Ireland: Day 4 (Sept. 14, 2011)

Here is the Pembrooke Hotel in Kilkenney where we spent the night last night. It was a very nice hotel.

We overslept this morning... didn't wake up until 9:15 a.m. I guess we were tired! Still must be trying to overcome jetlag. After getting dressed, we at breakfast in the hotel. We got some recommendations from the front desk gal and then headed out on foot to explore Kilkenney. Our first stop was Kilkenney Castle. It was right in the middle of town and it was HUGE! After walking around outside, we took a self-quided tour. Unfortunately, they do not allow the taking of photographs inside the castle. Kilkenney Castle was built in 1195.

We then walked through the shopping district. There were a lot of people milling around!

Next, we stopped at St. Mary's Cathedral. It was quite the church. St. Mary's is an early English gothic church built between 1843 and 1857.

The Black Abbey was established in 1225.

St. Canice's Cathedral dates from the 13th century and is the second largest cathedral in Ireland.

We drove to Inistioge to view an arched bridge over the River Nore. It was built in 1763.

We just happened to find Grennan Castle on our drive from Inistioge. It was built in the 13th century.

Jerpoint Abbey was established in 1180. The present ruins are very extensive

Kells Priory is one of the largest and most impressive medieval monuments in Ireland. The walls enclose a site of just over 3 acres. It was founded in 1193 but was attacked and burned on 3 different occasions. There have been many additions to the original church. We had to walk through a sheep pasture to get to the priory. It was a very "careful" walk as you can imagine...

We then headed to the Rock of Cashel. I put Cashel in the GPS and off we went... We drove on some of the most narrow roads I have ever seen!! Some roads were so narrow, our car alone barely fit. We even got stuck behind some cows being herded home for dinner...

When we finally thought we were close to the Rock of Cashel, we still couldn't find it. There was an elderly man working on some stone fence posts so we decided to stop and ask for directions. He said we still had a "wee bit of a drive". Tracy asked how far a "wee bit" was and it turned out we were still 45 minutes away!! The GPS had taken us to the wrong area! It gave the man quite the chuckle and he said he couldn't wait to tell everyone at dinner that he gave Americans directions to the Rock of Cashel from where he was working today - he said it would be quite the story to tell!! He tried to give us directions but kept getting off the subject. We ended up chatting with him for quite a while - very, very nice man! We finally got general directions. Before we left, he gave us a piece of stone from his project and had me write his name and address on it so we could write him when we got home to let him know we made it to the Rock of Cashel. We finally left him and made our way to the Rock. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we got there. We were still able to take pictures of the outside. They are doing a lot of restoration so there was scafolding everywhere. The Rock of Cashel was the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion in 1169. Few remnants of the early structures survive; the majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries.

I managed to set my camera on a rock and get a picture of us in front of the Rock of Cashel. I will send a copy of this to Jim, the man who gave us directions, to prove we made it!

There was quite the ruins just down below the Rock of Cashel. I am not sure what it is or when it is from.

We then headed to Waterford City where we will spend the night. We checked in at the Tower Hotel. By then it was 8:15 p.m. so we just ate at the hotel dining room. Tracy had steak and I had penne pasta with smoked chicken. For dessert, Tracy had warm chocolate fondant and a small scoop of ice cream and I had creme brulee. We walked the boardwalk along the river after dinner for a bit and then called it a night.