Part 4 - Cork and Waterford
August 29 - September 1, 2016
For a more photo-centric view of the trip, you can also check out my Flickr album for this part of the trip.
Monday, August 29th: Killarney to Cork
Today was a big driving day, taking the scenic route from Killarney to Cork, which we estimated at about 168 miles, or 5 hours of driving plus stops (and time spent behind hay trucks). We started our day grabbing convenience store breakfast again before looking for a laundromat. Every one we tried was either closed or nonexistent, so we ended up going to a Dunnes Stores department store so Julie could buy a few more clothes.
Our first stop was in Glengarriff, and we took an inland route over some mountains to get there. It got really foggy as we drove through a mountain pass, and then we emerged to see a rugged, rocky coast with lots of fingers of land jutting into the ocean with bays and harbors in between.
Upon arriving in Glengarriff, we took a ferry to Ilnacullin (also known as Garnish Island), a sort of ornamental garden built on an island just offshore. The 10 minute ferry ride took us past an island with a group of lounging seals and then docked at the destination. We spent around an hour and a half looking at the gardens and buildings (including a Napoleonic-era Martello tower, a small fort built to defend against a possible invasion), but didn't do the house tour because it was going to take an hour that we didn't think we could spare. The gardens were a little wild, but they were pretty, and had some exotic plants like Huon pines (which we had previously seen in Tasmania).
After taking the ferry back and briefly walking around a store, we drove on to Mizen Head, the most southwestern point in Ireland. It was a long drive out to a remote part of the country, but luckily the weather cleared up as we drove. There's a visitor center, a lighthouse, and a cool pedestrian bridge at Mizen Head. We started in the visitor center, which had a lot of detailed information. Really too much, so it was hard to focus attention and read any of it when the outdoor trails were calling. The ticket taker asked where we were from and chatted a bit about Atlanta's "world's biggest airport," and we got a "Go Jackets" from a random guy, even all the way out in the middle of nowhere.
We walked down to a view point for a sea arch, then walked across the pedestrian bridge, an arch bridge that's 165 feet above the ocean, to an old signal station with more exhibits. The exhibits were nothing special - the scenery was the draw, and there were several different viewpoints that required a lot of walking up and down stairs and ramps. At the far end of the trail, there was a light mounted on a point 150 feet above the ocean, and during a harsh winter storm, a wave knocked the light out. That's a big wave!
On the way back to the main road, we stopped by Altar, a wedge tomb (built about 4500 years ago) next to the ocean, which was built to align with the peak of a mountain across the bay. Then we stopped at Timoleague Abbey, another ruined abbey located in a town by the ocean. It was fairly intact, but since it was in town, it was full of graves (dangerous business!) and also full of trash. Kind of a bummer that it wasn't in some deserted field somewhere.
Finishing up our drive, we arrived in Cork and found our hotel. We had to drive a couple of laps to figure out where to park to check in. The room was small but fine, and the hotel itself was pretty nice and in a historic building in the city center. Cork seems like an interesting city, with a river running through it and lots of hills. Unfortunately, we were only spending the one night there before moving on.
We walked out to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I had a BBQ sandwich (I swear we didn't eat "American" food exclusively, we just had to kind of take what we could get because we were usually on the run and/or dead tired) that was good, but odd - pulled beef with a dollop of BBQ sauce along with lettuce, mayo, onion, and pickles. Dinner was pleasant and mercifully quick, so we called that a win.
Laundry in Cork was also a bust - there was nothing available except laundry services, which didn't fit with our travel schedule. We decided we'd try dropping our stuff off the next day in Waterford, since we were spending a couple of days there.
Tuesday, August 30th: Cork to Waterford
We woke up to a very dreary morning in Cork, loaded the car, got breakfast at another convenience store, and ate it while walking around the riverfront area for a bit. We went to Marks & Spencer to buy a few more clothes, and then drove out of town for Blarney Castle.
Julie had visited Blarney Castle when she was younger, so she wasn't all that excited to visit it again, but I'd heard about it my whole life, so I was happy to see it for myself. We arrived shortly after it opened, before the crowds arrived, but we did see a few Tech fans here and there. The castle itself is located on expansive grounds that were very pretty - lots of flowers. One thing that was pretty cool was a spot where the River Blarney and the River Martin (really just small streams at this point) cross each other - one flows over the other via an aqueduct.
