We left our little Jasmine Cottage and headed to Wales. Along the way, we stopped in Llangollen, at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct or the ‘Stream in the Sky’. This was built in 1805 to carry the canal over the River Dee and its valley between Trevor and Froncysyllte. The canal stands over 30 meters high or a little over 98 feet. It was built to transport goods via boats much faster than horse drawn carts. Today it’s a World Heritage Site and you can take a ride on one of the narrow boats or walk along side on the walkway. It was quite interesting and a site to see.
It was also our first introduction into Wales and trying to read the signs in Welsh.
We drove on to the town of Dwygfylchi, near Conwy. The next morning, we checked out the Conwy Castle. The castle and the walls surrounding the town were built from 1283-1287. The view from the towers is great and you can also walk along the walls around the city.
Our next stop was driving through Snowdonia National Park. We found the National Slate Museum located inside the park, which is another World Heritage Site in Llanberis. Wales is known for having the world’s highest quality of slate rock and the roofing tiles made from the slate are guaranteed to last 100 years. There was a demonstration of the slate tiles being split. That process is still largely done by hand as they haven’t figured out a way to successfully machine the process. Slate takes an experienced hand to correctly split.
We then took a “lovely” scenic drive through the park. It was beautiful and a very popular place for hikers.
The next day we were off on the ferry port at Holyhead aboard the Dublin Swift. The ferry was very nice. It was comfortable and only takes a little over 2 hours to get over to Dublin our home for the next couple of nights.
We got there in the early afternoon, checked-in and headed directly to the Guinness Storehouse. The vast number of people that go through the tour is incredible. I got to enjoy a cider instead of the Guinness, which was a pleasant surprise as I didn’t think they would have a gluten-free alternative. There’s a nice view of Dublin from their 7th floor sky view bar.
The next morning was our tour of Trinity College. The college opened in 1592 and is the oldest college in Ireland. The tour given by one of the students at the college was really interesting. At about 3,000 euros a year, it’s also the most expensive college to attend in the EU. I know, parents in the US are now trying to figure out how to get their kids into college there for that price.
Trinity College is also home to the Books of Kells. The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript containing 4 gospels of the New Testament and is written on calfskin. It was created by Monks around 800AD and is one of Ireland’s National Treasures.
Trinity College is also home to the long room in Trinity’s old library. The Long Room is 200 Feet long and was built between 1712 and 1732.
It was then time to Hop On the bus to take us to our tour of the Kilmainham Gaol or jail. The jail opened in 1796 and most prisoners were common criminals, which consisted of men, women and children. Later the jail also held political prisoners of the 1916 uprising. The tour provides great information on how the prisoners were held and the changes that came about with the change in thinking to prisoner reform. Advance tickets to visit are required and it books out pretty far in advance.
We left Dublin and were headed for the scenic town of Killarney near the west coast of Ireland. Along the way, we stopped in Kilkenny, for a tour of the Kilkenny Castle. This castle was remodeled in the late 1800’s.
We had a great lunch in town and took a walk around the city. Got back on the road and outside of Cashel, our car let us know it was reducing engine power???? Never seen that error message before. Upon Googling the message, it seems that the car will continue to run but at a much slower speed and it will eventually stop altogether. The thinking is that it will run long enough to get you to a safe place to pull over. As Will was looking for an exit, I was on the phone with the breakdown assistance people. Let me just say, if you rent a car in the UK, keep it in the UK. Even though, we had permission to bring it to Ireland and had to buy extra insurance, etc., it still became a huge headache. Luckily, we were waiting at a service area and had access to a bathroom and food. Breakdown assistance sent a tow truck about 2 ½ hours later and then told us they couldn’t get us a taxi because we were 5 people?? The tow truck driver had a friend with a taxi service and was able to get us where we needed to be. So, the next few days, we were without a car and many phone calls to the UK and Ireland later still no resolution. We were able to find another car rental on our own to keep our trip going on schedule.
Just look for the Americans on the grass. 
The taxi driver took us to see the Rock of Cashel. A bonus to our breakdown.
Luckily for us we were staying at a place within walking distance to the downtown area and our tour in the morning was coming to pick us up. We were picked up for our tour of the Gap of Dunloe. The Gap is a narrow mountain pass created about 25, 000 years ago by a receding glacier. Our first stop was at Kate Kearney’s Cottage. At that point you exit the bus, and you can walk, bike or take a jaunting trap (horse cart) the 7 miles to Lord Brandon’s Cottage. We chose the cart ride, and our pony driver gave us some of the history of the area, and what it takes to still live in this rural area. It was a beautiful ride, and our horse Jess didn’t protest too much. We then were able to grab some lunch before our boat ride to the end of the tour.
