Our first stop was at the Muckross House which was built by the Herbert famiy around 1848. Mr. Herbert was a member of Parliament and fairly well-to-do. He received word that Queen Victoria would be visiting Muckross House in six years (I guess they believed in advance planning back then). He made elaborate preparations which included the construction of specially made furniture and the weaving of fine curtains. He was hoping that the queen would bestow a title on him or give him a large sum of money. The queen and Prince Albert arrived in August of 1861 along with an entourage of 100 servants. The visit lasted two days. No title or money was given to Mr. Herbert even though he had spent a huge sum of money in preparation of the visit. He soon hit on hard financial times and was forced to sell Muckross House. Eventually it was given to Ireland and it was restored and opened to the public.
While visited some falls in the area, we were asked if we would like to take a horse and buggy ride (locally known as a "jaunting car"). The asking price was surprisingly reasonable so we decided to go. The trip lasted close to an hour and we had the best time.
Our B&B tonight is in the town of Kenmare, which is on the famous "Ring of Kerry" route. We had a nice dinner then took a walk to see an old bridge constructed hundreds of years ago known as "Cromwell's Bridge" (although it had nothing to do with Oliver Cromwell). We continued our walk and found a large stone circle that was constructed about 3000 years ago, possibly by the Druids.
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