The castle itself was large, and fairly intact. We followed the tour route to the top, stopping to look at various rooms labeled with plaques. When we arrived at the top of the castle, there were only a few people waiting to kiss the Blarney Stone. It wasn't entirely clear to me how the system worked, so it sort of snuck up on me - suddenly it was my turn, so I laid on my back on a pad, grabbed two metal bars, leaned way back, and kissed the stone. There was a guy sitting nearby to help pull people back up from the kissing position. The whole thing was over very quickly. Julie passed on participating.
After climbing down out of the castle, we spent a while wandering the grounds. They had a "poison garden" with a variety of plants like opium, marijuana, poison ivy, and lots of other plants that can make you sick, some just by touching or smelling them. Some were in cages to really keep people away from them. The fern garden was OK - it was interesting to learn that tree ferns, which we had previously only seen in Australia, grow well in Ireland. The area called Rock Close was kind of like a miniature Rock City, with a variety of rock formations with whimsical names. The Herbaceous Border was very pretty, as well. All told, we spent about 2.5 hours at the castle and grounds.
Next, we drove to the city of Cahir and parked by the castle there, a big, well-preserved edifice right next to the River Suir (and the highway). We walked about a mile and a quarter to a building called the Swiss Cottage, which was part mansion and part thatched-roof cottage. We didn't have time for a tour, but we walked into the visitor entrance for a look (interestingly, through a tunnel into the basement) and then snuck around to get a peek at the house, which was otherwise surrounded by trees and difficult to see. We walked back to where we started, strolled around to look at the castle and the river, and then resumed our drive toward the city of Cashel.
Navigating Cashel was complicated for some reason, but after driving a couple of laps, we found the parking area for the Rock of Cashel, a fortress-like cathedral dating to the 12th or 13th century perched on a hill in the city (and one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions). There were quite a few Tech fans around, including one large football player there with his family. One of the employees gave us a "Go Jackets" and said he'd see us at the game, too.
The Rock itself was really cool, although the outside of one part of it was undergoing conservation (which had been going on for 7 years and was scheduled to finish in 2 months) and was covered in scaffolding. We joined a tour group, and the tour guide gave a lot of good information and stories about the site and its history (and the history of Ireland). Once the tour was done, we wandered the grounds on our own, looking at the various buildings and the views of the surrounding countryside.
Strangely, we saw a lot of weird animal activity going on down below. One field of cows was having some sort of rumble, with a lot of loud mooing. Another field of cows ran toward the road when a hay truck drove by. A field of horses was just running around like crazy. And then there was a giant flock of birds circling over the car. Weird.
In keeping with the theme, we had trouble with the parking machine as we exited the parking lot, then we had trouble finding the right road out of town. We ended up on a tiny one-lane road, and had to back up forever to pull out and let another car pass. We passed a guy driving a van really slowly with a dog tied to the back of it, and then got stuck behind a series of hay-hauling tractors going incredibly slow. It took a week and a half, but I finally hit the point where driving slowly on small country roads lost its charm.
Eventually we made it to Waterford, just in time for some awful rush hour traffic. We continued our quest for a laundromat, but one that we visited had closed down a couple of weeks prior and the other apparently didn't exist. We gave up and went to the hotel, which seemed quite nice. We had a huge corner room with river views (pay no mind to the naked fisherman changing clothes on the dock - there will be better river photos tomorrow). They offered a laundry service, and since we were spending two nights, the solution to our laundry woes was at last at hand.
We wandered the area around the hotel looking for something to eat and found what was basically an Asian buffet. That could have gone either way, but it turned out to be really good - a variety of food, and it was fast and easy, which was welcome after a somewhat frustrating day.
After dinner, we walked around Waterford's Viking Triangle for a bit in the twilight, and it seemed like a really cool area to explore tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 31st: Around Waterford
At long last, we dropped off our laundry at the front desk of the hotel. Of course it was complicated - we had used the wrong bag, had to fill out a form, etc.) But we got through it and then had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.
Our first stop for the day (just a short walk from the hotel) was the House of Waterford Crystal (where they hand-make Waterford crystal) and got into a guided tour. It was very interesting watching craftsmen blow the crystal, inspect and polish it (we saw one that didn't pass), cut it, and engrave it - almost entirely by hand. Among other things of note, they make the college football national championship trophy in this shop, and I got to hold one. When we were there, they were making some smaller crystal footballs for the game in Dublin - we got to hold one of the works-in-progress. Of course the tour exited through the gift shop, so we bought souvenirs and took them back to the hotel.
