The day dawned sunny and cool but nice. Up early and off to Starbucks, morning coffee and wi-fi! We checked out of Hotel Grafton Capitol at 10 after 2 nights of "okay " sleep. I think our bodies are still on EDT!!
We splurged and took a cab to the Hertz car rental where we picked up our Ford Focus 1.6 L diesel
4 door hatchback. Very comfortable but steering on the right, driving on the left! Peter was undaunted and between the two of us, me guiding and Peter driving, we managed to get a day of driving all kinds of Irish roads behind us!
We left Hertz at 10:30 with some clouds, some sun and some small showers. The day continued just like that! Our first destination was the Rock of Cashel, the ruins of a 12th century ecclesiastical community. Very impressive with a cathedral, chapel, round tower and graveyard (still used today) set on top of a high rock overlooking the Plains of Tipperary.
Our European GPS, bought on e-Bay, turned out not to have the new Irish M routes (M for motorway) but we had 2 road maps so.....no problem!!! We drove through verdant farm land with a few fields of yellow (rape) and yellow wild-flowering bushes (grouse). Saw plenty of cattle, some horses and some sheep. The further west we drove, the more the land started to become hilly.
We arrived in Cashel and immediately had lunch at Granny's kitchen, a petite violet colored lunch establishment. We had 2toasted specials-ham, cheese, tomato and onion on toasted bread. Tasty!!
The tour of the rock was very interesting, lots of history I didn't know. Culminating the tour was a video presentation depicting much of the story of the Rock from St. Patrick to the Irish kings to the Cistercian monks.
By 3:15 we were back on the road, heading toward Cobh via Youghal. The landscape became hillier but still full of farming communities. We were on some very rural but prosperous roads where the farms were interspersed with prosperous residential areas. Youghal, where my cousin lives, is a historic walled port at the water level and, up the hills, a newer residential area. Again, on the way to Cobh, we saw residential areas and farms with more cattle and sheep.
We arrived in Cobh about 7pm, checked into the Ard Na Laoi B&B. Very nice room, one of 5, with hot breakfast each morning.
Peter compared Cobh to Cefalu in Sicily with the impressive gothic cathedral high above the water and the rooftops. We walked along the water on the promenade, had a chat with a couple of 17 year old boys and ended up at Trade Winds restaurant, recommended by our host Michael Shea. Again the food was very good-salmon and Gaelic burger with Irish whiskey sauce and a pint each!! After a walk, back to the B&B for what we hope will be a great night's sleep before meeting my Irish cousins tomorrow.
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