Monday 23 April

Today was our first real day of touring, and it was really great.  We started out with a plan to try to get to three historical sites within about an  hour of our cottage.  What we realized was just as people had forewarned, regardless of "your plan" you will not get to it all as planned.  Part of that was due to my wanting to stop along the way at several unscheduled sites and views.  It was really quite spectacular.

Shortly after leaving the cottage, we stumbled upon a Roman Catholic Church built in 1700.  It was very small, tucked in a little valley in a pretty sharp curve in the road (R700).  There was a convenient parking lot just beyond and above the church, so David was able to pull over at my cry of "STOP".

We were able to walk around the grounds along side a running brook, complete with waterfalls.  There was a bell tower adjacent to the church complete with an old copper bell and rope. Inside, the church was beautifully maintained.  I even found the service hymn flier from yesterday's mass.

Upon return to our cottage, I was able to research the church.  I learned that it is the second oldest active church in all of Ireland.  It survived the attacks by British soldiers due to its hidden location.  In fact, there is a small cave in the area where the priests once hid to avoid Cornwall's men.

From there we continued on our way, next stopping in the village of Inistioge, where the River Nore creates a lovely backdrop for yet another photo op stop!  We enjoyed pulling into the parking lot along the riverside park where several folks had their dogs out romping.





Our next unplanned stop was marked as a "view" so we pulled into the off road area, not sure what we might view.  Out in the pasture probably 300 yards or so were the remains of the Grennan Castle (c 1210).  It seemed so out of place and yet so perfect sitting out in the green field not too far from the river.  

We arrived at our first planned destination of Jerpoint Abbey near Thomastown shortly before noon, and spent a leisurely hour walking the grounds of this 13th century ruin that is currently undergoing restoration.   The ornate carvings in limestone were beautiful.  I especially enjoyed one of the outer walls which still have several of the original pillars intact.

 

From Thomastown we headed on to the medieval Irish capital of Kilkenny.  As much as we wanted to spend more time here, it was a very busy city with a lot of vehicle and pedestrian traffic.  We opted to visit the Kilkenny Castle as planned and then head on back to the cottage.  The Kilkenny Castle is in the middle of a continued renovation effort dating back to the 1960's.  Much of the interior was off limits to visitors, with photography prohibited throughout the interior.

We decided to head back to the cottage through New Ross so that we could shop for a couple of small items at the local Tesco; think Super Walmart or Target, but on a much smaller scale.  They sold everything from fresh produce and meats to kitchen utensils and cooking implements.  I got caught up in trying to decide what type of potatoes to buy for dinner.  I think I counted around eight different varieties of potatoes, excluding sweet potatoes (and their variations).

The above photo of the river was one of my "drive-by" photographs taken as we crossed this old stone bridge near New Ross.  This Celtic cross was right in the middle of the town of New Ross.

We arrived home just before 5:00pm, so it was a very full day.  David's doing well with the driving so all is good in that regard.

I'm not sure what we'll plan for tomorrow, as each day is an adventure depending on how far with think we want to ramble.  The internet connection here is a bit unreliable but I'm hoping to be able to post again tomorrow night!