more loveliness at the gardens in ireland…
the japanese garden was really cool, but impossible to get a photo without somebody in it.
everybody was busy tking pictures!
inside the powerscourt house, there were a bunch of shops, which we walked through. nice shops, if you wanted to shop, but we didn’t. it was pretty crowded in there, and the couple of places to eat were packed with people, so we opted for a couple of scones from the upscale market-type place selling baked goods and cookbooks and stuff. we chose to eat outside on a bench.
we wanted to get a photo together in front of all the gardens, but it was impossible to get one without a bunch of people in it. this guy photo-bombing us was irksome, so i recently spent some time removing him from the picture.
and, ta da! i got rid of him completely. the trickiest part was recreating the statue that had been behind him, but i’m getting a little better at photoshopping all the time. i even printed this one out, and you can’t tell he was ever there.
i loved the tile on the ground.
after a couple hours we’d seen it all, and we took the short drive over to the Powerscourt Waterfall, said to be the longest in Ireland.
it was a short drive, and very scenic.
when we got to the waterfall, it wasn’t quite what we expected – the waterfall itself was great, but it was more a place where people picknicked, and there were a whole lot of people doing just that.
it seemed funny that there were so very many cars parked all around this beautiful spot.
and since we had nothing to grill, we walked around the bottom of the fall, along with many many children.
we didn’t linger long, and started back to Rosslare Harbour at about three, where we’d take the ferry back to Wales the next morning. the drive was going well, along a big highway, but when we got to some town, in my notes i said it might have been Enniscorthy, we took a wrong turn. it was rush hour, and we should have turned around, but i was looking at where we were on my phone, and thought we could get there on smaller roads.
small mistake, that. the roads got smaller…and smaller. they were never as bad as the teeny roads in Wales, but we got stuck behind a big farm truck for quite a while. also, there weren’t the tall hedgerows along the road like in wales; the landscape actually reminded me of Illinois.
we finally got to Rosslare about five, not so bad, and checked into our b&b, the Springfield B&B. part of the reason i picked this place is because, well, it’s called Springfield, and that amused me. our room was fine.
we drove down to the ferryport to turn in our car, then walked back to the B&B. along the way we stopped at a pharmacy for some advil – they don’t sell drugs at grocery stores, only at pharmacies which only have health stuff – then we had a fun time at the grocery store next door. we stocked up on food for the ride back on the ferry. We got some good bread and nice irish cheese, chocolates, and a can of beans. why did we buy a can of beans? for beans on toast, i suppose, something they like there.
we then walked a little past our b&b to a pub, which was next to one called the “last pub in ireland,” or the “first pub in ireland,” depending on which direction you approached it. it didn’t look so nice, though, so instead we went to the one next door. i think this one was called the Mariners Inn, and it was pretty crowded and very warm. lots of locals, lots of loud children.
so we didn’t have high expectations for our meal, but i had a fantastc smoked salmon and shrimp salad. kevin had a burger and good fries.
i also think it’s funny that there was a palm tree in front of the B&B. you don’t think of palm trees when you think of Ireland.
kevin was pretty wiped out from all the driving, and next time i plan a trip, i need to cut down on the long drives. he snoozed while i organized all my stuff, getting ready for our trip back to wales.
whew. the trip was starting to wind down – only five more full days before we’d get back on the QM2.
but there was still plenty more to see and do…
ok then,
g.h.