Ireland - Day 3

July 15, 2009 - (click here for pictures) What a wonderful night of sleep. I don't think we moved all night long and even slept until 8. We didn't get on the road until a little before 10. We changed our plans and headed to a new place on our list: the Powerscourt Gardens and Castle. It was in Rick Steve's book and it did not disappoint. There was a tower that we climbed up along with Japanese Gardens and a pet cemetery (family pets of the Powerscourt family including a few horses along with dogs & cats). Along the road to Wexford, we saw numerous stands selling Wexford strawberries. I might have to stop and pick some up - we probably saw 25 road side stands.

The GPS has disappointed us a little bit today. She doesn't have small towns and many of the roads that we are driving on. She is as lost as we are! But, it has been okay. We have decent maps and the signs are fairly good and Robby is pretty good at going round and round in the roundabouts until we know which way to go for sure (just call him Chevy Chase). In Wexford, we stopped a few times to ask for directions. Our directions might have been good but we think we took a wrong turn somewhere. We drove straight to the Hook Head Lighthouse but we were not on any main roads! When we arrived, we were surprised to see buses and other cars there since we didn't see any of that on the way there. We unpacked our picnic lunch and had sandwiches in front of the lighthouse. We could hear the ocean and took a walk behind the lighthouse on the rocks. It was beautiful but a little windy.

Next, we were unsure about our directions (again) but headed to Ballyhack. There our choice was to drive 30+ miles up and around the water or take the ferry. Before we knew it, we were in line for the ferry. We didn't know how much it cost but figured we did need to make up some time in the day so we went for it. It was pretty cheap-should be since it was only 4 minutes long across the waterway. It held around 15 cars and they didn't even fill it up. By the time Robby had put the car in park, we were moving. We had enough time to jump out and take a picture before it was time to go again. Before our car was off the ferry, they were loading other cars on it.

Within minutes, we were at the Waterford Crystal factory and store. The displays were amazing and Waterford sounded like a nice anniversary present (since today is our 9 year anniversary). Actually, I didn't even buy anything. I would have picked up a Christmas ornament but don't like to get one that can break easily...like crystal! It was a very good stop though since it poured while we were inside.

Next we made it to Kilkenny. The town was pretty busy and touristy-a neat little town. Robby found parking on the street (after driving down a one-way street!) and we walked to the Kilkenny Castle. It was already closed so we weren't able to tour it but we did walk around the grounds. The grounds weren't that big but it is right in the middle of the town. , We headed to a pub we had read about: Kyteler's Inn. We sat on the covered deck and had a great dinner. We split the tomato basil soup. Then Robby had a cajun chicken paninni with fries and I had some type of ham and chicken fancy word dish (it was like a chicken pot pie) along with fries and a salad. For dessert we split a Death By Chocolate cake-yum!

We walked back through town and by the castle on the way to the car. From there we actually happened by our hotel tonight. It is another nice one. We are working on our route for tomorrow and have another busy day toward the Rock of Cashel and the Blarney Stone.