Wexford is a cute little town on the Southeastern coast of Ireland. Thomas (Thos) and Helena (Ena) Brennan are a couple Ben met 2 years ago when he traveled to Ireland with his brothers. We returned to see them and to stay in the flat they had available in the center of Wexford Town. Ena is the president of the dental association in Ireland and Thos is also a dentist. They are active in their community and church. They are two very loving and generous christians.
A beautiful scene just outside Wexford. Thos drove us around and gave us the grand tour of several costal towns and his favorite villages.
Kilkenny Castle, located in Kilkenny, had beautiful grounds and was neatly kept.
An old cathedral in Kilkenny. Thos's friend was a bishop here a few years ago and is now buried on these grounds.
The roads we traveled on in Ireland were surrounded by beautiful scenery.
This is Thomas Kinkade material as Thos would say. Beautiful views as we drove through the countryside.
This is a traditional Irish breakfast. It consists of bacon (back bacon, not streaky like the states), sausage links, fried eggs, beans, mushrooms, hashbrowns, tomato, toast, and black and white pudding (not creamy like we have. they are the two patties in the middle). Black pudding was originally known as the blood drippings collected from the sausage being cooked over the fire. They would let the drippings harden and then dip bread into it. Today it is still a similar recipe.English and Scottish breakfasts are generally the same as the Irish breakfast minus the puddings.
This is the door to the 5 level flat we stayed in. Thos's dental office is on the ground floor. We stayed on the top floor with the skylight shining in on us.
This is the view directly across from the flat. An old church building, but I do not know the name of it.
This is Hook head. It is on the southern coast of Ireland and is surrounded on 3 sides with water. Directly to the right is another light house on Dunmore East. These two would communicate with eachother for the Waterford Harbor in between the two.
Ben got a little too close to the waves for my comfort.
Hook Lighthouse is the attraction here. Crook Lighthouse is on the adjacent shore. It is said that Cromwell upon approaching the Waterford Harbor with his army said,"Waterford would fall by hook or by crooke." (i.e. it would fall regardless of the place).
We ran into some of Thos's friends on the drive out, so we stopped by for some tea and cake. Billy and Noreen Colfer are two very lovely and generous people. They have 5 successful sons. One son has written the series of books Artemis Fowl of which the first book is being turned into a movie by Disney.
This land belonged to the Knights Templar. They were granted land by the king in 1172. The templars were disbanded in 1307 and their land was given to their rivals the Knights Hospitallers who built this church.
Johnstown Castle was just outside of the Wexford city center. This is by far Ben and I's favorite castle we have been to. We did not go inside, but we wandered on the grounds. The grounds were amazingly beautiful!
This is the back of the castle. The park is open to the public free of charge everyday.
Just around the corner from our flat was a new Opera House. We checked out the show and found the Traditional Irish Music Awards were being filmed Saturday night.
We were alone in our box seat for the first half and then moved to the floor for the second half. The theater has recently undergone a major renovation. It was created with the inside of a cello in mind and has one of the highest acoustic rankings.
The host and hostess spoke in Galic (Irish language), so us and many Irish people did not understand what was being said. The music was fabulous! We heard about 6-8 different artists of all ages with violins, pipes, guitars, accordian, and other instruments I had never seen before. It will be televised in Ireland on Easter Sunday.
The quaint town of Wexford.
This is the door to the 5 level flat we stayed in. Thos's dental office is on the ground floor. We stayed on the top floor with the skylight shining in on us.
This is the view directly across from the flat. An old church building, but I do not know the name of it.
This is Hook head. It is on the southern coast of Ireland and is surrounded on 3 sides with water. Directly to the right is another light house on Dunmore East. These two would communicate with eachother for the Waterford Harbor in between the two.
Ben got a little too close to the waves for my comfort.
Hook Lighthouse is the attraction here. Crook Lighthouse is on the adjacent shore. It is said that Cromwell upon approaching the Waterford Harbor with his army said,"Waterford would fall by hook or by crooke." (i.e. it would fall regardless of the place).
We ran into some of Thos's friends on the drive out, so we stopped by for some tea and cake. Billy and Noreen Colfer are two very lovely and generous people. They have 5 successful sons. One son has written the series of books Artemis Fowl of which the first book is being turned into a movie by Disney.
This land belonged to the Knights Templar. They were granted land by the king in 1172. The templars were disbanded in 1307 and their land was given to their rivals the Knights Hospitallers who built this church.
Johnstown Castle was just outside of the Wexford city center. This is by far Ben and I's favorite castle we have been to. We did not go inside, but we wandered on the grounds. The grounds were amazingly beautiful!
This is the back of the castle. The park is open to the public free of charge everyday.
Just around the corner from our flat was a new Opera House. We checked out the show and found the Traditional Irish Music Awards were being filmed Saturday night.
We were alone in our box seat for the first half and then moved to the floor for the second half. The theater has recently undergone a major renovation. It was created with the inside of a cello in mind and has one of the highest acoustic rankings.The host and hostess spoke in Galic (Irish language), so us and many Irish people did not understand what was being said. The music was fabulous! We heard about 6-8 different artists of all ages with violins, pipes, guitars, accordian, and other instruments I had never seen before. It will be televised in Ireland on Easter Sunday.
The quaint town of Wexford.
