(D) After our relaxed and laid back night we woke up reasonably early and were pretty much packed up and ready to go before 8am which of course was breakfast time. We planned to just eat and leave so figured we could possibly get away without topping up the parking meter. I don’t think we’ve mentioned that all parking in Kilkenny is metered and though we were lucky that it was broken when we arrived Saturday (and there happened to be a parking guy there who said “if it’s broken you can’t pay so don’t worry about it!”), and then Sunday there is no charge, so we’d only had to pay for the full day Monday. This of course was the Tuesday morning, and it starts being metered again by 8am. Liane, fortunately as it turned out, thought that we should put some money in the meter just to cover us which turned out to be a wise move as Eimer didn’t arrive to do breakfast until about 8.45.

We were anxious to get off, given we had a long drive ahead of us and Liane at one stage suggested we leave and have breakfast along the way. Once we considered though we realized a) we hadn’t paid her for our accommodation yet and b) breakfast was included in that – and also super yummy! So it seemed a better idea all around to stay and wait….. so we adopted a “we wait together” attitude a la the George of Dimitsana episode from our last trip I guess! 

After breakfast we exchanged fond farewells with Eimer who was a fabulous, friendly and wonderful Irish hostess. Though self catering, which we’re doing from now on, is wonderful I think everyone should have a B & B experience at some stage when they’re in Ireland. It’s really good to actually interact with someone from the place you’re staying in – other than people in shops and cafes etc.

The Bridgeview B&B where we stayed is on St John’s Quay, meaning that we only had to go to the end of the street and turn right to cross the river and head out of town….. well when we got to the end of the road there seemed too much traffic to turn right so we decided that we’d turn left and go around the block or find a street to turn around in or whatever. AGAIN with the plans of mice and men – we spent probably about 5 minutes then driving around in circles up one way and down another as no roads led where we wanted to go. Of course we reassured one another that we do indeed love the back street experience to soak up the town and that we ended up seeing parts of Kilkenny that no other tourist would!

Out of Kilkenny at last, we set off for the Rock of Cashel, and though we had some sprinkles along the way once again our luck with the weather held. The Rock of Cashel was the traditional seat of the kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman Invasion though the majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries (thanks Wikipedia!) – even the latter dates mean that it's still is pretty old by anyone’s standards I reckon.
Unfortunately (for us, not for the structure itself), the Rock is undergoing maintenance so a fair portion of it was scaffolded but it is still a photographers dream and the birds were very cooperative in terms of additional atmosphere. I had a discussion with a woman trying to figure out what sort of birds they were – she said she thought Jackdaws, so I’ll go along with that!

From there we headed to Cahir to visit the castle there – it was nice and all, but didn’t really grab me as amazing. Very low key, not jooshed up at all, not that that’s a bad thing in itself but yes not gobsmacking as some other places have been.
Once we left Cahir we again stuck to R roads as much as possible, and though we had to join an N road for a little bit occasionally we avoided the M roads like the plague to enjoy as many scenic routes as possible rather than be on a motorway.

As we got closer to Ballyvaughan, our destination and “home” for the next 4 nights, we stumbled across Leamaneh Castle. It had been in Liane’s notes as somewhere to stop and see though we hadn’t really expected to find it on the way. Just another example of how wonderful it is in Ireland, there are crumbling ruins of churches, castles and towers dotted all over the place!

We passed through The Burren and were speechless with awe at the stark and rough beauty of the area. Everywhere you look is rocky outcrops and just fields of rocks – it is beyond stunning and though we both wanted to just get to Ballyvaughan we couldn’t resist stopping for a few quick photos…..both of us saying though that we couldn’t wait for the next day to really be able to explore!

The directions and instructions for our self catered cottage were really simple and we arrived and settled in without any dramas. A quick trip to the one and only shop in town to buy some supplies and a hasty but delicious tomato & lentil soup thrown together, we relaxed into our evening.

Tomorrow we explore the area….. 

(L) We have settled into a routine where one of us will sort out photos and the other write up the main blog of the day.... it's working extremely well as the other can then pop in any stories or impressions not told. 

I did just want to mention that Cahir is pronounced "Care" (in Australian!!). We have had a lot of fun driving around seeing all the road signs and trying to decide how the locals would pronounce it. Like when we were in Inistioge..... I had youtubed it at home and also asked on Tripadvisor so knew how it was pronounced but Deb asks Eimer and yes.. it's In - ish - teeg with the emphasis on teeg!! 

Cahir Castle was built in 1142 by Connor O'Brien.... OMG that alone just blows my mind!! There is a photo in here of a cannon ball stuck in a wall ... that this remains from the siege of 1599 is just jaw droppingly amazing!! I had watched a Netflix show called "Castles of Ireland" which had explained the history of all the major castles... absolutely fascinating and if you've got Netflix I would encourage anyone going to Ireland to see this show before their trip.

The only other thing I need to say about today is that I want to throw my Nikon camera into the wilds of the Burren! It keeps freezing and doing something weird with exposure and I'm soooo over it. I think from now on I'll just use my iPhone... all of Debs photos are taken on her phone and they are amazing!!