As much as we hated to, we had to leave the warmth and tranquility of Wexford and the Round Chalet.
Our next stop was near Limerick, a 3 hour drive, but first there were a few items yet to be seen.
In the middle of the town of Wexford, there is a ruins of an old church, Selskar Abbey, so we headed over.
It was a bank holiday, so I was uncertain if we had to still pay for street parking, so I did. Better safe than sorry. As we walked up to the gates, there is a sign stating that tours are given daily, at 3pm. is was only 10, so we could not go into the grounds to see it. Oh, well.
We then zipped up the highway, back towards Dublin, to Enniscorthy. There is a castle that is listed on all the brown “informational” highway signs, so it must be something to see. It is now a government office, and closed on bank holidays, of course.
Spying a steeple, we walked up (and I do mean up) the hill to St. Aidan’s Cathedral, an actual functioning church. Most old churches we had seen were no longer functional or had limited services. We went in and luckily there were only a few parishioners inside. Still, I didn’t want to be rude, snapping pics everywhere, so I just grabbed one from the back, as we were going out the door.
Driving down yet another skinny road, mom needed to pee. There was obviously no stores or petrol stations. I spotted another church ruins and was able to do a U-turn and park close to a wall, for privacy, there wasn’t anyone about, except a terrier across the road that just sat and looked at us.
We found the place easy enough. It is right next to a small park, with a small river running down beside it.
It is a 2-story, and a lot more room than the two of us need. We even have a spare bedroom.
I had received instructions from the owner that we needed to call the local manager, but we don’t know how. Since I wasn’t able to check my email for a few days, I didn’t know if I could send one or not. Fortunately, his wife was on their computer when I sent is, so he was able to get there in about 15 minutes. We weren’t going to have to sleep on the grass. Hurray!
We had dinner reservations (yes, like civilized folk) at Bunratty Castle, so we changed and head out.
The dinner was “by hand” no forks or spoons, only a knife to cut and pick up the food. Or using your fingers. It was served in 4 courses, a soup (good), short ribs (good, but messy), chicken and vegetables (juicy meat but not much flavor), and a small cheesecake (yum).
Period songs were sang and played on violin and harp throughout the evening by the hosts and hostesses, while we sat on benches at a longtable.
The castle was about 100 feet tall, but only 3 floors. Very tall ceilings. Very narrow spiral stairs. Mom loved those.
After returning, it was almost midnight, off to bed.
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