Ireland Day 2 ~

Day 2 ~

We experienced the Ireland that I love!! We ate a wonderful breakfast at our B&B and from there left on our journey south. We knew it would be a long drive, about 5 hours straight, and we wanted to make several stops on the way. The first stop we made was in Carlow to see Carlow Castle, or what was left of it, and Duckett’s Grove. Carlow castle was right in the middle of town and all that was left of it was the very front wall. The rest had been blown apart by the previous owner to have a lunacy asylum built. It was such a disappointment that someone could do this to such a historic and beautiful building!

Duckett’s Grove was an old fortress/castle out in the middle of nowhere. The castle was falling down, but there was also a courtyard and walls surrounding the building. It looked as if this were a town within the walls. It was beautiful! We were the only ones out there though so it seemed a little isolated. It was here at Duckett's Grove that we found two original and authentice four leaf clovers!!! Great Luck t'was!

We then made our way down to Jerpoint Abbey, one of the oldest and best preserved Cistercian Abbeys. It began to be built in 1160 and has been preserved remarkably well. The tour guides name was “Jim” and he was very knowledgeable. We were able to lay our hand on the face of sculptured tomb to supposedly heal any type of facial ailments. The main attractions at Jerpoint Abbey are the intricate carvings preserved for hundreds of years. These carvings were made by a local family of carvers. Unfortunately the tour was exceedingly long and we had a deadline to catch. We were supposed to check into the Castle Townshend by 6 o’clock in the evening and still had hours to go!

We could not resist stopping at Kell’s Prior though, seeing as it was only 5 minutes off our beaten path. It was huge!! Built by the Cisternic monks and looked as if it was in the process of being restored. Mom and I decided to get a closer look as it was quite a ways off the road, separated by a field occupied with sheep. We strode through the field taking pictures of the sheep and wondering “are we supposed to be here?” We ventured to a side gate to peek inside the Prior for a quick glance before heading back. . . hoping that we wouldn’t get caught!

My driving skills have shown significant improvement. . . now it is very rare that I turn on my windshield wipers instead of my blinker and pull out into oncoming traffic. I occasionally still reach over my left shoulder for my seatbelt or look to my right for the rearview mirror. Those are still conscious efforts to make.

After a LONG drive, we ended up in the town of Castletownshend only to find the town basically deserted at 8:30 pm. By the time we found our way to the Castle, we were tired and hungry. The owner informed us that we wouldn’t be able to find anything to eat after 9:00 pm and showed us to our room. It was disappointing. The outside of the castle was great! The inside?? Not so much! She first led us to a room up through three flights of stairs where a cat was lounging on the bed prepared for us! Since we didn’t want to haul our luggage up all those stairs, and wanted to save 20 Euro, we decided to stay on the ground floor. It felt a little creepy with spider webs in the corners, a mouse hole in the wall, smell of must and dirt, and a not too comforting host. My mother felt that it was necessary to barr the door due to the "spookiness" of the place and that the door handle was not in working order. . . the locked worked though. . we think. I had to take a picture. . . it was too funny. She explained to me that the purpose of the boots was to raise the chair a little higher to keep the door nob in place and secure. ha!!

It certainly wasn’t the medieval castle I had dreamed of staying in with a roaring fireplace, freshly roasted meat waiting for us in the banquet hall and claw footed tubs! Oh well. . . I think we are going to check out tomorrow instead of staying the other two nights. Hopefully we will not have any issues with canceling our reservation after one night. Just not a good feel. . .