May 12 - Rock of Cashell

We left our B&B and headed off to the Rock of Cashell. They had a tour, and the tour guide had a wealth of information to tell about it.

"The place is a historic site in Ireland's province of Munster, located at Cashel, County Tipperary. The Rock of Cashel served as the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion, though few remnants if any of the early structures survive. The majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries. Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century A.D. The buildings which crown the Rock of Cashel present a mass and outline of great complexity, rivalling other sites in western Europe. The complex has a character of its own, unique and native, and is one of the most remarkable collections of Celtic art and medieval architecture to be found anywhere in Europe."

After spending some time there, we headed off to our hotel in Cobh (pronounced Cove - famous for being the last port for the Titanic). We stayed at the Sheraton on Fota Island. It was a new hotel, only about a year old. We settled in and proceed into the nearest town (Cobh) for dinner. We had the toughest time finding a place to eat. We ended up at a nice restaurant where Naomi had boxty (a potato pancake of sorts) filled with vegetables. Since the place was a little expensive (as we found a lot of places in Ireland were), we decided to forgo having any wine or beer nor any dessert. We found a market in town, where we bought some beer, hard cider and snacks to bring back to the hotel. Since there didn't seem much going on in town, we decided to go back to the hotel and hang out there.