A beach, some bikes, and bus station bathrooms! Here are our highlights from Day 2 of our trip to Ireland and Iceland!

First Things First

As you read from Day 1’s report, we pushed through our jet lag and hit the sack at 6:30 PM. We set our alarm for 6:30 AM and MADE ourselves get up even though we didn’t want to! Our hotel had a GREAT breakfast buffet, so we tucked into that, checked out of our hotel, and then headed to Aldi.

Travel Tip

Y’all already know this, but I’ll mention it anyway. It’s usually a good idea to hit a supermarket at the beginning of your trip and grab some water and snacks. We snagged some bottles of water, nuts, chips, and a few Cokes. And perhaps some cookies too! We enjoyed seeing a lot of the snacks and treats that we’d come to love during our years in England. Our shopping paid off because most days we were able to eat a big, protein-rich breakfast, a snack from our stash in the afternoon, and then have a nice dinner in the evening. That’s our default when we travel, and we wish our work schedules would allow for that at home too.

Vikings!!! GRRRRRRRR!!!

We parked at the Merchants’ Quay parking lot on the River Suir and started making our way to King of the Vikings. (We had tickets for 3 PM, but we were able to swap those for a 10:15 AM entry instead!) You guys, this place is amazing! They’ve built a Viking house in the ruins of a 13th century friary! And in that house we experienced Viking history via VIRTUAL REALITY!!! What a fantastic way to learn! This technology allows them to relay history in a fascinating way in a very small area. SMART! We HIGHLY recommend this experience! The whole thing is very well done.

I guess this would be a good time to tell you that Waterford was settled by Vikings in 853, making it the oldest city in Ireland! The history of this area, this whole country, amazes me!

Food

One of the staff members at King of the Vikings recommended we eat at Geoff’s Cafe Bar “where all the locals eat.” What a gorgeous old place! I ordered a panini that came with fries and salad. We split the panini and ordered a bowl of fries for him. (I don’t share fries very well any day, and all bets are off when jet lag is in play!) What a great meal! People can say what they like about pub grub, but we think it’s wonderful! Comfort food for a reasonable price!

Pedestrian Zones and Pedals

After lunch we enjoyed wandering around Waterford. Like many European cities, it has a wonderful pedestrian area with shops of all kinds. You KNOW I searched for an indie bookstore and found The Book Centre. I could have spent MANY happy hours there! The building was originally a cinema, built in 1937! This store is beautifully curated, hosts a coffee shop/cafe, and offers great souvenirs, gifts, postcards, and stamps! Don’t miss this one!

Since we were able to do King of the Vikings first thing that morning, we had the whole afternoon to play! On a whim we rented some bikes and rode on the Waterford Greenway, a paved, car-free path that follows an old train line and the River Suir. Another FUN way to get some exercise and fresh air! I’ll admit that this was NOT my finest hour as I have never learned how to manage a bike with gears! Gene patiently taught me and patiently ignored my mutterings and patiently waited with me when I needed breaks! (Have I mentioned how much I love that man?!?) We really did enjoy the beautiful countryside views. Next time we’ll reserve electric bikes so we’ll be able to cover more ground more quickly. There’s so much to see!

Bus Station Bathrooms

I teased you up for this one, so I’ll tell you the story real quick! Finding bathrooms is a key part of travel, isn’t it! I ended up ducking into the Waterford Bus Station to use their bathrooms and ran into THIS!

I had totally forgotten about needing change (coins) to gain access to bathrooms! Thankfully Gene had some change, and the very nice man in the bus station snack bar broke those coins down into the smaller coins I needed for the bathroom meter! Whew! Crisis averted!

Wrapping Up the Day…Almost!

We made our way to the Viking Hotel Waterford, checked in, and decided to eat dinner in their restaurant. Seafood stew for me, and Yorkshire pudding for Gene. (Yorkshire pudding is a bread cup with beef roast, gravy, and veggies!)

Did we head to bed at 6:30 PM again? No, we did not! We actually headed OUT again around 8 PM!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD?!? We never do that! Our viking from earlier this day had told us about a beach we really needed to see, and we knew it wouldn’t be dark until around 10 PM, so we decided to be adventurous and go see it! You guys won’t believe the photos from this place! I’ll share them on my next post!

Questions or Comments?

Leave them in the comment section for me! I’d love to hear from you! Thanks for stopping by! I’ll post those beach photos SOON!!! I won’t keep you hanging!

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