Ireland Day 3: Powers Court, Glendalough
After a final Irish breakfast at our
B&B, we took a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. Our
experience with Hertz of Ireland was less than perfect. First of
all, they have an odd policy of requiring drivers to be 30 or older to
drive anything larger than a subcompact. Unfortunately, they didn't
mention this on their web page, so our two under-30s who were planning
to drive couldn't. The second problem was that they didn't even have
the car we reserved! We were supposed to have a nice big Mercedes, but
ended up with our mighty Citroen
Xsara Picasso. It actually turned out to be a decent car, even if
it was a stick shift. We still managed to fit five people and their
luggage in it.
Our first stop outside Dublin, and our major stop of the day was Powerscourt Estate, about an hours drive. The main attraction here was their amazing gardens. They a great terraced garden behind the main building, as well as a nice Japanese garden, and an odd pet cemetery. Someone actually buried a couple of cows here! I went a little crazy with the photos here, since the light was great and the flowers were purty, but luckily for you, this is an edited version. There have been quite a few movies filmed at this location, including Excalibur, Far and Away, and the recent Count of Monte Cristo. It was very scenic, and a nice change of pace from the city.
After a quick lunch, we continued on our trip. Our next destination was Glendalough, where the monastery of St. Kevin was founded. On the way there we drove through the Wicklow mountains. This area looked a lot like parts of Scotland, with no trees, rolling hills, and what looked like heather. Here we experienced our first taste of the narrow Irish roads. They were just barely big enough for two cars to pass each other, and there were quite a few potholes as well.
The monastery was in a very nice location. It was very lovely and peaceful, with a nice lake. The church sites were extremely old. The main buildings were built in the 1200s, including the round tower. It had an entrance 10 feet above ground, so that people could retreat into there during Viking invasions, and pull up the ladder after them. The graveyard was quite interesting, with very ancient graves mixed in with modern ones. In order to maximize the use of consecrated ground, several people were buried within the remains of the collapsed buildings.
We spent a couple of hours walking around here, then headed out to find our next B&B, in Kilkenny. It was a nice place, within walking distance of downtown Kilkenny.
We walked into town and had another fairly traditional Irish meal. A couple of people had lamb, and someone got fish and chips. Of course here, fish and chips meant an entire unskinned fish, breaded and cooked!
Proceed to Day 4: Hanging out in Kilkenny
Go back to Day 2
Return to index
All photos (c) Hoyt Heaton, 2003, yadayada....
Our first stop outside Dublin, and our major stop of the day was Powerscourt Estate, about an hours drive. The main attraction here was their amazing gardens. They a great terraced garden behind the main building, as well as a nice Japanese garden, and an odd pet cemetery. Someone actually buried a couple of cows here! I went a little crazy with the photos here, since the light was great and the flowers were purty, but luckily for you, this is an edited version. There have been quite a few movies filmed at this location, including Excalibur, Far and Away, and the recent Count of Monte Cristo. It was very scenic, and a nice change of pace from the city.
After a quick lunch, we continued on our trip. Our next destination was Glendalough, where the monastery of St. Kevin was founded. On the way there we drove through the Wicklow mountains. This area looked a lot like parts of Scotland, with no trees, rolling hills, and what looked like heather. Here we experienced our first taste of the narrow Irish roads. They were just barely big enough for two cars to pass each other, and there were quite a few potholes as well.
The monastery was in a very nice location. It was very lovely and peaceful, with a nice lake. The church sites were extremely old. The main buildings were built in the 1200s, including the round tower. It had an entrance 10 feet above ground, so that people could retreat into there during Viking invasions, and pull up the ladder after them. The graveyard was quite interesting, with very ancient graves mixed in with modern ones. In order to maximize the use of consecrated ground, several people were buried within the remains of the collapsed buildings.
We spent a couple of hours walking around here, then headed out to find our next B&B, in Kilkenny. It was a nice place, within walking distance of downtown Kilkenny.
We walked into town and had another fairly traditional Irish meal. A couple of people had lamb, and someone got fish and chips. Of course here, fish and chips meant an entire unskinned fish, breaded and cooked!
Proceed to Day 4: Hanging out in Kilkenny
Go back to Day 2
Return to index
All photos (c) Hoyt Heaton, 2003, yadayada....