In Kilkenny this morning as we were leaving, we saw a politician!! Andr*ew Mc*Guinness is running for local office and we saw him...haha, famous people sighting!
Then, when we were leaving Kilkenny, we stopped off at a grocery store on our way out of town- Heather needed some cashew nuts (as per usual). The grocery store was also a department store, kind of like our wal-mart- but the entire store was about the size of wal-mart's produce section. The store was called Dunne's, and they had a smaller selection than we do, but still enough to satisfy anyone- also, a much larger fresh meat and product section than anything else.
Mom and Dad: may I interject in this part that Heather is an extremely needy driver to her sidekick. I was fetching to her every whim for almost 8 hours today! Luckily for her, I tolerate her nonsense (c: But the Garmin with the Ireland maps? already worth it. We got to see INCREDIBLE places today that we would never have taken a chance on without a GPS.
Then, we headed out of town to Cobh (pronounced cove) and Cork- two little ocean-side market towns that are just adorable- the buildings are all tremendous and the most beautiful pastel colors. Here is Heather and me in Cobh:
Also in Cobh, they sell liquor in regular grocery stores (which they don't do in VA for everyone out of state), and it just cracked me up-- they have security detectors on their booze like we do on expensive jackets in the states!: 
It just cracks me up that they were right next to the HB (which is the Irish version of Good Humor ice cream).Here is a really beautiful cathedral that is the main tourist attraction in Cobh:
It just sits up on a hill on top of the town, and like I said: the picture doesn't do it justice. We were standing at least 50 feet below it and 200 feet away from it, and it is still this huge.After Cobh, Heather and I headed out to start our 5 hour voyage to Portmagee, which took 5 hours because we decided on a whim to do the Ring of Kerry, which is a famous scenic drive in Ireland. I sure was glad that we did, because not only did we randomly intersect with some completely adorable small villages, but we got to see what I am now regarding as the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life, this incredible river that, like the waterfalls yesterday, basically snuck up behind our car and we had to u-turn to go get a closer look:
I just can't get enough of this river- I took the majority of my pictures here. I don't even know how to describe it to you other than it was the most beautiful place, and this picture doesn't even begin to describe the awe that I felt standing there. 
I swear that I'm not photoshopped into this picture- but I even thought it looked like I was!Well, I thought that I had seen all that I could handle in one day, but I was suprised yet again when the Garmin (now going by its Irish name, Liam) announced that there would be a large body of water to our right (we're obsessed with water I think)...and it turned quickly from a small stream into the Atlantic Ocean!!
Would you just look at those cliffs? They are so amazing!!Once we finished up with the Ring of Kerry, we headed into Portmagee, where we are staying for the night. Portmagee is this teeeeny tiny little village and is so cute I don't even know where to start. Right across a small channel from Portmagee is a small island called Valencia, which is where I took this picture (the cluster of buildings across the way that you can see is Portmagee). More cliffs, and more incredibly awesome views. I literally took 25 pictures from this spot: there are 360 degree views all around the island, and it took 25 to fit them all in! Also? Heather is obsessed with sheep!
When we finished standing in awe (yes, again), we decided to get dinner and a day-ending drink at the Moorings Bar and Restaurant in Portmagee. We took a picture this time so we could remember!!!
It was seafood caught from the ocean literally right outside the door and prepared fresh- which, coincidentally, makes seafood even better than normal! We both had Bailey's irish creme again to drink, and it is fast becoming my favorite way to end an incredible Irish day!!Funny Anecdotes Of The Day:
In Ireland, there are signs reminding people to drive on the left- and as a shout-out to Carolyn, did you know that when you are driving in the left lane, you are always going that way? Just thought you'd like to know (c;
Also, I was trying to write in my journal in the car a little bit but it was so bumpy, and I can't decide if Heather driving a stick shift on her left side on the right side of the car was the trouble, or if it was the roads. juuuuuuuuust kidding sis (c: we couldn't do this trip without her, that's for sure!!
Well, that's pretty much what we did today! Now I'm going to go collapse into bed for the start of another incredible day here on the Emerald Isle!!
-Kat
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