On the road

Up bright and early this morning, not really, but when I went out to breakfast which was around 8.30/9.00, there was hardly a soul around, and none of the cafes were open.  I was disappointed, because now that I'd found the 'rest' of Temple Bar, I wanted to find a good breakfast spot.  I wonder if it's just Temple Bar that opens late on Sunday, or all places.  Anyway, I found an Italian cafe and there were lots of people in there (many with suitcases).  I ordered French Toast (I really do love sweet things for breakfast, or for any meal for that matter).  Then the couple next to me (Italians) complained that their croissants weren't cooked.  I thought it was a sign to leave, but I didn't because God only knows where I would have to have gone to eat, and my French Toast was ok, and the coffee pretty good.  (I had ordered an espresso and then a cappuccino because I missed my regular ritual of an espresso first thing in the morning.)

I hadn't got to spend any time in St Stephen's green, and because I wasn't picking up the car until 12.00, I wandered to the park and ambled around.  It was lovely.  From there, I went back to the hotel, finished packing and checked out, and caught a taxi to Hertz!

I picked up my car, decided to pay through the nose for insurance to reduce the excess from 2000€ to zero...  I never know whether to do that or not.  I mean it's not like you're going to go out of your way to have an accident, it's why it's called an accident!  But if I do have an accident, I'm certainly not keen on paying that much in excess.  Any way, let's just hope I don't need it now that it's done.

They gave me a scratched-up brown Megane.  I don't really like it, but it actually drives quite nicely, although, getting out of Dublin I stalled it twice!  And it has keyless entry which I've never had before.  I had my iPad with me, and I set the GPS to get me to my first port of call, Enniskerry.  It's one of the places where they filmed Ballykissangel.  I was such a fan in it's day that I thought I should go there and see the country side that way.  I got there in 30 mins!  

I decided to have lunch there at a cafe, and just had a sandwich.  The lovely old lady that served me (she probably wasn't that old, but she looked too old to be waitressing), seemed concerned that I wasn't going to get value for money, and tried to convince me to have extra filling in my sandwich, but I insisted a chicken and coleslaw sandwich would be just fine.  She eventually let me have what ordered.

Enniskerry didn't really remind me of the show though, so after having a look at the church and cemetery (there was nothing else in the town), I decided to drive on to Avoca, the other town it was filmed in.

In the car, I thought I would detour through Glendalough.  Actually, the thought process wasn't that simple.  The fact is that the GPS took me around in a circle leaving Enniskerry, and was about to do it again (you can fool me once, but you cannot fool me twice), and so I just took a right turn because at least there was a sign to Glendalough!  I turned the GPS off at that point figuring I would work out how to get to Avoca from Glendalough.

I got to Glendalough and thought to myself that I really should have planned this trip better.  Glendalough has a National Park, and when I got there, there were hoards of cars - people going on treks and picnics.  The area was simply stunning and I would have loved to have explored it more and done some walking.  I walked around for a bit, saw some old ruins, a church and cemetery, then got back in the car.  I turned the GPS on again but it wouldn't connect to the net (the iPad was connected, but just not maps).  I looked at my road map (which I should point out I purchased in Australia about oh, ten years ago or so....that's how long I've been thinking I'd be doing this trip!), but somehow ended up at Redcross.  This meant I had back-tracked a bit.  Another look at the map, and I soldiered on.

It was however quite late by this time, and I figured I just needed to get to Waterford from this point.  I drove through Arklow, Enniscorthy and New Ross.  I arrived in Waterford, but I knew I had to stop the car to work out where the hotel/B&B was before getting right into the town, not to mention I didn't think I could wait much longer before needing a toilet.  I found a servo, went to the loo, then turned the GPS back on.

Just driving into Waterford, and finding the hotel (one of the first ones you see when you cross the bridge to get to the Quay), I don't have great first impressions.  Then I had to go park the car, and just walking around, I felt like I was in a dodgy part of town.  So I checked in, and sorted out some paperwork and worked out a general itinerary for the next eight nights.  I'm glad I've taken the time to do that!  And I booked my next night's accommodation.  I'm going to stay in Kinsale after spending the day in Cork.  When I rang the B&B, a lovely man answered the phone, got my details, then made a point of making sure I knew how to find it, as well as pointing out that it is 7 ks out of town and that I should have dinner before getting to the B&B.  My dinner tonight however, has consisted of two oranges!  I didn't even go outside again to the convenience store I saw around the corner.  I haven't decided if I will spend any time in Waterford in the morning or not.  I probably should as it's one of the oldest towns in Ireland, but I read that the Crystal factory closed a few years ago, and Waterford Crystal is now made in Europe so I'm not sure how I feel about it all.  Let's see where the wind blows me tomorrow.

As an aside, the road trip so far has been simply wonderful.  Not like driving in Australia where the landscape can be so dry.  Here, everything is green.  But my favourite parts are where there are trees on either side of the road, that have grown so tall that they form a kind of 'tunnel' over the road.  The little Irish houses are gorgeous too.  Love it!

N.B. This post has been edited - extra photos added.