Looking to get away from Dublin and explore more of Ireland last weekend, we set our sights on Cashel. The guidebooks seemed to think it wasn’t worth much time, but for our purposes it worked divinely.
The least exciting part of the trip, to me anyway, was Cashel’s big tourist attraction: the Rock of Cashel. OK, it wasn’t that bad, but over the years I’ve come to realize that ruins just don’t excite me that much. Not even when they’re really, really old.
The best part of Cashel was our evening there, which involved several pints of Smithwick’s and a series of cozy peat fires. For such a small town, it offered plenty of inviting little pubs. Our favorite was Dowling’s on Main Street.
The next morning we woke up to a large Irish breakfast (one of the best parts of staying at a B&B;) and then drove south along a road called “The Vee” which took us up into some low mountains with sweeping views.
Then it was onward to Waterford, where we ate lunch while watching the Ireland-Italy rugby match in a pub full of cheering fans. And of course, where we visited the crystal factory.
That castle looks awesome… you are inspiring me to visit Dublin!
Ireland is definitely worth a trip! I can only encourage you to go. 🙂