Ireland Day 2

Woke up at 7 am this morning. Not too early, or so I thought anyway. Showered, dressed for the day, ate breakfast, you know, the usual morning routine. No one else was up yet, so I did some exploring.

Took a few photos outside the Villa we are staying in. It was a nice and chilly morning, bit overcast, and windy too. I went up to the Manor, and wow, it was incredible. It's huge! The Adare Manor is described as a Calendar House, which means that there are 365 windows, each one depicting a day of the year, there are windows depicting the days of the week. There are more details to see the more you look. I walked around the inside and out for a bit.

Back at the Villa, people are finally stirring...Some slept for about 14 hours last night. First order of business, we headed to Waterford to the Waterford Crystal Factory. Before we headed out, we found out that the Manor was having a 5 course Thanksgiving dinner tonight, so we stopped and put in our reservation for 6:30 pm.

I got to drive today, and I must say it was interesting to say the least. It was actually not to difficult, and I got used to being on the left side pretty quickly. Shifting left handed was different as well.

We got to see some very interesting country. The houses are each one unique, and most are works of art as well. There is so much character in each house and building here. Waterford is about 114km from Adare. Actually driving it was about a 2 hour drive.

Tipperary was the first big-ish city we drove through, and it was challenging. People park on the sidewalk, just because there is no room on the street, and even then I'm swerving back and forth to the oncoming traffic lane. At one point I was up on the sidewalk myself to get by.

Ate lunch in a small town, I had a Battered Burger meal, with chips, and a drink. The patty was battered in the same batter the store used for their fish. Huge chips(fries) with salt and vinegar. Quite tasty to be honest. It called itself a burger, but there was no bun, unless you can count the breading as a type of bread..,.jury is still out on that one.

Waterford is situated on a river, and the crystal factory is just off of downtown along the river as well. It was some beautiful glass there. The factory shutdown and no longer produces the Famous Waterford Crystal, but some of the artisans that worked there have formed their own company to keep the glass-blowing skill and tradition alive. Did a bit of shopping, got a perfect gift for my brother. :D Cant say yet what it is in case he is reading this.

Time to head back to make our reservation.

6:30

Unfortunately, my dad was not feeling well when we got back so he was unable to join us for the dinner. The meal, was amazing. Worth every penny. First course was a Adare Manor Caesar Salad with Crispy Cajun Chicken. Heavenly. Second course was Roast pumpkin soup, with Parmesan and paprika croutons. Amazing. Main course was Roast Turkey Crown, Herb stuffing, creamed potatoes, Sprouts and Chestnuts,  Buttered Corn, Red Wine Jus. Desert was Sticky Date Cake with Caramelized Banana Mousse,  Coco Nib Ice Cream. Last was Coffee with Petit Fours. Wow I paced myself and was still stuffed afterword, gonna need quite a bit of extra walking to make up for this trip.

Last of the evening we headed back to Pat Collin's pub, to have a pint of Guinness and watch the Cowboys get beat. Side note, the Guinness was soooo much better than the Guinness I've had at home. It was smooth, and very good flavor. I understand that the process of shipping it, and the time delay cause a bitterness in the beer.

All in all a great day today. I hope you all have had a great and awesome Thanksgiving day with your friends and family today.

Here are the pics!
https://plus.google.com/photos/101108978688444895068/albums/5813817120015283409