Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life-and travel-leaves marks on you.
----Anthony Bourdain

Monday, July 15, 2024

Ireland 2024: The Great Southern Tour Part 3

The first half of the week flew by. I wanted things to slow down! Waterford. Oh, my, how I loved Waterford! The history, the beauty, the pubs! I would highly recommend the Walking Tour of Viking Triangle to get a quick history of the town, although Denise (our "Vagaguide") did a great job with the history on our drive. 

The "Murder Hole" in the City Wall
The City Wall
The building where the current Irish Flag was first flown.
The City Wall is marked throughout the town
Wooden sword in Viking Triangle. The sword is in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Strongbow and Aoife. Strongbow attacked Waterford in 1170; he and Aoife were married shortly after. The marriage changed the course of Irish history with the invasion of the Normans.

Where We Stayed

This was our only time that we stayed 2 nights in the same hotel. The Tower Hotel was wonderful. Again, we had big rooms and nice bathrooms. One thing about the bathtubs: You have to step in quite a ways to get in. One of my sisters almost had a fall getting out of the bathtub one morning. The reason for the tubs being high: The plumbing is under the tub as opposed to in the walls and floors like they are in the US. This makes the pipes easier to reach for repair. 

Back to the hotel: The location was perfect, right on the water with Reginald's Tower across the street. It was very easy to walk to anywhere we wanted to go. The breakfast buffet was amazing. We didn't have a good view this time, but the view at breakfast more than made up for it.
Breakfast view from The Tower Hotel overlooking the water
Breakfast view from The Tower Hotel looking at Reginald's Tower and Viking Triangle

Where We Ate

The first night we ate at The Reg, which is one of the places recommended to us by Denise. If you look in the picture above you can see the restaurant behind Reginald's Tower. The food was good, but we were a bit disappointed because they seated us right next to a door (and it was chilly). There was a heavy curtain in the doorway to the room we were in, but it didn't help much. The city wall is in the building, which was pretty cool. Their website says they have 6 bars but we didn't walk around. 
The City Wall inside of The Reg
The next night one of the ladies picked out Geoff's. It was a short walk from the hotel. The restaurant is large; it seemed like it just kept going and going! Service was slow, but the food was excellent and we had nothing but time. I will definitely search it out the next time I'm in Waterford.
Geoff's
Geoff's
Great atmosphere...even on the ceiling!
A festive walk back to the hotel from Geoff's

Where We Drank

After going to the mall to look for some contact solution and cough drops, one of my sisters & I needed a toilet break. We knew we'd be able to find one in a pub (plus the added bonus of glass/pint). We stumbled upon what is the oldest operating pub in Waterford. J & K Walsh is not the oldest pub, but that one was undergoing renovations so it's not operating. What a find! The charm, the history, the snug! We enjoyed the ambiance and the conversation. These pubs are the best: the ones you stumble upon!
Original bottles. The clay ones that are on its sides (straight on) were used to mix the spirits.
The backroom used to be a barber shop.
Great conversation with a local and the barmaid.
The Snug
Inside the snug. A friendly Irishman told us to get in there so he could take our picture.
The pass through in the Snug
View of the pub from the front door
The other pub we visited is around the corner from the hotel. TIP: Don't go to a pub on the main street. Find one on a side street. That's where you'll find locals and the best conversation! Another one of my sisters & I were looking for some "Trad" music and found just what we were looking for at Katty Barry's. As soon as we walked in we were told that this was where you get the best Guinness in Waterford. We had some drinks and listened to some locals playing. We stayed for a few songs and then decided we'd better go hit the hay. 
We found authentic "Trad" music

What We Did

The day after we arrived we were scheduled to go to Hook Peninsula. This was what I was waiting for. Tintern Abbey was Robert's favorite place, but the Hook Lighthouse really brought back memories. Neither place was crowded; I'm not sure if it was because we were there during the shoulder season or if it's just that not too many people realize what an amazing place that Peninsula is. 
Tintern Abbey's story is amazing. Just to recap: William Marshal sailed from England in 1200. He ran into a horrible storm and feared for his life. He promised God that he would found an abbey wherever he landed. He married Isabella de Clare (Strongbow & Aoife's daughter). The Abbey was converted to a residence in 1575 where it remained until 1959. 
Tintern Abbey through the Battlement Bridge
Wall leading from the Bridge to the Church
Gravestones in the church cemetery
The wall and Battlement Bridge
The Abbey
The Ceiling
The details can still be seen
Detail on the arch
Inside the Abbey. You can see where the three additional floors were
Gargoyles on the outside of the Abbey
The Hook Lighthouse was just as spectacular as it was last time. Maybe even more so because it was an extremely windy day. The waves were crashing, and our guide told us that just a couple of days before, there was water all the way to the lighthouse. 
The cafe is a great place to get some seafood chowder to help you warm up. And the views are breathtaking:
The Graveyard of 1000 ships

The Hook Lighthouse is the oldest intact operational lighthouse in the world. In the 5th century monks used lanterns on the shore to warn ships of the land. William Marshal built the first lighthouse in the 13th century. It is very much worth the time to go out of your way to see both Tintern Abbey and the lighthouse. 

One of my sisters opted to spend the day exploring Waterford. When we returned to town, another sister wanted to tour the House of Waterford Crystal. (She highly recommends it.) Another sister & I were interested in a new museum in town: The Irish Wake Museum but it wasn't open the day we were there. We walked around for a bit and then went back to the hotel. There are plenty of museums in Waterford that look excellent but we had our hearts set on that one.

Waterford deserved its own post. I think every one of us voted Waterford as our favorite place. I'd love to go back and see the things that I missed.

Friday, June 14, 2024

Ireland 2024: The Great Southern Tour Part 2

We began the next part of The Great Southern Tour through Vagabond Tours of Ireland in Kinsale. Our first stop was at Old Head, which is the site where the Lusitania sank. This was also the first place we saw some semi-dramatic coastline. It was cold, rainy, and windy, so I jumped out of the van for some pictures and jumped right back in.

The wind blew my hood right off of my head
Next, we went to the Cobh Cultural Center. It was interesting, but I was a little disappointed we didn't actually go into the town. I guess I misunderstood the choices our guide gave us; I would have rather walked through town than spend time in the cultural center. There was a lot of information about the Titanic as well as the coffin ships during the Famine. The best part about Cobh was running into the lady who had the window seat on the plane during the trip over. 

From there, we went to Midleton. Denise, our Vagaguide, took us to a memorial to the Choctaw Native Americans for their donation to Ireland during the Potato Famine. It was absolutely beautiful:
Kindred Spirits is in County Cork, in Midleton. The $170 raised by the Choctaw Nation would have been thousands in today's money. The donation was sent 16 years after the Trail of Tears. The sculpture is made out of stainless steel; no 2 feathers are the same. They are arranged in the shape of a bowl, representing a bowl of food.

After that we went to Jameson Distillery. I visited the one in Dublin, but that one is not where the whiskey is actually made. Denise told us an interesting story about whiskey in Ireland: at one time there were 4 different distillers. During American Prohibition, the distillers were financially in trouble so they decided to combine forces into one. The Jameson name was used; however, there are versions of Jameson that use the other names. 
The first thing we did was order Irish Coffee to warm us up.
This was the coolest display...it's actually a door
The whole process was interesting. At then end we were treated with a drink. Since I've had a "Jamie & Ginger", I went with a Powers Honey & Lemon. I was not disappointed.

I'm not very sure when we attended the Garden of Remembrance. There was an Irish nurse in NYC who lost friends who were firemen. She planted trees in their memory and created a Garden of Remembrance. There is a total of 343 trees within the garden.
Some of the trees had trinkets (such as badges and fire helmets) on them.
Our stop for the night was a new hotel for the tour company. It is located by the sea and is an older hotel. The rooms were enormous...not the typical European hotel room at all.
The view from our room
The bathroom was large and very nice
A view of Ballycotton lighthouse. It is one of only 2 black lighthouses in Ireland and was first lit in 1851.
The "reading room" in the hotel
Day 3 was filled with outdoor activities and the weather finally cooperated. We drove to the Comeragh Mountains to visit Mahon Falls. Just before we reached the car park, we experienced Ireland's most famous "Magic Road". Putting the van in neutral while going up a hill, the van rolled uphill on its own. 
Once at the car park, we hiked a short way to the Falls. I didn't walk all the way down because I was talking and taking pictures of the sheep.
A Fairy Tree. People hang shiny objects as gifts to the fairies.
Scene from the car park looking away from the Falls
Mahon Falls...with sheep
This is what happens when you give Denise your phone to take a picture of you & your sisters in front of the Falls.
2 of my sisters and I in front of Mahon Falls
Next stop: Tankardstown Copper Mine.
The mine was opened in 1853 and closed in 1877. 
The view from across the road from the mine.
Benvoy Beach was next. It was a nice, peaceful walk along a rocky beach.
The dark rocks are Mudstones that date back to 440 million years ago when this beach was close to the South Pole.
Denise had one more stop for us: the Gaulstown Dolmen. 
The Dolmen is a Stone Age Tomb. This Dolmen (or Portal Tomb) is said to be one of the finest examples of a Dolmen in Ireland. We were fortunate enough to hear a pheasant while we were there.
Our stop for this night and the next night was in Waterford. One of my sisters & I went on a walking tour of the "Viking Triangle", but that will have to wait until the next post. The tour is halfway over already and we've seen so many beautiful things, but so much more is yet to come!



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