Hi Everybody, here's the conclusion to my trip report.  My last report somehow lost some of my punctuation, hopefully that won't happen this time.

June 4 - Time to head to Kilkenny. I had wanted to spend two nights here, but since there was a comedy festival going on over the weekend and we werent up for crowds, we only spent one night. En route, we stopped in Carrick-on-Suir to look at Ormonde Castle. While the manor house is only open to guided tour, the ruins are open for free and we walked around them, me taking pictures of course. This town seems very nice, but we were there early and it seemed like it hadnt awakened yet for the day. We moved on and stopped next at Jerpoint Abbey. It was not crowded and I leisurely toured the complex, enjoying the sculptures and atmosphere.

Next stop, our official destination for the day. We got into Kilkenny easily and parked at the Market Cross garage. We picked up some lunch at the grocery store and found a park bench near the castle to eat it. After the lunch, we walked up to the castle and bought our tickets. We couldnt get in on the next tour, so we had 45 minutes until our booking. We went across the street to the Kilkenny Design Centre and visited the shops. We also wandered some of the streets of the city and I checked email at an internet café until time to head back to the castle. I really enjoyed the castle tour. After that, we headed to St. Canice to see the church and for me to climb the round tower (my mom passed on this option). Wow, the ladders were a bit steep and it was rather cozy trying to pass people on the landings. The opening at the top was narrow with uneven steps. The view at the top is amazing and makes the ladder climbing well worth it. I met some nice Canadians at the top and chatted with them for a while before heading back down. We then went to find the Black Abbey and St. Mary's. These two churches and St. Canice are beautiful. The stained glass windows of the Black Abbey are incredible, although I am confused why there is modern glass in one of the windows. I personally think they should have tried to place something more sympathetic to the rest of the church. Anyways, these two churches are very peaceful and inspiring places.

On our way back to the car, we popped into Kyteler's Pub to check it out. Cool place, pricey menu though. We headed to our b&b, Alcantra, which we didnt find right away, but eventually found. After resting a while, we headed back to town centre to wander around some more and find something to eat. Some of you may be aghast, but I chose to get a small pizza at Godfather's. I havent seen Godfather's since I was a kid living in Marietta, Georgia. Interesting thing happened. My change was supposed to be 4 euro and I thought I was given two 2 euro coins. Upon inspection, I noticed that one of the coins was not euro, but some east European coin, no doubt worthless. I marched back up to the counter and the guy tried to tell me it was a new minting from France. Im a shrewd traveler and don't think I look like an idiot, but I guess these guys thought I did. I told them that was not a euro and to give me the proper coinage, which they did. The two guys at the counter were not Irish. Be on alert folks. There are a lot of foreigners in Ireland now, and while most of them are good people, some of them are scammers.

June 5 - Breakfast was fun. There was another Texas family there and we compared travel notes. The family was comprised of a couple with two lovely, blue-eyed, red-headed daughters. The youngest daughter does Irish dance and her parents had arranged for her to have a lesson with a renowned instructor while on the trip. I thought that was really neat. After wishing them well on the remainder of their journey, we checked out and hit the road. Perfect weather day. We stopped in Kells to view the priory ruins as well as the Kilree round tower. I walked around the field at the priory, greeting the many sheep, but they were rather perturbed that I was trespassing on their land. I begged forgiveness for the intrusion and I did get the cutest picture of a mama sheep and baby.

The round tower is about a mile away and is surrounded by a bunch of trees. I dont think it gets too many visitors and it looks to be in bad shape, unlike the round towers at Glendalough and Ardmore.

After Kells, I wanted to find Burnchurch castle. I had read someones trip journal from several years ago and it intrigued me. We found it, but it was locked up. Its a small tower house along with a small lookout type tower.

We pressed onward, heading to Cobh. En route, we stopped to tour Barryscourt Castle (very convenient I must say). For whatever reason, the tour was free that day, a nice surprise. The tour was very good. There were only two other people on the tour besides me and my mom and it gave me a good opportunity to ask questions. The guide was excellent.

I found Cobh to be very charming and the cathedral is stunning, inside and out. Theres a free parking lot behind the church, which is where we left the car and we trooped down to the waterfront. We walked up and down the streets, viewed the Lusitania memorial, and somehow forgot to view the Titanic memorial. Oops! Found a small bakery and got the most delicious frosted brownie, yum!

I didnt feel guilty eating that brownie because of the steep walk to get back to the car. I rationalized that the hike would neutralize the calories. Not quite, but hey, Im on vacation!

From Cobh, we took the ferry across the river to head on to Kinsale. There was only one other car on the ferry, so the attendant came over and visited with us for the short duration of the ride.

