Chuck and I had almost two weeks between our stay with the 6 Cavalier Spaniels and Nancy in Scotland and our new stay with Poppy in Waverton, UK. We had tried to find a Trusted Housesitters stay in Ireland, but couldn't find one. So we did the next best thing, we took ourselves to Ireland for a holiday. We started our trip in Dublin with a stay at the Temple Bar Inn. Temple Bar is on the south bank of the River Liffey and is the cultural center of Dublin. When we checked in, we were given an upgrade on our room, which was a good thing since the upgrade was just a little bigger than a shoebox with a view of the back alley. It was well appointed though and had everything we needed. Our hotel was very close to everything. We found a really nice pub called The Oliver St. John Gogarty Traditional Irish Bar. My meal was an Irish Coddle: sausages, potatoes, carrots, onions and kale in a cream sauce and the largest pot of mussels for Chuck. During our meal, we had the privilege of listening to a traditional Irish group complete with a guitar, concertina, mandolin, and banjo.
Chuck and I have a tradition: we always take the Hop on/Hop off bus for a tour of the city. We find it is a great way to learn the history of the area and it gives us a chance to decide which areas or sights we want to visit.
We left Dublin and traveled to Dungarvan, County Waterford, where we stayed at a very lovely Bed & Breakfast called Ocean View. We did have an amazing view of the Atlantic Ocean from our room. We weren't far from a lovely little town called Dungarvan. Dungarvan is one of those little towns that you see on postcards. It was filled with quaint,vividly colored buildings. We had a wonderful meal at the Square Grill. It was deliciousness of the home-cooked kind. For dessert, we ambled down to Meades Cafe for coffee and more delicious treats. You can't come to County Waterford without visiting the Waterford Crystal Factory and Museum. The factory tour was probably one the best we've ever taken. Our guide was knowledgeable and we were able to see how the crystal is created from the beginning design to the finished product.
We found the town of Waterford to be very picturesque. It had a very vibrant pedestrian shopping area and we enjoyed people watching from Starbuck's (Starbuck's definitely has a foothold in the UK and the Republic of Ireland).
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| STAD in Gaelic appears to be STOP in English. |
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Well, it's on to Cork for more traditional Irish music and food.
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