Ireland (Kilkenny)

We landed in Dublin at 8:30am and spent an hour going through the immigration/custom lines. Since we had no checked bags, after getting our passports stamped, Boo headed to the cell phone store in the airport to pick up an Irish sims card to convert our phone and I headed to the ATM to get out some Euro's. We then took a shuttle over to the Hertz to pick up our rental and imagine my surprise when instead of seeing the expected economy, generic cars, we were greeted by a fleet of Range Rovers, Mercedes Benz, Volvo's, BMW's, and Lexus'. WOW!!! Europeans know how to drive! Boo was drooling and I didn't have the heart to tell him I booked us an economy (think Ford Festiva). We pull up to the counter (after a 30 minute wait) and I finally get to hear a real Irishman. I was mesmerized and grinning at his Lucky Charms (cereal) accent. He must of thought I was a total idiot tourist. hahha! Well, it must of been the luck of the Irish, b/c they were out of economy cars and we were upgraded 2 levels! No Benz, but we got a Toyota Avantis (Camry). Off we went. Navigating the crazy roads and plethora of round abouts that make up the Emerald Island all while driving on the left side of the road, and with the steering wheel on the left hand side.

Our first adventure was Powerscourt in county Wicklow. It is one of Europes greatest treasures and Ireland's best garden and house. If you've ever seen "The Count of Monte Cristo", the part where he hosts a party at his home, was filmed here. Absolutely stunning and breathe taking is all I can say about the view of the gardens from the house. The view from the Italian garden beckons your eyes to travel down the terraced steps to two huge silver reared up horses, then to a shimmering lake with a fountain, and finally up towards Sugar Loaf Mountain. It was stunning. One of my favorite parts of the gardens was Pepperpot Tower. You were actually able to climb up to the top of the round tower. I felt like the princess on top of that tower! The Japanese gardens were gorgeous and the pet cemetery was a bit quirky. We opted for the 60 minute walking tour vs. the 30 min. tour, and honestly, the 60min took us about 30 minutes. We didn't walk fast, we walked at a leisurely pace, taking tons of photos and just admiring the general splendor. We spent about 2 hours at Powerscourt before leaving for our next adventure. Riding through Sally's Gap to Glendalough. If you've ever seen the Mel Gibson movie Braveheart, alot of it was filmed in Sally's Gap. This was one of Boo's favorite drives in Ireland. We stopped to see our first peat stacks drying out. Peat is a charcoal turf that is dug up in chunks, air dried, and then used as fuel for heating an Irish home. We pulled over and explored/took photos of the peat bog, but not for too long, the chilly wind was whipping thru us.

We finally arrive in Glendalough and take a tour of the 6th Century, early medieval, monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin. County Wicklow was gorgeous. We walked along the river on a short path to the monastic settlement. I had the Rick Steve's guide book with me and was reading about the settlement and the history of the ruins to Boo. I could just imagine what it looked like when it was being invaded by the Vikings. The monks either retreat into the round tower or fleeing into the woods. Even the old cemetery around the ruins was interesting with it's Celtic cross tomb stones sticking eerily up in the air. For about 45 minutes, we were pretty much the only people there and were able to get some great photos. As we were ending our walk, a huge tour group from France showed up. I understand the purpose of tour groups, but sometimes their presence can be really annoying. The quiet, tranquil, and peaceful church ruins and cemetery all of the sudden became loud and obnoxious with teenagers rock climbing and jumping onto the ledges of the church ruins and tomb stones. They really had no respect or interest in this place. What a shame. We left shortly afterwards.

It's been a long day and Boo has a bit of jet lag, so he is ready to check into our first B&B in Kilkenny (Kilkenny is where Smithwicks beer was invented). We arrive at Carriglea Bed and Breakfast and are pleasantly surprised. Our host, Josephine O'Reilly is cheery Irishwoman who warmly welcomes us to Kilkenny. Oh... and did I mention our B&B is right across the street from a castle! Kilkenny Castle. We ventured out for dinner, and upon suggestion of our host, we ended up at Kyteler's Inn. This pub has been around since the 11th Century. It was made out of stone and you could just feel the history seeping out of this place. Just imagine all the medieval Irishmen and women that frequented this pub. Pretty cool. I had my first official Irish dinner here, and I got my first pint of Guinness. I had the Irish Stew (lamb and potato stew) with brown bread. YUM! Oh...did I mention the Guinness tasted great. No bitter bite or after taste like I experienced back in the States. It was creamier, smoother, surprisingly really good. Boo had his first Irish Guinness too, but decided to slide into the culture a bit more slowly. He ordered a steak sandwich with chips (fries). I knew I had about another good hour out of him, he was so tired and jet lagged. I felt bad, because I didn't want to leave the pub, but I knew it was best to get him back to the B&B and to bed. After dinner and pints, we walked back to our B&B. Boo showered and crashed, and I reviewed the map and our next days itinerary.

After a good nights sleep, we woke up and went downstairs for our first full Irish Breakfast. A full Irish Breakfast consists of a fried egg, sausage links, bacon, grilled tomatoes, brown bread, tea, white pudding, and black pudding. (The bacon is like our Canadian bacon. White pudding is pork meat, oatmeal and spices mixed together and stuffed into a sausage casing. Same with black pudding except blood is added for flavor and to give it the dark black color. Black pudding is also called blood pudding. Appetizing isn't it?) I actually enjoyed the full Irish breakfast, though I could only take one bite out of the black/blood pudding, before images of the movie "Cary" started playing in my over active imagination. It kept me full for most of the day. Boo just couldn't dive into the culture yet, he opted for a southwestern omelet and white toast. In his defense, he did partake in some Irish breakfast tea. We thanked our host and off we went! Destination-Kinsale, with a few stops along the way. :)