Jet Lag has been slept off, we hope. Despite the endless rain, we set out for New Ross in late morning. The roads weren't too bad and we got to the Dunbrody famine ship easily enough. The parking machine for the "Pay and Display" was not working so our parking was free. A chap inside the entrance to the tour said that the fellow who checks that all cars are paid up, never checks the vehicles when the weather is this bad. That was a little bonus for making the effort to get out. He was right - no ticket and no pay.
Braden and Sammie toured the Dunbrody while I, blissfully ignorant of what was going on outside, enjoyed a Capuccino and my phone. OMG am I turning into a person attached so tightly to their phone? Maybe. I did see a couple of staff members in the cafe looking out the window but I figured they were just checking to see if the rain had let up. Nope!
When B & S finished their tour they asked if I'd seen the helicopter hovering over the river beyond where the Dunbrody sits at anchor. I had not. On the tour they were kept below deck, not just because the rain was so heavy, but the guide didn't want them to see the recovery of a person who'd drowned. And I didn't see a thing, although I think I would have had a pretty good view. I don't regret my ignorance of that situation. Very sad.
Fortunately I called Hook Head where we'd planned to drive to visit the oldest continuously working lighthouse in the world. The narrow roads leading to the lighthouse were open but the water was deep in spots and the person I spoke with asked if our car was very high off the ground. It is not. Now, a little adventure can be fun, but stalling in the middle of a foot deep washout, without wellies or a way to tow the car out, is not high on my bucket list. We opted to drive to Waterford instead.
Vikings played a significant role in the history of that city. They settled right in and married the locals. We had plenty of time to visit Reginald's tower. I don't recall when construction began but it was many hundreds of years ago. It had been modified and added to over those centuries. Inside is an interesting video presentation and a bit of a museum. Once outside again, we had hoped to pop directly into The Reg (pub) for something to eat and a pint of Guinness for Braden. It didn't open until 5.
We wandered around the Viking triangle of narrow streets and had a brief stop at some outdoor curiosities and a free visit to the Medieval Museum because it was close to closing time and they didn't charge us. It is very well done. I'm not a Medieval fan nor do I know pretty much anything about that time, but Braden enjoyed it. He's reading about Brian Boru (go look him up if you have time on your hands) and there were several references found there.
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| This thing is called something like The Sword of the Dragon |
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| Details of carvings on the "sword" |
We were the first customers in The Reg when it opened at 5. The fish n chips with mushy peas (why?) were delicious and half of our portions were brought home to enjoy another day. As I had to drive in the lousy weather, but on decent roads, I imbibed only water.
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| Smiling in anticipation of his pint of the black stuff |
The drive home was pretty straightforward. Ms Google must have realized that the weather necessitated using main roads. On the last stretch back from Bunclody, deciding to take the longer route that gave us easier access to our awful laneway, we encountered a sign saying the road was closed due to flooding. Two other vehicles went ahead anyway, but we turned off onto the shorter route, encountered only a couple of not-so-impressive puddles, and got back safely. Turning into the laneway took a bit of manouevering but we're here.
The plan to go to The Dying Cow pub were shelved. It's on a narrow road and I was unwilling to take a chance on conditions. We've called it a day.
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