Best Western Belfry Hotel Waterford

... surprising considering the Irish love of spuds. Why exclude them from breakfast?<br><br>After fortifications are complete we head for the coast. Our drive takes us past Limerick and over the Shannon River, Ireland's longest river. A while latter we arrive at the beach, Spanish Point. As it was already late in the day we waste no time gearing up and hitting the waves. I'm completely decked out in loaner gear, but I'm using the same kayak I have at home, so it feels ...

... British mind you, so I'm inclined to think option B was more likely. <br><br>I chuckled to myself as I spotted a girl, about 7 or 8, sitting across from me. She was half-finished her dinner, and was inspecting the chocolate mousse with an expression that bordered between confused and disgusted. She took a couple curious bites, then pushed it away.<br><br>The philosophy "if you set your ...

... problems (I think they are restructuring, or at some stage in bankruptcy proceedings), and have basically shut everything down for now. However, the showroom is still open, so you can see all these various Waterford Crystal...things. Clocks, chandeliers (if you know Mel at all, you will know she liked seeing these), sculptures, etc. I really liked the copies of the trophies they have made for various sporting events (many for Tennis, Racing ...

We managed to sort out the car hire, however Avis was way out of town. We had to take the DART out west and walk about 7 minutes, again poor Amy lugged her backpack out that way!! We picked up our black Kia Rio we dubbed Seamus and headed to Waterford. I was a bit nervous hadn't driven for about 2 months and there were some very strange markings on the roads!!! Lucky they drive on the same side of the road as us!! lol<br><br>We also hired a GPS system.. dubbed ...

... room, poured wine and scotch and settled down to watch the ferry crossing. <br>The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast and a long walk on the soft sandy beach. We walked until we found the fairy rock, (Phil told us a story about the rock so we had to walk there). Jim collected rocks all along the way. I collected pebbles. The wind felt so cold when we turned back to the house. My ears were throbbing ...

... I spent too much time seeing the exhibit. (This timing issue is the down-side of a tour. The high bus that allows you to see the countryside, the interesting fellow passengers, the patter of the tour guide - those are the plusses.) We ended up getting sandwiches 'to take away' and eating on the bus. Our next stop was a brief one at the Waterford Crystal Factory. It turns out that Waterford (in Waterford, an Irish town) is no longer made in Ireland at all ...

... in the photos that it did get sunny at some stages but in the scenery photos driving back you can see that the dark clouds overhead were always present if it wasn't raining. There were pathways with flowers lined either side, little grass archways leading onto other paths - almost like a botanical garden but this was actually someone's backyard! Of course there was a tennis court as well, a little cute shed next to it, benches around the lawns, stone steps - it was ...

Today we left Killarney and traveled to Waterford. Along the way we visited Blarney Castle, and kissed the Blarney Stone, which is supposed to give you elloquence. To kiss the famous stone, you have to lay down, then lean over backwards and hold these bars while trying to kiss a peice of rock. We got some pretty interesting pictures out of that experience. When we ...

... what I eat, and the promise of all that every morning always made it much easier for me to get up. <br><br>A dark grey mist was rolling in from the sea as we meandered along narrow country lanes near Lady&#8217;s Island Lake, some sort of Catholic pilgrimage site, and westwards to the Hook Peninsula, through a progression of tiny villages with the obligatory one or two cosy looking pubs amongst the handful of houses in their centre. In one such ...

... party. One part of the group is obviously wanting to have some big nights out on the Guinness enjoying the local craic, before stumbling into the room in the early hours a little the worse for wear and generally causing a continual nuisance to the other, more refined part of the group. But it was something we had discussed in the months previously and Nanna promised to at least try to be on her best behaviour.