It seemed a long drive from the ferry to Kinsale, but we got there and the challenge was on to find the b&b. We had no clue! We drove up and down the streets, trying to find it. These streets are a tight squeeze and its not always easy to tell if a street is one way or not. We pulled up to some people on the sidewalk and asked them if they could point us in the direction of the area in which the b&b was located. Luckily, they were able to and we eventually encountered a sign pointing the way to Landfall House. Margo was there to greet us and we settled in. My mom was tired, so I headed back into town by myself, parking at the lot across from St. Mulrose church, very easy.

I wandered up and down the streets. By this time, most things were closed with the exception of pubs and some t-shirt shops. I wandered along the harbor, enjoying the very scenic waterfront and admiring the pretty boats. I was planning on going to the Mad Monk for something to eat, but its changed names and I decided to grab some fast food at Dino's. There was a line, so I figured it must be good. I chatted with a lady in front of me and her young daughter, Zoe. I had to resist the urge to mention that my cat shares the same name. The child was cute and took delight in pointing to things and asking me "whats that?"

I took my grub back to Landfall House and Margo invited me to use the family picnic table at back with the fantastic view. My mom joined me and that is when we met Socrates, the black and white cat. He was charming and had a nice rest in my moms lap while I ate.

I talked my mom into going out to the Charles Fort, even though she was tired. Other people had the same idea and so we were not alone in enjoying the fine views and watching the sun set on Kinsale harbour. It was most picturesque, with a lone sailboat out in the water.

June 6 - Blarney day! En route to Blarney, we drove through Cork and stopped at Merchant Quay for some shopping. I had been wondering about the difficulty of driving in Cork, but it was a breeze. I got what I wanted and we headed on to Blarney.

The grounds of Blarney Castle are very pleasant. While there were several tour buses there, it didnt seem crowded and there was no wait to climb the tower. What splendid views atop the castle! I passed on kissing the blarney stone, thinking it not too appealing to kiss the same spot as a million others, plus I have enough blarney naturally!

I tried to go into the passageway that leads to the dungeons, but it was too dark. I flashed my camera a few times trying to light it up, but to no avail. Does anybody know how far back you can go? I was thinking next time I had better bring a flashlight!

We wandered around the grounds, checking out rock close, etc. Found an enchanting tree back there and climbed into it for a photo op.

We then headed to Blarney House and arrived just a few minutes before opening time, so we were right there for the first tour of the day. I loved this place. It is a very comfortable house, with wonderful Waterford crystal chandeliers, rich wood, and great furnishings. The tour lasted about 50 minutes and was very detailed.

After saying goodbye to the Blarney grounds, we did a little shopping at the woollen mills and in the Blarney Village.

From Blarney, we needed to start making our way to Bunratty for our final night. We stopped in Mallow for snacks. When we reached Limerick, I wanted to photograph King John's Castle and visit the two St. Mary's churches. I got a couple of good shots of the castle and toured the insides of the two churches. Of course, by the time I was done, it was the middle of Limerick rush hour and it took probably 15-20 minutes to get off Kings Island and get on the main road. No big deal though, Im from Houston after all and Ive had commutes last for hours on a bad day.

Arrived at Bunratty at 5:55 pm to our b&b, Bunratty Heights only to find that the lady had given away our room, despite having my credit card number to hold the room, a re-confirmation email the week before, and arriving 5 minutes before designated arrival time. She said other guests had asked for an extra room and she gave it to them. She had called her neighbor at Inisfree and booked us a room there. Unfortunately, it was a shabby place, but what were we going to go at this point.

We dropped our bags, and despite my moms thinking my idea was crazy, we headed to the Cliffs of Moher. Whew, that drive seems to take forever! I forgot how long it takes. We got there around 7:30. The skies were totally clear and the cliffs were breathtaking. They should rent lounge chairs, I could sit there forever. Alas, it was our last night and we needed to go back and get organized for our flight the next morning.

We filled up the gas tank near the airport and I got a happy meal from McDonalds. Packed up our stuff and tried to get some sleep, but the beds were so atrocious, we never really slept. We gave up and were at the airport at 5:30 am, returning the car. We were checked in by 6 am and just chilled in the waiting area, doing some duty-free shopping until immigration opened at 7:30.

The flight home was tiring, but uneventful. I sat next to an Irish couple from Tipperary, heading to New York to pick up a cruise. Chatting with them was interesting and entertaining.

Our trip was really great and I look forward to the next one. As the immigration officer said in Dublin when I arrived, reviewing my passport, "you keep coming back." Yes indeed, I keep coming back, can't help it. Ireland is my favorite place to visit. If I had the resources, I would spend several months a year there, but until that happens, I will have to make do with getting there whenever I can. Next time I think we will rent a bungalow and stay in one place, rent bikes, become locals.

Thanks for reading my report!
Ande