Yesterday was mostly a travel day, driving from Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, to Dingle in County Kerry. It took most of the day, but were able to stop at the Rock of Cashel for a tour along the way. #travel #ireland
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_of_Cashel
Last stop of the day was the a Waterford Crystal factory in Waterford. Waterford Crystal is obviously a *much* bigger operation than Jerpoint Glass, so it was interesting to compare and contrast their operations. #travel #ireland
Our next stop was Jerpoint Glass Studio, which has been hand blowing glass art, vases, and other glasswork since 1979. We were able to watch them work on some vases, and the artisans took the time to explain what there were doing at every step. It’s amazing how fast they work when we aren’t distracting them! #travel #ireland
From Kells, we went just a mile up the road to visit the Kilree monastery ruins with its round tower and high cross, which dates to the 9th century. #travel #ireland
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilree
Catching up a bit… We started Friday by exploring Kells Priory near the village Kells in County Kilkenny. The priory is the ruins of an Augustinian monastery that dates to the 12th century. Other than the sheep, we had the entire site to ourselves, which was pretty magical. #travel #ireland
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kells_Priory
In Kilkenny my wife and the Wagoners (our friends that we’re traveling with) toured the Smithwick’s “experience” (the brewery moved to Dublin since the last time we were here), visited the “Black Abbey” (a Dominican abbey dating to the 16th century), and then toured Kilkenny Castle, before checking into our B&B. Today we’re seeing some local sights and making a day trip to Waterford. #travel
Yesterday was a long day. (Two days?) after multiple flight delays and cancelations, we landed in Dublin, rented a car, and drove to Kilkenny. None of us got more than a couple hours of sleep on the flight, so the main goal was to keep moving and stay awake until a proper hour. Mission accomplished.