Today we headed out bright and early to catch the Dublin Express back to the airport to pick up the rental car we’ll be using for the remainder of our trip. I’m not great at driving or navigating, but I’m slightly less awful at navigating, so we’ve opted for Charles to be the driver and me the navigator. Charles adjusted very quickly to driving on the “wrong” side of the road, seemingly like riding a bicycle after our trip to Scotland a few years ago. In Scotland, one of my primary jobs was to check to make sure he looked right and stayed left at traffic circles, but that task has been largely unnecessary so far on this trip.

We headed first to Powerscourt Estates to tour the gardens. We had our first taste of rain on our drive there and as we toured the gardens. Fortunately, we both brought rain jackets because, as the quote goes, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.” Whoever wrote that quote (often attributed to Oscar Wilde) had surely never spent time in Texas. Nevertheless, it was a gentle rain that made everything in the gardens just a bit more fragrant. There were two parts to the garden – a beautiful Japanese garden that made us nostalgic of our first big trip together to Japan and an Italian garden that reminded us of (funnily enough) of past trips to French palaces and villas.

After Powerscourt, we took the scenic route though the Wicklow Mountains across Sally Gap to the Glendalough monastic ruins. The scenic route consisted of some very narrow local roads that barely provided room for two cars to pass, reminiscent of some of our routes through the Scottish Highlands. This was excellent practice, as we will be navigating some that are likely to be just as narrow (if not narrower) in the next several days, only with more tour buses. As we approached Glendalough, we stopped at a petrol station in search of an atlas (Charles loves a good atlas, but sadly we were disappointed) and something for lunch, as we’d heard that Irish petrol stations provide delicious snack options. We both ended up with a couple of savory pastries to try, which fortified us for our adventures at Glendalough.

At Glendalough, we watched an informative introductory video that we hoped would cover the history of the site we were about to tour but ended up being more about general monastic life in Ireland. After the film, we were sent out to enjoy our walk without any further instructions or a map, so assumed the monastic ruins themselves would be easy to find. We could see the top of the round tower and knew generally the direction we needed to be heading, so started on the trail that seemed to head that direction. We didn’t make it far before we ran into a sign indicating private property, so we backtracked and took another approach. There seemed to be a lot of other tourists headed this direction, which seemed promising, but we found the bridge we would need to cross across the creek to the ruins to be under constructions. As we continued down the path, it seemed to lead further from our intended destination. Defeated, we headed back toward the visitor center only to find out that the sign we thought was telling us to turn around was actually referring to a different area being off limits. Our first path had been the correct one all along. We finally made it to the ruins surrounded by a graveyard that was a fascinating mix of centuries old gravestones and some as recent as 2024. The sun had come out during our drive through the mountains and the grass was extra green from the rain, making the ruins all the more picturesque. It was well worth the confusion, as was the ice cream we ate to round out our visit.

We headed next to Kilkenny, our stop for the night, and checked into our B&B where our friendly innkeeper gave us a great orientation to the town and sent us back out explore, telling us we had no time to waste. So we walked the self-guided tour detailed in our trusty Rick Steves guide book, walking along the High Street and down Butter Slip (the shaded alley where butter makers carted their product to market), with a brief peek into the Black Abbey (named for the black-robed monks who founded it). After our walk, we stopped for dinner at Kytelers Inn, famous for its original owner, Alice Kyteler, who was a widow no less than four times under very mysterious circumstances, always managing to disinherit her husbands’ other family members shortly before her husbands’ untimely deaths. Eventually, she was accused and convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to be executed, but managed to escape (reportedly to England, though no one knows for sure). It was great comfort food, accompanied by a Smithwick’s red ale (which originated here in Kilkenny) and an interesting story.

Today’s Highlights

• Brekkie Mac breakfast sandwich at Supermac’s
• Minimal screaming from the passenger’s seat as we adjusted to driving in Ireland
• Fragrant gardens in a gentle rain
• Scenic (if narrow) mountain pass roads through fields of gorse and (dormant) heather
• Petrol station treats
• Blackbirds and jackdaws swooping through warm sunshine on our confused monastic ruins exploration
• A picturesque stroll through Kilkenny just before sunset
• Smithwick’s red ale in the place it was born
• A hearty lamb stew (for me) and steak sandwich (for Charles)

Tomorrow’s Proposed Adventures

• Touring Kilkenny Castle, which was already closed for the day by the time we arrived
• Exploring the Rock of Cashel
• Arrival in Kinsale
• A visit to Charles Fort, if time allows