Kells Priory, Kilree, Jerpoint Abbey, Kilkenny

We started out right after breakfast and headed to Kells Priory, some ruins not too far from our B&B near Kilkenny. This is a really cool spot but not advertised at all, you have to really be looking for it. Actually, that's one reason why it's so cool, you can go there and literally be the only people there. There were two other people there when we arrived, but we soon had the place to ourselves, except for the sheep of course. There's a gate you have to sort of climb through, you can't open it cuz the sheep might get out! The priory has a large outer wall, and several ruined buildings inside, some of which are blocked off to access because they're unsafe. It's really huge when you take into account the amount of land within the walls. After spending some time there, we were leaving and saw a sign for a high cross and round tower at Kilree, just 2km away. So we said, what the heck? Let's go! We got to the site and found a step-over wall and a gate with a bright yellow sign that said, "Caution, bull in field". So we looked at each other and you know, we have cows, so over the wall we went! We checked out a ruined chapel and the round tower, then realized the high cross was across the field where several cows were hanging out. We looked but didn't really see one that looked big enough to be a bull, so down the wall we went and across the field. Well those cows couldn't have cared less about us and, with no bull in sight, we checked out the high cross. All in all, a worthwhile diversion. And we didn't get stomped by an angry bull! We then headed to Jerpoint Abbey, or meant to anyway, but kinda got turned around. So we stopped the car to ask one of the local guys. He was standing alongside the road talking to another guy in a car. He was happy to help and when he asked where we were from, I said "California", to which he replied, "Ah, God bless ye, ya brought the sunshine." We had a pleasant little conversation and when we asked about directions his reply was, "Well, if I was ye, which I'm not, I'd turn right here..." So of course we turned right there and found our way to Jerpoint Abbey. This is also a ruin but many areas are still partially intact and a lot of restoration is being done here. We spent about an hour here and then headed back to Kilkenny to check out the castle and see if we could climb the tower at St. Canice's Church. I had read you can climb the tower and see for miles around. We were lucky and got to climb the tower! Now my legs weren't all too crazy about this climb after the workout they had the day before at Glendalough, but I wasn't going to let that stop me! Up we went, little narrow wooden steps with one iron railing to hold onto. And the tower is not completely round, it's conical, so every level higher you go, the tower gets narrower and narrower. We each had a backpack on and, by the top, we got to the last set of steps, and I was sandwiching myself between the wall and the railing just to get to the steps. At this point I had one hand on the railing and the other on the step above me, like climbing a ladder basically...and just about that steep. Well the last set of steps was really the capper, you had to squeeze through a narrow opening between the stones of the floor at the top of the tower. Once on top, the wind was absolutely deafening, but the view was great, you could see for miles and miles. Now if climbing up was an adventure, guess what climbing back down was like? Right! We both thought the whole thing was great, but we're a little crazy like that. ;)