Ireland again - Day 8: Epilog

Sunday morning, we had an early breakfast at the B&B and headed north to Dublin (and the airport).


We took the M50 highway around Dublin, which was interesting because it was the only all-electronic toll in the country, I think. There were signs reminding drivers to pay by 8 PM tomorrow.

Traffic was light-to-non-existent at 8:30 AM, as the Irish aren't morning people at all. Particularly not on a Sunday, apparently. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, but had to get some diesel. We found a strange, mostly commercial petrol station and filled up the MPV.


Dublin does US customs pre-clearance, meaning we had to wait in several lines for over an hour (after already passing through airport security) to get to the gate. After that, we had time for one last Guinness, and not another minute to spare, before boarding the plane.

Ireland again - Day 7: Cork -> Waterford -> Wexford -> Wicklow

Pictures fixed. See pages 21, 22, 23, and 24.

On Saturday morning, day seven of the trip, we checked out of the hotel early and headed down into the center of Cork to investigate the English Market.


You would never know how large this indoor market is from the outside, because the entrances are hidden amongst the shops and pubs of a block in center city. While there, we picked up a few snacks for the car ride today.


After leaving the market we walked around downtown Cork briefly, then set out towards Midleton, just east of Cork, for the Jameson Experience.


We toured the Old Midleton Distillery, adjacent to the New Midleton Distillery, where Jameson has been distilled since 1975. This is not to be confused with the Old Jameson Distillery, although I think the tourist experience is almost identical. The old distillery is home to the largest pot still in the world. Got some pics with Sabrina in front of it, for scale.


The tour concluded with some whiskey sampling in the tasting room. Rudy volunteered to participate in a Scottish v Irish v American taste test. They suggested anyone who was driving should not participate.


Next stop: Waterford, where we walked around town, did some shopping, and visited the House of Waterford Crystal.


Rudy and I toured Reginald's Tower, a 900ish-year-old stone tower that is currently a small museum, though it served many different purposes in the past.


The tour included a ten minute video on the history of Waterford and the tower, particularly regarding the activities of the Vikings, the Normans, various pirates, etc. After the tower touring and shopping were complete, we had a late lunch and/or early dinner at a nearby pub, and then piled back into the MPV.


We cruised through County Wexford with only a brief stop in Enniscorthy, the highlights of which include the eponymous castle and the "pudding-shaped" Vinegar Hill, according to Wikipedia. The Wexford v Waterford Hurling match was on the TV in the Castle Bar, which had everyone in the pub captivated.


From Enniscorthy, it was a quick drive up to our lodging for the night: Moneylands Farm, a B&B just outside of Arklow in County Wicklow.


Not wanting to turn in before the sun had set, and with few potential options in Arklow, we headed down to the nearby beach for a sunset walk.


Several... locals?... were swimming in the Irish Sea. The water was cold, but not unbearably so in my opinion. I waded around for a bit, but wasn't properly equipped for a real swim. Nobody else shared my enthusiasm for setting foot in the Irish Sea.


Tomorrow morning, we head back to Dublin for the flight home.

Ireland again - Day 6: Killarney National Park, Cork

Update: Pictures on pages 18, 19, and 20.

The sun rose over Lough Leane at the start of day six, which surprised us since the night was full of thunderous storms.


We had some breakfast at the hotel, and then took off on foot on the trail around the lake, into Killarney National Park, intent on seeing several sights before lunch. The first stop was Muckross Abbey (or Friary, depending who you ask).


After thoroughly exploring the abbey, we continued down the trail towards Muckross House, where we stopped for a snack.


Throughout the morning, we were intermittently interrupted by the passing of horse-drawn "jaunty cars" conveying people between destinations around the lake. This is apparently an attractive alternative to walking for many people, mostly due to the fact that the attractions are spaced out over several miles.


The other alternative would have been to rent bicycles, which we may have considered more seriously had our (free from the hotel) map had a scale on it.


After our late-morning scones at the Muckross House, we headed down to the boathouse on Muckross Lake to explore the possibility of taking a boat ride to the other side, but there were no boats in sight and scant information about how to find one.


Instead, we pressed on another for another mile or so to the Torc Waterfall. The photos don't really do it justice; it was loud and somewhat imposing.


At that point, we had walked about 3.5 miles by my Google Map estimates, and we still had to get back to the hotel. Since the allergic-to-horses contingent of our exploration party had a quorum, we opted to walk back. Due to the crazy route we ended up taking, I estimate that it was about 12k (about 7.5 miles) total.


Having exhaustively toured the national park, we loaded into the MPV and headed into Killarney center for some lunch. The center of town was bustling with activity, but we eventually found a pub, had a few pints and some food, and then waved goodbye to Killarney (and County Kerry) and headed into County Cork.


After a two-hour scenic ride to Cork City and some brief navigational confusion, we managed to find the Ambassador Hotel. After checking in, we walked about a mile down into the center of Cork to grab a late dinner on Oliver Plunkett street, and then wandered around town a bit.


Tomorrow, we might explore Cork some more, then head towards Waterford and onto County Wicklow, possibly with a stop at the new Jameson Distillery.