Luxury in Ireland – Day 7 in Ireland
Yes, you read that right. Luxury. This is what the camping was all about. We pulled ourselves together in the morning and left our final campsite at around 11:30. Heading north we made it to Kinnitty with only one fender bender. While we were eating lunch someone dinged the rental car. We arrived at Kinnitty Castle. After a slight mix up on the rooms, we finally settled in. We were able to take steaming showers one right after the other. Woot! Currently, Lady Jane is lounging in the tub. I can hear her, blub, blubbing under the water. Next we explore the grounds and then dinner at 7. It’s good to not be camping.
We finished our baths and wandered around the grounds of Kinnitty Castle. We walked down around the back and found their stone circle. I have to look at their website again when I get back to see if it’s “real” or not. Regardless, we had fun. I startled a little toad. We fed leaves to a horse. We got to wear sandals instead of our hiking boots for the first time in 7 days. We headed back to explore the inside of the castle and had a snack (chocolate fudge cake) and tea in the library bar.
We made reservations for dinner at 7. The kids had chicken nuggets and chips. Phil had a rack of lamb and I had a beef filet. Irish beef is worth having. We shared a bottle of wine (i.e. I had a half a glass, Phil had the rest – okay maybe not all of it). We left some wine on the table even though Phil tried not to let any food go to waste. Hey, it was expensive and the best food we’d had all week. If I’d had a bigger stomach I would have eaten more. As it was we all had some dessert as well. Then we climbed into our gigantic bed (two doubles pushed together). For the most part Little Man and I slept okay, it was the other two who kept waking me up in the night. Of course, given the history of the castle and the reported hauntings, I wasn’t getting out of bed for anything during the night. Nope no ghost sightings here.
Not so luxury in Ireland – Day 8
We left our castle estate with a full belly from the breakfast bar and drove to Galway to do some shopping. We found the city center, parked and had lunch at a Bagel Bar. The café was across the street from Faller’s Sweater Shop, our destination for the morning. We spent time browsing, picking up, putting on, and putting back before finally deciding on the proper sweaters for us. The children declined sweaters and got some Ireland t-shirts and Little Man got a scarf. Phil got a hand knitted Aran wool sweater, which is labeled as an heirloom sweater. Meaning he’ll pass it on to me when it shrinks in the wash. I got two of the least expensive sweaters and a wool hat for less than he spent on his, but I’ve also picked up some books (guilty pleasure) and a knick knack so we’re even.
We went on to Bunratty Castle. Good on paper but hard to see. Lots of narrow staircases with no crowd control. It would have been better as a guided tour or even letting people in at different times. I felt horrible rushed and with a beautifully furnished castle, which you rarely find a furnished castle, it made the experience less than ideal. By the time we came out of the Castle, Little Man and I were done playing tourist and not as interested by the village they had recreated in the park land around the castle. They had taken some cottages that would have otherwise been demolished and moved them to the site.
We piled back into the car and headed to our final resting spot (morbid.), the Jamaica Inn in Sixmilebridge. It’s a youth hostel with family rooms. Our room has an en suite bathroom, double bed, and bunk beds. Enough to squat in for the evening. They have a TV lounge and a fully stocked kitchen with the bonus of free food from previous guests. We used the salt and olive oil to go with the herb bread we had for dinner. We left behind the dish soap, laundry detergent, gas tank for the camping stove, lighter, and anything else that we wouldn’t be taking on the airplane or back to England. Now we’re just waiting for the kids to go to sleep and will shortly join them. Tomorrow is an early morning. We finally fly home to England.
Yes, you read that right. Luxury. This is what the camping was all about. We pulled ourselves together in the morning and left our final campsite at around 11:30. Heading north we made it to Kinnitty with only one fender bender. While we were eating lunch someone dinged the rental car. We arrived at Kinnitty Castle. After a slight mix up on the rooms, we finally settled in. We were able to take steaming showers one right after the other. Woot! Currently, Lady Jane is lounging in the tub. I can hear her, blub, blubbing under the water. Next we explore the grounds and then dinner at 7. It’s good to not be camping.
We finished our baths and wandered around the grounds of Kinnitty Castle. We walked down around the back and found their stone circle. I have to look at their website again when I get back to see if it’s “real” or not. Regardless, we had fun. I startled a little toad. We fed leaves to a horse. We got to wear sandals instead of our hiking boots for the first time in 7 days. We headed back to explore the inside of the castle and had a snack (chocolate fudge cake) and tea in the library bar.
We made reservations for dinner at 7. The kids had chicken nuggets and chips. Phil had a rack of lamb and I had a beef filet. Irish beef is worth having. We shared a bottle of wine (i.e. I had a half a glass, Phil had the rest – okay maybe not all of it). We left some wine on the table even though Phil tried not to let any food go to waste. Hey, it was expensive and the best food we’d had all week. If I’d had a bigger stomach I would have eaten more. As it was we all had some dessert as well. Then we climbed into our gigantic bed (two doubles pushed together). For the most part Little Man and I slept okay, it was the other two who kept waking me up in the night. Of course, given the history of the castle and the reported hauntings, I wasn’t getting out of bed for anything during the night. Nope no ghost sightings here.
Not so luxury in Ireland – Day 8
We left our castle estate with a full belly from the breakfast bar and drove to Galway to do some shopping. We found the city center, parked and had lunch at a Bagel Bar. The café was across the street from Faller’s Sweater Shop, our destination for the morning. We spent time browsing, picking up, putting on, and putting back before finally deciding on the proper sweaters for us. The children declined sweaters and got some Ireland t-shirts and Little Man got a scarf. Phil got a hand knitted Aran wool sweater, which is labeled as an heirloom sweater. Meaning he’ll pass it on to me when it shrinks in the wash. I got two of the least expensive sweaters and a wool hat for less than he spent on his, but I’ve also picked up some books (guilty pleasure) and a knick knack so we’re even.
We went on to Bunratty Castle. Good on paper but hard to see. Lots of narrow staircases with no crowd control. It would have been better as a guided tour or even letting people in at different times. I felt horrible rushed and with a beautifully furnished castle, which you rarely find a furnished castle, it made the experience less than ideal. By the time we came out of the Castle, Little Man and I were done playing tourist and not as interested by the village they had recreated in the park land around the castle. They had taken some cottages that would have otherwise been demolished and moved them to the site.
We piled back into the car and headed to our final resting spot (morbid.), the Jamaica Inn in Sixmilebridge. It’s a youth hostel with family rooms. Our room has an en suite bathroom, double bed, and bunk beds. Enough to squat in for the evening. They have a TV lounge and a fully stocked kitchen with the bonus of free food from previous guests. We used the salt and olive oil to go with the herb bread we had for dinner. We left behind the dish soap, laundry detergent, gas tank for the camping stove, lighter, and anything else that we wouldn’t be taking on the airplane or back to England. Now we’re just waiting for the kids to go to sleep and will shortly join them. Tomorrow is an early morning. We finally fly home to England.
posted by Amanda @ 1:39 AM
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