Ireland: Day 3 – On the Road, Kilkenny, Halfway, Kinsale

[Note: I lacked any Internet access during most of our trip, so these remaining Ireland travel entries are being written after the fact, but will display a posting date of the day being described]

We needed an early start on Wednesday because we had a lot of ground to cover. After breakfast we got checked out of the hotel and trekked down Grafton Street one more time with our luggage in tow to catch an airport bus just across from Trinity College. Once at the airport we caught another bus to get our rental car from Hertz and were soon ready to hit the roads of Ireland. I had varying reports from people on how difficult or easy they found it to drive on the opposite side of the road and was a bit apprehensive about it. Construction near the Hertz lot left only a single lane road leading to their car lot, and as I turned onto it I was heading straight for the Hertz shuttle bus coming my way. So I beat a quick retreat back to the lot, did a lap around, and tried again, this time successfully exiting the lot. Nothing could stop us now. As I focused on staying on the left side of the road, Jennifer got to work as navigator, working to identify our exits and interpret road signs. Those that we couldn’t figure out couldn’t have been too important. We wanted to reach our B&B just past Cork before dark, and so this was a travel day with only brief stops.

Stopped for lunch in Killkenny and enjoyed lunch at Matt the Miller’s. Operating on the “When in Rome…” principal, I had the ‘Cod & Chips’, which is of course ‘Fish & Chips’, which aren’t chips at all, they’re french fries. We’re learning something after our first few dining experiences, it can be difficult to get a check so you can pay and leave when you’re done. I think I left my Cubs cap in Matt the Miller’s. It was getting kinda scrody anyway so a replacement is due, but still, if anyone in Ireland finds a Cubs cap with ‘Casey 2004’ written on the bill, please return to me. Thanks.

We snapped a few photos of colorful storefronts in Fermoy as we passed slowly through town, and a few more of various ‘Casey’ sightings (a bar and a furniture truck), before ultimately reaching our destination for the next two nights, the Flushing Meadow Bed & Breakfast in Halfway. And I am certain the warm welcome we got from the proprietors Anne and Seamus wasn’t just because they are also Casey’s, but it couldn’t have hurt. We headed into the seaside village of Kinsale, just in time to see the last of the shopkeepers closing up their shops, the whole place was shut down. So after a quick stroll we got back in the car and set out for Anne’s recommended dinner destination, Kirby’s. Our arrival there was delayed only slightly by the crowd of gambling road bowlers we encountered on the way.

Back at Flushing Meadow after dinner, we enjoyed a cup of tea with Anne and Seamus, comparing notes on our Casey families looking for connections, and learning something about each other, before we headed off to bed to end Day 3 in Ireland.