So, we decided to sleep in and enjoy the hotel amenities this morning.
The kids fully enjoying relaxing a bot more this morning.
We took a vote this morning between castle and beaches, and the kids chose the castle. I woke up and went to the gym and did a popsugar fitness workout from my chromebook in the gym. Yay! I always feel better when I start the day with exercise. When I finished I went back to the room and made a cup of espresso and enjoyed sipping the delicious drink while updating the blog. Mmm! We lazed around the hotel room and checked out around 12noon. We each grabbed a complimentary apple from the reception desk and these tided us over until we ate brunch. We made up for the more expensive dinner last night by skipping breakfast this morning.
Touring the Rock of Cashel in Ireland
Our first, and only, stop today was the Rock of Cashel. The castle has a parking lot, yet it costs 4.50 Euro to park there. So we found street parking which is free on Sundays :-). We were starving, so we chose a restaurant near the castle and ate lunch first at Fahy’s. My husband and I shared a grilled chicken wrap with guess what? Yes, chips! The kids enjoyed cheeseburgers and chips and the total cost was 20 Euro. We also got a free family voucher to get into the Rock of Cashel since we ate at a restaurant in town (a neat way to encourage visitors to support the town).
The Rock of Cashel in Cashel, Ireland
Another view of the Rock of Cashel, we are in the graveyard with the cathedral behind us.
The Rock of Cashel is actually included on our Heritage card (a savings of 16 Euro), so we gave the free voucher to another family behind us. The Rock of Cashel is the only castle we have been to that was built for religious purposes. It is quite possibly the large castle we have seen on our trip to Ireland.
“Nebraska” from the Rock of Cashel: made me think of my good friend in Omaha that encouraged me to do this blog.
No playground here, but that doesn’t stop them from climbing on things and having a good time.
After we finished up at the Rock of Cashel we started our 1 1/2 hour drive to Wexford.-actually New Ross tonight. Tonight we stayed at the “castle hotel!”
Our “castle hotel” – OK so it’s not really a castle, but its the closet we could get to staying in one to didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Brandon House Hotel – Ireland
There is an indoor pool and exercise facility attached to the Brandon House Hotel as well. Our swim hats are required here and children under the age of 16 are not allowed in the Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, or the hydrotherapy area. This area has a stone walk, seated warm water jets to massage your feet, a relaxing warm water waterfall to sooth neck and shoulders, and a walking circular jet room. I really enjoyed this area! The pool closes at 7pm for kids, so we stayed until closing and then washed for dinner. We drove into New Ross to eat only to find it mainly abandoned and with few choices. We had a mediocre Asian meal at Kings Court for 38.60 Euro. We were the only customers dining in, so it felt very fancy and personal. My daughter enjoyed yet another meal of chicken nuggets.
My daughter’s gourmet meal of chicken nuggets and fried rice. At least she ate it all.
Tomorrow is our last day to explore Ireland :-(. We are headed to the coast to see a lighthouse and hopefully enjoy the beach before driving the 3 hours to Dublin to stay the night before our flight. We also need to do some souvenir shopping!!
