Europe Day 30 - Part Three

Anyway, back to the Rock of Cashel.

So we wandered the grounds after the tour, and took pictures of course.

Even More Castle Grounds!

Europe Day 30 - Part Two

The drive from Kerry to Kilkenny was fairly lengthy, in the afternoon we stopped at The Rock of Cashel! Which is another really cool ruinous castle, so called because it sits on a hill which is a large rock.

St. Patrick’s Rock of Cashel!

Europe Day 30 - Part One

Aww today, we checked out of Taobh Coille.

I really enjoyed our stay there. Agnes, the proprietress, was so fun and charming. She made us all feel very at home and was especially attentive to my gramma.

The last of Taobh Coille!

Europe Day 29 - Part Two

Killarney! We made it!

We stopped off a lot at  likely looking areas and took pictures, tramping off into the wild.

Killarney is a great hiking area and a huge tourist draw, for that reason. Hiking there is one of the things I’d wanted to do that didn’t work out, so, next time!

Killarney & Muckross!

Europe Day 29 - Part One

Day 29! So close to being done with this trip (in the beginning stages of plotting my next trip, which hopefully I’ll be more timely about blogging about…).

In the morning we set out to Kenmare, because there’s a lace museum there that was very highly recommended in the guide book.

Car pic! Probably from my sister. I didn’t take very many pics from the car, as the designated direction giver (which requires constant vigilance, as signs are not always common).

Kenmare!

Europe Day 28 - Part Four

We stopped for lunch somewhere in here, in Knight’s Town, which is the only real… town like thing there. It’s basically a main street. We had soup/sammiches, tea, and desserts, and then we browsed a cute used bookstore. And really… I don’t recall much else being there. Knight’s Town Coffee the place was called. It was nice.

Anyway then we went to the opposite end of the island from where we’d entered, where there’s a bridge back to the mainland. That’s where the coloured houses from last post were. By the bridge is a visitor’s center called The Skellig Experience. The skelligs are these two islands about 2miles or so off the coast that monks settled in the… 12th century I think it was. There’s hundreds of stairs carved into the mountains and the stone huts the monks built are still standing.

They have a shuttle… boat… thing to take you to Skellig Michael, and I reeeeally wanted to go because somehow I missed in the guidebook that you *could* go. But they didn’t have anymore that day, and my mum said we could come back the next day, it was close enough to our B&B, but I didn’t have any sort of suitable clothing with me (very wet, very cold). So, next time!

After the exhibit we crossed the bridge back onto the Ring of Kerry, and saw a sign for a local chocolate factory which sounded eeeepic. We followed the signs and… never found it. But we *did* see a sign for “The BEST view of Kerry.” So we stopped off there.

Get ready for THE BEST view!

Europe Day 28 - Part Three

Continuing on our island adventure, some cows.

Even more pics, but no more cows.

Europe Day 28 - Part Two

Still on Valentia Island!

It’s so pretty, I mean really. (btw, those triangles in the background, pretty sure those are the skellligs :D)

Valentia Island~ So pretty!

Europe Day 28 - Part One

Sunrise from my window!

Man this makes me really want to go back.

Ring of Kerry doings!

Europe Day 27

Even though I’m posting these after the fact, but quite a bit, I’m getting really sad I’m almost done ;_;

Last morning at Azure House. We met some very nice people there, and I wish I had their contact info.

After we said our good-byes and packed and such, it was off to the ring of Kerry.

We only made a few stops, as needed for stretching, food, and toilets. One of the stops was Adare, a very quaint and picturesque town.

And then onto Taobh Coille!

Europe Day 26 - Part Four

Last part of day 26 8D;;

I just took a lot of pictures this day.

Anyway, after Monasterboice we drove down to Trim Castle, but it turned out the last admittance was at 5pm, which was right then almost on the dot. It closed at 6pm anyway, I think, but we thought an hour for E and I to run through it while maybe gramma and mum ate or something would be fine.

It was fine though, E & I walked all around it and then took this “heritage walk,” which was so much fun and took us through some really neat ruins. The above pic of Trim Castle was taken then.

Ruins! This time with added countryside!

Europe Day 26 - Part Three

From Mellifont Abbey a short distance away is Monasterboice, our next location!

This place was a church or abbey or something until Mellifont came along. But mostly it’s known for it’s high crosses!

Monasterboice!

Europe Day 26 - Part Two

From Newgrange we went to Old Mellifont Abbey, which is basically an Abbey in ruin from the 12th century that is special because it’s  the first that used the cross shaped chapel area (that they know of).

There was a tiny tiny visitor’s center with a little museum area talking about the architecture, and the history of the place. Basically it was built onto over hundreds of years before being abandoned after some battle in… the 1600s? Or thereabouts. So there’s lots of different kinds of architecture.

Yay ruins!

Europe Day 26 - Part One

Newgrange day!

It’s a huge mound older than Stonehenge, which is a tomb but also maybe more, oooooh.

You drive up to a museum/exhibit building, which talks about the area and the tomb, and you can get your tour tickets. You can’t get to the tomb except through the tour.

Then there’s quite a, lovely, jaunt to walk to some buses, which take you to the mound.

Here’s the wiki, if you’re really curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange

Newgrange~!

Europe Day 25 - Part Two

So after St. Patrick’s Cathedral we got back on the bus, and our next stop was Kilmainham Gaol, where we took a tour and learned a lot about Irish politics.

Welcome to Gaol!

Europe Day 25 - Part One

This day we got up earlier, gramma actually adjusted to the jetlag pretty quickly because she has the amazing ability to sleep anywhere at anytime (this is a skill, I’m told, you learn with age), so the adjusting person was my mum.

I’m pretty sure before we set out BA was called again because she still didn’t have her luggage. I didn’t speak to them this time, my mum did, so I don’t remember what they told her. We were all still a bit hung up on the original person telling us it was on that 2nd flight. I’d much rather an airline tell me “Look we misplaced your luggage, we don’t know where it is” than the continuous “it’s on the next flight.” I’ve always liked BA too so this whole debacle put a dent in my opinion of them.

Anyway!

Those bus tickets are good for two days, so we took the subway in again and got on yay. Our first stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. E wanted to go here not because of history, or what’s actually there, or any actual logical reason, but that her birthday is St. Patrick’s Day.

Another stunning church!

Europe Day 24

I am totally sold on B&Bs!

First full day in Ireland!

Europe Day 23

Soooo, I’d set my alarm for 7:00am, given the time it would take to get to Heathrow, and my gramma’s plane was due in at 9:05. So got up, made myself tea, and got online to double check my route and to check the flight status (hoping she’d be late so I’d have some morning time w/ Katy :D). Not only not late, but early! So I had to zoom wake E up, fold bedding, and scoot ;_; I wanted to write some sort of cute note, but ended up just sending an e-mail.  

Then we walked to a little gas station shop to break some money for bus change for E, I thankfully still had my oyster card. Then bus to tube to Heathrow!

We got in right around 10:00, which made me suuuuper worried for my gramma, but when we checked the boards it said it’d only just landed and baggage was offloading. So we actually ended up waiting for her about 15 minutes. And then she came out, wheeled by an attendant… with no bags.

Lost luggage.