Traveling Around!

January 9, 2010 I was to begin my mini journey to the country with my Ma. We made it out of Dublin (though it took a good 45 minutes to do so.. ) and drove to Killkenny for a timeshare we were going to stay at. We soon learned we were not in the right town, and we should be south of Kilkenny in Knocktopher. My Ma and I were seriously concerned that we wouldn’t be able to check in, or the time share didn’t even exist. Needless to say, we were more than thrilled when we got there and found out our place was gorgeous. We were in an old abbey, which is a castle like building, and the grounds were completely covered in snow, which made it an incredibly beautiful sight. At first we were staying in the complex not attached to the actual abbey (which is what the picture is) until the couple next door complained they had no hot water. The management's solution was to move the couple into the abbey itself. So... my Ma and I decided we should do the same. We wanted to stay in a castle!

This was the backyard of the abbey!

Everything is so white! (Unlike in DC where it turns brown...)

The first night we ate at a hotel in the little town of Knocktopher and that was all. But the next few days were a lot more exciting. Though it snowed, we braved the country roads (even though everyone said we were crazy to do such a thing, but an inch or two of snow isn’t really THAT terrible) and traveled around southern Ireland. I’m very greatful my Ma was with me, she made adjusting to a new country a lot easier than it would have been, and I wouldn’t have gotten such a great opportunity to travel around Ireland otherwise. We went through towns such as Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford, Glendalough, Cashel, and many others.

This little waterfall is my favorite picture, but it certainly wasn't easy to get it. We drove right past it, and I screamed, "Ma! Go back, go back!!" So she backed up and brought us close to the mini waterfall. I jumped out of the car and went to go take a picture. As I was doing this, another car drove right by and the wheels sprayed up all the snow and dirt from the road... and it got all over me. That was splendid.. At least I got a good picture? Err...

We had a ridiculous incident while we were driving one of the days. On the map, I knew we needed to turn left to get to the town we wanted to visit that day, but after passing two roundabouts and driving a little bit longer, we weren’t seeing any turns… As a result, my Ma and I decided we should turn around and go back to the roundabouts. We saw that one of the roads that was gated off was now open, so we thought 'hey, this is the road we’re supposed to take.' Unfortunately for us, it was definitely not. The first warning sign for us was it was completely covered in snow. Very little traffic had been on this road at all. Then we noticed after about 15 minutes of driving. We had not passed a single car, and there wasn’t any cars behind us either. We realized then that we were on a road that was currently under construction and not completely finished. To make it worse, there was nowhere to turn around to go back to town. So… we turned around right then and there and drove the wrong way down the highway. Thankfully no cars came - no one saw. From there on we continued our travels....

One thing I noticed is there food is all really, really good. Some people say the food is bland, but there was not one thing I didn’t like eating while I traveled around. Given, a lot of it was seafood. But I was shocked I loved EVERYTHING. So that was a pleasant surprise! Seafood chowder, seafood sandwich, chicken sandwich, pasta and sauce, seafood pasta, a fish dinner… Given I love food... so maybe I was just happy to eat. But in America I always can find one dish I didn't enjoy THAT much. Here I have yet to find that...

All in all, we drove by the waterfront, the mountains, through small towns and even some cities.We took a lot of landscape pictures and a few pictures of the normal tourist attractions that we were supposed to see. And here is a picture of the signs for the roundabouts in Ireland. (There are a ton of them) Mainly though, we did a lot of scenic driving throughout Ireland, and I must say that I’m very glad we did. It was great to be able to see parts of Ireland other than Dublin.

A complete list of the order of my travels (and when):

Saturday, 9 Jan -

Kilkenny

Knoctopher

Sunday 10 Jan -

Waterford

Dunmore East (Had a fabulous cafe… I wish I could go back!)

Tramore

Waterford

Knoctopher

Monday 11 Jan -

Carrick-on-Suir

Clonmel

Cahir

Cashel

Rock of Cashel

Kilkenny

Tuesday 12 Jan-

Thomastown

Scenic road along the river Nore

New Ross

Wexford

Waterford

Sunday 17 Jan –

Wicklow (one of the most gorgeous views I’ve seen in Ireland came from Wicklow)

Brittas Bay

Arklow

Avoca

Glendalough

Dublin