Advertisement
Published: June 16th 2017
Edit Blog Post
Train station
on the way down--they're cut from the same mold, and look like the ones on tv So that Mike could see the countryside on the trip south, we took the train from Dublin. We had originally thought to alight at Limerick Junction, the closest stop to Bansha Castle, and rent a car in Tipperary, a short cab ride from the train station. However, a couple of weeks before our trip, Enterprise bought the local car rental company, Dooley, and closed the office in Tipperary! Luckily, we figured this out ahead of time, even before we'd purchased our train tickets. One of the other people staying at the Castle did not learn of this until she tried to pick up her car there! She ended up getting a ride to Shannon Airport and renting a car there. So, we had purchased train tickets to Cork and reserved a car at Hertz in Cork. Took a cab from Trinity College to Heuston Train Station. While waiting, we were entertained by a group of the before-mentioned hen party participants who were recovering, recounting their evening, and heading back to Cork. The gods smiled on us and the group was not in our train car! Lovely train ride down--very smooth and lots of countryside to see. We ended up sitting with
another American couple who were very pleasant.
At Cork, we walked up the hill and over the bridge to the car rental office. Got a car, a map, and some idea of where we were going. Mike’s first time driving on the left since Scotland, 12 (?) years ago, and with a stick shift this time!! Sue’s main job was to remind him to turn left (or right) into the LEFT lane. We wanted to go to the Cork shopping district, to the English Market, recommended by many—akin to Eastern Market in DC or Reading Station in Philly—inside market with dozens of vendors with permanent stalls.
The GPS and Waze on our phones worked! So, we had directions. After a couple missed turns and folks beeping at us because we weren’t in the correct lane, and changed instructions from Waze (each time we missed a turn), we made it to Patrick St (surprise-a street in Ireland named Patrick) and found a parking spot right on the street! Found the Market and got butternut squash, onions, etc., for Mike to make soup at the Castle. Lots of beautiful meats and vegetables. Got the needed chicken stock from a chicken
butcher. Stopped at a pub hoping for some food but had to make do with a beer and half can of Pringle’s.
Headed north to Bansha--More lovely green countryside; more and more roundabouts and chances to screw up directions but we made it without too many cross words. The Castle was just on the outskirts of Bansha town and we checked in and got the tour. Two of the other folks were there already and we met them and said hi. The Castle proper has 7 bedrooms and two other rooms in the owners' quarters; when we reserved the week, we had 3 couples committed. We all put out the word and recruited some friends and, in a couple cases, their relatives, and filled the place, including the rooms in the owners' quarters, so we didn't necessarily know everyone who was staying there! Unpacked, walked into town, checked out “the gas station” and found that Nellie’s, the local pub, doesn’t serve pub food any longer and only sandwiches in the evening. So, we had a beer, checked mass times, and headed to Tipperary (Town) for dinner. Again, though—no pub food in the evening!! There were two restaurants and the
Italian one had lots of reservations but managed to seat us. During the wait, Mike ran to the grocery for fresh ginger for the soup. Excellent carbonara, didn’t get too lost on the way out of town. Met more of the group on our return to the Castle. Wandered the back garden a bit—tried to stay awake till sunset but missed it again!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.162s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 16; qc: 47; dbt: 0.0941s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb