As the Irish say, "I have come back!"

We had an appointment to meet with our "landlady" in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, at noon, so we got an early start . We skipped breakfast in our B & B both mornings because we are, frankly, tired of the traditional Irish breakfast. I (Dayna) started to feel my arteries clogging; Tom, lives for that heart clogging stuff, but I'd had enough. So, down the road we headed by 8:30 a.m., and stopped in some town for a girly coffee (Amen!) and a muffin. Not terribly healthy, but better than eggs and ham and . . . . At least, I got a cup of milk which is good for my aging bones!!!! And, chocolate!

We didn't do much today except travel between Blarney and Thomastown. The countryside got considerably more beautiful! Green!!! Rolling hills that might be considered mountains in this part of the world. Green!!! Wider roads! Absolutely gorgeous! AND, this is where MY Irish ancestor haled from. I have come back!!

We met Bridget at our little Rock Cottage. It looked so quaint on the internet, as many things do. All I could notice was the dust and musty smell . First order of business is to find Lysol to disinfect.  

Knowing that the All Ireland Hurling Championship playoff game between Kilkenny and Tipperary was to start at 5 p.m., we headed to Kilkenny City to eat a late lunch/early dinner in a pub. Kilkenny City is an adorably cute/quaint/clean/pretty/Medieval city that we will explore in detail another day. More to come on family history research in this beautiful city . . . .

We found our pub, we had lunch/dinner, we walked around the castle grounds, we headed back to our pub to watch the game, and then we left early, knowing that I did not want to tackle driving after dark with a bunch of Irish drunks on the road (as I write this in an Irish pub on a Sunday night, the drunks are ALL here!!).  

We left about half time so we could drive the 15 kilometers home to Thomastown to do -- laundry. Our little cottage has no washer and dryer so we hand washed and hung the clothes around the cottage. The cottage is over 100 years old and there is a picture of what the street looked like "back in the day." It was probably a cute area, once, but it is in need of some TLC. Once we went to bed (after spraying with a Lysol look-alike), it wasn't so bad. I think by the end of the week, when we leave for France, our cottage will have grown on us. :)