After yesterday’s fiasco, we decided to stay close to home, so we headed to the nearby town of Thomastown,  a mere 16km drive. Given our recent driving luck, that 16km drive could have easily taken us 2 hours, but the driving gods were smiling on us and we made it in under 30 minutes.

Once there, we realized that we would be able to walk the town…for us,  that lessens the chance for failure and loss.

We found a castle,

some hungry ducks,

An old church that is someone’s private residence,

The Truffle Fairy,

And the Jerpoint Abby.

Since we’ve never had the opportunity to wander through old ruins, this was amazing and to get a private tour was perfect.

We spent about an hour touring the 11th century Abby… All by ourselves.  It was the coolest experience of the trip… So far.

The drive home wasn’t so bad either.  We found a pull off and we’re able to take a few pics of the valley and mountains where we are staying in Graiguenamanagh.

And once back in our village, Jeremy set out on his daily monk stalking.  (There are monk statues at every entrance to the village.)