Idyllic Ireland

We've made it at last to Ireland. Hilary has dreamed of visiting the country for many years and it is living up to her high expectations. The weather was rainy when we landed in Dublin and that persisted all the next day. We've still managed to get some great photos as you'll see below.

Last night we stayed in a restored Coach House that was attached to a Castle back in the 1800s. The Castle is now in ruins and was within a stones throw of the house. The Coach House was perfectly restored and the grounds had atmosphere in spades. We could still see the ruins of the stables and other farm sheds.

On the way to the Coach House near Waterford, we went through the village where the 1995 movie "Circle of Friends" starring Minni Driver was filmed. The village, Inistioge, was absolutely quaint and delightful, seeing it in person makes us want to come back and watch the movie all over again. Here is a picture of the bridge that featured in the movie.



This picture was taken in the rain, we are staying in the village next Saturday night with Jessica and hope to get a sunny picture then. Driving in Ireland takes a bit of getting used to, the country roads are very narrow with hedges snug up against the road, so there are no places at all to pull over. However, it is green, beautiful and nearly every corner you go around takes your breath away, we love Ireland.

On the way to Waterford, we went down to a place called Hook where they have what is thought to be the oldest working lighthouse in the world, it has been there for 800 years. The town of Crook lies across the bay, this is where the origins of the saying "By Hook or by Crook" comes from, evidently when Cromwell was going to invade and plunder Ireland, famously he said "I'll get there by Hook or by Crook" as he was planning to land in one of these two towns.