Day 9--IRL, Ennis to Tralee to Ring of Kerry to Kilarney

An earlier start today to leave Ennis—Breakfast at 7:00am and depart at 8:00am. Slept until we crossed the River Shannon via ferry (for a whole 20 minutes). Fell asleep again until we arrived in Tralee. Stayed there just long enough to do some shopping. I bought some gifts for Christmas and a birthday. A few things I was awake to learn thus far today: *The average price of a house is Є250,000 in Ireland, Є300,000 in Dublin. *You must pay an 8% stamp duty on any not new house over Є200,000. The solicitor/ lawyer is also paid 1% of the sale price plus whatever fees they want. *There are no longer property taxes. *Sales tax/ Value Added Tax (VAT) is on everything except books, children’s clothes, children’s shoes, and food (other than confectionary). VAT in Ireland is 21% of the net price of the goods or 17.36% of the selling price. Non-EU shoppers can get a Global Refund Form at the time of purchase to get it refunded upon departure. Income Tax is 20% (or 30%---I’m not sure) under Є40,000 and 40% over Є40,000. *Irish students study the Irish language the entire time they are in school. Stopped for a brief lunch at a town along the Ring of Kerry. I crossed the road and took some nice pictures. There were some sheep and goats crossing a creek and I got photos of them (*Note: They were actually cows and my eyesight sucks.) I am currently on photo number 232 and still have 409+ on the 2GB card. Still on the first battery with no recharge too. There are a few digital cameras on the bus, fewer decent digital cameras, a couple of point and shoots, and a majority of disposable cameras. It’s appalling. Got a nice view of Scarriff Bay and took some good pictures. There is just the right amount of sun and clouds. Continued on to drive through Kilarney National Park, which is known for its beautiful lakes. One of the lakes, Muckross, has been recently “discovered” to house the Muckross Monster, cousin to the Loch Ness Monster. Stopped in town where we took a ‘jaunting’ ride (a horse drawn buggy) through Kilarney National Park for 12euro each. I sat up front with the driver/ coachman. We got to see two different breeds of deer, a red deer and a Sitka deer. There are also badgers, hedgehogs, silver salmon, brown trout, and many other animals in the park. There used to be wolves in Ireland, but the last one was killed in the 18th century, leaving only the fox as predator. Found out that the crazy lady I sit next to was an actress named Marian Collier (Neuman) and her husband was a playwright named Peter Jack Neuman. We also think she is an alcoholic—she was hungover all day and smelled like vodka. Ate dinner at the Muckross Park Hotel in Kilarney where we are staying. I sat with Sarah who is 28 or 29, a native of New Zealand (a Kiwi) but has been teaching in London for a few years. She is here with her mom and comes from a wealthy family. She is a tomboy like me, but her mother wants her to be a refined young woman. It was nice for both of us to talk to someone closer to our own age. Re-packed the bags then went back to the bar for some live music. Sat and chatted with Gerry and Rosslyn who are roughly Mom’s age and are from Ontario, just north of Toronto. They are very nice and thought it was great that we have traveled and experienced so much but aren’t stuck up about it. They are from the same area as Peter and Rosemary McConnell (who we met on our Honeymoon) and knew exactly where Oakville was. Had a very nice evening and it was great to talk to some other people. I am looking forward to the Pub Evening tomorrow night.