Dunmore cave

While in Kilkenny, we toured the Dunmore cave. It is an underground cave and guided tours are provided to a very small percentage of the cave (which is still a decent sized area). The cave was the site of a massacre in the year 928 AD! The locals used to use the cave as a hiding place when they were attacked. They would hide in some of the chambers of the cave because most people were afraid to go into it because they thought it was the gateway to Hell.

The Vikings were raiding the area and weren't afraid of caves. So, when the women and children ran into the cave, the Vikings killed the men who were trying to defend it. The Vikings then ended, took any treasures, and set fires in the cave. Most of the people in is suffocated from smoke. During the massacre, the Vikings dropped coins (which they apparently adhered to their bodies with wax) and these were left in the cave. During later excavations, these coins were found! Human remains were also found and the excavation results corresponded with the local legends of the cave.

The cave itself is interesting. I have never been in one like it. There are many interesting rock/calcite formations. As usual, the OPW guide was excellent and very engaging.

Rock of Cashel

While in Kilkenny, we took a side trip to see the Rock of Cashel. The rock is an outcrop of limestone and their are ruins on top it. Cashel was the seat of the kings of Munster prior to the Norman invasion. The site has a round tower (these are unique to Ireland) built in the 1100s, High Cross and Romanesque Chapel, Gothic cathedral built in the 1200s , and 15th century Castle and the restored Hall of the Vicars Choral. There are two sarcophaguses in the ruins as well. There is also a cross on display that legend says if you can reach your arms around it, you won't have a toothache for the rest of your life.

We took a tour of the ruins of the site and as usual it was an excellent tour. I have to say, I am quite impressed with the quality of tours provided by the OPW. The tour guides seem to really know about the sites and be interested in Irish history.

Black Abbey

While in Kilkenny, we wandered around and happened upon the Black Abbey. It was founded in 1225 by the Earl of Prombroke. A tower was added in 1507. Inside, it was quite unique. Most churches are in the shape of a cross or a rectangle. This one was an "L" shape. It was still quite nice inside and has been well restored. While it was being restored, an alabaster statue of the Holy Trinity was found in a wall and is displayed in a wall today.

Kilkenny town

Kilkenny markets itself as a medieval town and we really like medieval towns. I love tall buildings with narrow passageways, preferably that wind around. Therefore, the idea of Kilkenny appealed to us and I wasn't disappointed. The city itself is wonderful (although pretty small). There are old buildings, ruins of buildings, and narrow streets. The only thing that I found a bit strange was that the pubs stopped serving food before dinner in the evening. I wanted pub grub one night but the pubs that we went to had all stopped serving food. However, we did find a couple nice places to have pints and just enjoy the day.

Since we felt we had seen the city in a day, it also served as a good base to see other things in the area. I have to say, it was really nice to have a car for the weekend and not have to worry about how to get to places and public transport schedules...

Kilkenny Castle

This weekend, we did a lot of sightseeing. We managed to get up for breakfast each morning and were usually out of the B&B by 10:30 AM. Usually, we aren't even awake by then on the weekends or when on holiday! Anyway, our first sight was the kilkenny castle.

The castle is set on beautiful grounds and a river. It is currently owned by the Office of Public Works (aka the government) and is being restored. Well, except the part that has been turned into a convention center. So, anyway, pictures aren't allowed on the tour and it was a guided tour, so no pictures of the inside. The rooms were decorated/restored to how they would have been when the Ormands were still living in it. When the government took the castle over, it was apparently in a serious state of disrepair. The building has been restored with a lot of attention given to the details. There is some original furniture and pieces that aren't original are frequently period pieces.

My favorite room was the last on the tour. It was a portrait room. It is a long room with very high ceilings. The ceilings were wood and painted/styled in such a way that it looked like it should be a Viking ship, not a castle ceiling.

All in all, it is definitely a worth while tour and better than some of the other castle tours we've been on. The guide seemed really enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Also, as an aside, if you are traveling to Ireland and into old buildings, I'd really recommend the Heritage Card. I think it is 21 Euros and gets you into a variety of sites owned by the Office of Public Works.

Long weekend

Yesterday was a bank holiday in Ireland. The October bank holiday to be precise. I have no idea what the purpose of the holiday is other than it is close to Halloween and it is about halfway between the August bank holiday and Christmas. Anyway, we decided that we needed to take advantage of the long weekend and hired (rented) a car and went to Kilkenny. While there, we stayed at the Laurels and John even booked one of the "deluxe" rooms. The place was a bit out of city centre but the town is small enough that it didn't really matter. Overall, it was a very good base for exploring and the rooms were comfortable. Ours had a whirlpool tub which was very nice for the muscles after a day of walking around. When we arrived in the room, I was very happy that the bed was really big. However, when we got into bed the first night, I felt an all too familiar feeling: the edge of a twin bed. A check later revealed that, yes, this was two twin beds bolted together, not a king sized bed.

Anyway, we did a lot of sightseeing during the weekend and those of you who are regular readers know that that means pictures. Lots of pictures. :) I am organizing them and will start posting soon...

Food festival

Two weeks ago there was an international food festival down in Marlay Park. We actually organized ourselves to head down there since the sun was actually out and we have been a bit "lazy" on the weekends. So, we hopped the bus and spent a couple hours wandering around and eating. On Saturdays, there is a market so we took a bit of a wander through that as well. We got me a nice big ceramic mug for my tea and hot chocolate.

Overall, we were pretty happy with the diversity of food. We did wonder, however, why Dublin got its own designation as a culture. See, the rest of the flags were names of countries. The U.S. stand had chocolate chip cookies and such. The Mexican stand had yummy Mexican food and salsa and other sauces to sell. It was actually through the Mexican stand that we found out about the festival because they are usually at the Saturday market that we go to get our salsa. There was even a sushi making class!

After we ate our fill, we wandered around the park a bit until it closed.

Baaa

One of R's and K's favorite parts of their trip to Ireland was the sheep that we encountered on the side of the road on our drive from Galway to Letterfreck. It was fun to see them wandering around on the side of the roads. It reminded me of Norway at times.

Kylemore Abby

On our last day on the west coast, we drove up the coast to through some "mountains" up to see Kylemore Abby. It is near Letterfreck and quite pretty. Kylemore castle was built 1867-1871 by Mitchell and Maragret Henry. The grounds have a Victorian walled garden, castle, and Gothic church. It set on a small lake in the mountain side which makes it quite picturesque. It became the home of the Irish Benedictine Nuns since 1920. The gardens are quite nice and it would be lovely to spend a good part of an afternoon there having a picnic enjoying the sun sitting on one of the many benches.