Kilkenny Castle
Although its much earlier tonight, only 10:00PM, I may have to break my promise about going into more detail tonight. You see, this was our first day on the road and I’m really beat. Its a good tired though, so I’m not complaining.
Never have I wished I had my Mini on vacation more than today. My Mini isn’t very powerful, it’s noisy, and it hasn’t got much room, but its the perfect car for these roads. Everything you may have heard about the narrow, twisty Irish roads is true! Consider that if you lived here you’d know the roads and you’d fly like the wind through the countryside. Then add the tourists (like myself) who are just trying to keep on the right(oops, left) side of the road and figure out how their rental cars work. So, it was both taxing and exhilarating at the same time. I can’t wait fore tomorrow.
The Luas in downtown Dublin
O’Connell St. Bridge
The River Liffey at O’Connell St.
The Ashling Hotel in Dublin
We had our last look at Dublin this morning as the airport shuttle took us to the airport to get our car. My only regret is that we didn’t have more time in Dublin. I love this city!
With google maps fired up on the i-pad and a route planned we hit the motorway flat out. Dublin has a freeway (Motorway here) that loops around the west side of the city, avoiding the need to drive through Dublin to get from north to south. Before we knew it we were in the Wicklow Mountains. Then we hit the “R” roads through the mountains. It seems the farther down the alphabet you get the narrower the roads get. “N” roads are like nice county roads in the US. “R” roads have no counterpart in the US, except maybe a long, twisty driveway. Picture driving down your driveway for 45 kilometers with on-coming buses and people on your back bumper wanting to go the speed limit (50mph). Only once did I rub the bushes on the side of the road at 80 kph (50 mph) to avoid a bus that wanted the whole road.
Powerscourt House
A walk around the grounds and gardens at Powerscourt
Giant Cedar tree at Powerscourt
U of W themed garden at Powerscourt Gardens in County Wicklow, Ireland
OK,our first stop was in the Wicklow Mts. At Powerscourt Gardens. All I can say is, they are amazing!
Medieval tower at Glendalough
Medieval monastic site at Glendalough
Medieval graveyard at Glendalough
The boardwalk around the lower lake at Glendalough
Next we went to Glendalough, a medieval monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin in the sixth century. Obviously its just ruins now, but very beautiful and interesting. While there we walked around the lower lake and got some much needed exercise.
From Glendalough we drove another hour and a half to our destination for the day in Kilkenny.
The River Nore in Kilkenny
Kilkenny Castle
Our B&B is very nice and located right up the street from Killkenny Castle. Killkenny is a very nice medieval town. There are still remains of the old city wall.
We pretty much walked all over town this evening. We then had a really nice, healthy dinner before returning to our B&B.
Tomorrow is another fun packed day, but we’ll take it at a much more relaxed pace. Until tomorrow.
Jim
This featured blog entry was written by olytrains from the blog Adventures in the Emerald Isle.
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