Once at the airport, we waited a few minutes to catch the shuttle to the Hertz offsite. Once there, we were given a grey Ford Focus. I had chosen to go with the full CDW and Super CDW, and decided to return the car w/an empty tank, as the price we were quoted for petrol by Hertz (.89 euro) was much lower than station prices. Apart from the Super CDW, personal liability, and the petrol, the car was pre-paid, including the airport concession fee and all taxes, so there were no surprises. I was told exactly what the charges would be when I returned the car (which is exactly what they were).
Upon finding the car in the lot, we spent a few minutes looking it over and getting our bearings. Settled in, found the lights and the wipers (which, interestingly, were on the same sides of the steering wheel as my car – maybe because I drive a European-made Volvo?). Started the car – and we were off! For about 10 meters, when I realized I couldn’t figure out how to tilt the seat back. Stopped for a minute to figure that out, and – we were off again!
Our sturdy little steed
First roundabout right out of the parking lot – no problem! Then another, and another – but we managed them fairly well, if I do say so myself. My mom did a great job of quickly reading signs and figuring out which exit we wanted. Got on the M50, and headed south.
First stop, Powerscourt. We missed the exit the first time, but realized that after a couple of kilometers, got off, turned around, back we went (this happened a LOT on this trip. Thankfully, we had the lovely “at-lassie” that Bryno had sent us – having that atlas saved us many headaches, and for the most part, we were able to see the humor in our missteps).
Arrived at Powerscourt shortly after the gardens opened. And what gardens!! We made our way along the trail, through the woods, past the Japanese gardens, the fountains, the walled gardens, the roses and hydrangeas (SUCH hydrangeas – just incredible). Spent perhaps 90 minutes at Powerscourt altogether – and took probably just as many pictures, if not more.
After Powerscourt we decided we were ready for lunch. Mom had found a place in one of the guidebooks called Poppies, located right in Enniskerry. We stopped in for an early lunch – vegetable quiche, which was excellent. We also bought a very large serving of what they called “summer berry crumble” to take along for later.
After lunch, we drove down to Glendalough. Found it without incident (the tourist locales, unlike many of the roads, are well marked). We both enjoyed Glendalough quite a bit – it was one of our favorite stops. Between what is left of the monastery and the beautiful setting (we walked up and around the lower lake), it is a wonderful, interesting place.
It was early afternoon by this time – a little early to be headed for the bed & breakfast we had booked in Rathdrum, so we decided to head down to Avoca and visit the woolen mills (after sampling our crumble from Poppies, which was heavenly, if a bit gooey at that point). We drove through Rathdrum on our way down, which may have set the tone for the evening. The road was undergoing construction, and the traffic jam was incredible! Took about five minutes to get through town – impressive, given that it is all of five or six blocks long.
A quick visit at Avoca made us wonder how many tourists come to Ireland and expect the places that are written up to be large, busy places. Avoca is a small, quiet set of buildings on the river. We went in to watch the weaving; one of the gentlemen there came over and explained the machines, and gave us some of the trimmings coming off the fabric. We then went into the shops – some lovely pieces, but didn’t buy anything then.
Back to Rathdrum – on some of the narrowest, winding roads we drove in Ireland. By that time the traffic had calmed a bit, thankfully. I decided to park like a local, and pulled the car as far up on the sidewalk as I dared. We rang the bell at Stirabout Lane. We were greated by Daphne, who came to the door in bare feet with her toddler son trailing behind. She showed us the breakfast room and then our room, where her son proceeded to climb into the wardrobe, onto the bed, and started pulling apart some of the decorations. The room itself, while a nice size, was in the front of the house on the first (second?) floor. We asked about recommendations for dinner; she gave us a couple options, including Bates restaurant.
Rathdrum & Stirabout Lane
Once she and her son departed the room, we got our bags from the car, deposited them in our room, and walked through town past the restaurants and pubs she had mentioned to read the menus. Bates looked very promising, so we went back to Stirabout and had Daphne make us reservations. We spent some time in our room, taking stock and getting organized for the next day. Back to Bates – dinner was wonderful. I had asparagus risotto while mom had veal, again with a glass of wine each. We were also given a HUGE side dish of potatoes and other vegetables, which were all delicious.
Once back at Stirabout, we settled in for the night. Unfortunately, it was an uncomfortable one. Even with the windows closed and the curtains pulled, the sound coming in from the street was significant. Each truck sounded like it was going right through the room, and the argument outside the nearby pub was quite annoying. Since the windows were closed, the room got a bit warm and stuffy. Neither of us slept well. When I used the shower the next morning, the shower head was loose, so it would not stay at a proper height and would swivel around – I kept having to hold it with one hand to rinse the soap from my hair. Breakfast in the morning was simple, but plentiful – we both passed on the hot breakfast, and had cereal, toast and tea. We were ready to check out and be on our way. While I probably wouldn’t recommend Stirabout Lane, it certainly wasn’t horrible – it was clean and neat, Daphne was friendly and helpful, and it was conveniently located for our travel plans. We decided that if it was the “worst” evening of the trip, we would be doing ok (which turned out to be the case).
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