Next, we drove to the Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford, about an hour away. We made it there with only one wrong turn! It was an interesting place, with reconstructions of various types of structures from throughout Ireland's (pre-)history, with signs and a few A/V presentations. We tagged along with a guided tour for a little while, but eventually moved on ahead of it. Most of the park was pretty cool, but the later stuff (like a Norman castle) was a little sad - it's harder to recreate that stuff in a way that looks realistic, and a lot of it was a little threadbare. But it was worth the time to visit, and we also got to do a little birdwatching. We had lunch before we left (the soup was very good but the desert was a little disappointing).
We headed for the JFK Arboretum, and along the way we made some wrong turns and got misled by the GPS a couple of times (which sent us driving in circles). It was a tortuous route on back roads for most of the drive. When we finally go there, the park was a nice place for a walk. It was established soon after JFK's assassination and had a nice exhibit of photos and quotes from JFK. Other than that, it was a giant park with trees from around the world and paths through them. It wasn't exciting, but it was pleasant. A viewpoint across the street was included in the park ticket, so we drove to the top of the 600-foot hill to see fabulous panoramic views from the ocean to the mountains.
We drove by the Kennedy Homestead (which was home to JFK's great grandfather), but it was closed for the day. We drove back to the hotel and then went to dinner at a pizza and burger place that was fine but nothing special. We walked back to the hotel in time to see a nice sunset over the river from our hotel window.
Finally, we picked up our laundry from the desk and got it all sorted and folded. We won't know how much it cost until we get the hotel bill, but as long as it didn't cost a fortune, it was a success after a lot of trouble.
Thursday, September 1st: Waterford to Dublin
Julie woke up with a bad migraine (the first of the trip, thankfully), so she was out of commission for the morning. She slept in until close to check-out time. I had breakfast, then wandered out to Reginald's Tower, a former Viking fortification from the earliest days of the city, now a small museum with Viking artifacts and city history exhibits. It was a nice overview of the history and development of the city. Afterwards, I walked across the river for a photo of the city's waterfront (but the midday lighting was terrible) and then walked back to the hotel to check out.
Since Julie wasn't feeling well, we decided to forego the Russborough House (since it was an inside house tour) and go to Glendalough (a monastic area that was mostly outside) instead. We drove up the motorway for a while, then passed through the Wicklow Gap, a very dramatic mountain pass with free-range sheep. We stopped at an overlook and read about the area and about St. Kevin's Way, an ancient footpath to the monastery. We stopped at another overlook and walked around an old mine facility (they did a lot of lead and silver mining in the area) with a pretty stream cascading through it and a couple of sheep wandering with us.
When we arrived at Glendalough, we skipped the visitor center and went straight to the monastic city. There were several churches and cathedrals, a round tower, a lot of old graves, and a few other structures scattered around the grounds. It was OK, but not the best set of ruins that we had visited. ("Ruin fatigue" is a real thing, as it turns out.) The area itself was beautiful, though, and it was a cool, overcast day. We walked by an archaeological dig, walked an easy trail around the lower lake (and saw two deer), then did another trail to a very pretty waterfall cascading to the upper lake. We returned via another trail that passed through a grove of spooky trees.
The area we were in was part of Wicklow Mountains National Park. Our next destination was Powerscourt Waterfall, the highest waterfall in Ireland or Britain. We drove there via the Old Military Road, which passes through a remote area of the park. Early on, we passed an awesome waterfall that was off in the distance out in a sheep pasture. Then we passed through a high meadow covered with ferns and heather, with peat bogs where peat had been cut in the past, leaving odd depressions in the landscape. This remote landscape was one of the more unique areas we visited in Ireland, and it continued for several miles until we began the descent to the waterfall.
Unfortunately, the waterfall was closed when we arrived at 5:30 (our tour book said it was open until 7). Disappointed, we finished up the short drive into our final stop: Dublin. Our lodging was a sort of house-hotel, quasi-B&B place, with very ad hoc parking in a small lot behind the building. We got checked in and settled into the room, then Julie laid down for a nap (still dealing with her migraine) while I went out for dinner.
Our hotel was literally in the shadow of Aviva Stadium, where the football game was taking place, so that will be convenient, and there were signs advertising the game all around. (I wonder what they did with those signs. It just occurred to me that they would have made good souvenirs.) There were some cool restaurants a short walk from the hotel, including a place named Juniors (which I took as a good omen - until recently, there was a restaurant called Junior's that was an institution on the Tech campus). I had dinner at a pizza offshoot of Juniors, then went back to the hotel and turned in.
