telling stories, and four Irish kids doing traditional dances. We went into a cafe for more food, and then went back out to hear the music and the crazy guy telling stories. He asked if there were any Americans in the crowd. We were the only ones. And so he called us out when he started telling a story about an Irish couple. the Murphys, in the Wild West. Apparently they were better than Buffalo Bill, or something. After that, it was just about time to catch the 3PM bus back to Killarney to make sure that we didn't miss our 5:45 train. So we walked over to the bus stop just outside town and made our way back to Killarney. I got home from Killarney around 10PM, and I started skyping with Dip, back in the States, because I figured that I still didn't have any housemates. And lo and behold, I actually had two new housemates, ultimate frisbee players from the UK who are in Dublin to help coach the world tournament or something. Another one came yesterday. So now I have new friends, which is exciting, but they aren't around a lot, just because of being so busy with the tournament.
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So that was about the extent of my weekend. I still can't believe that I only have a couple of days left in Ireland. I am excited to be almost done with work, to go back home, and back to school and everything, but I don't want my adventure to end. I am going to miss Ireland a lot.
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