Ireland Day 8 Kilkenny

Location: Kilkenny
B&B: Glendine House
Attractions: St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny Castle, The Hole in the Wall
Drink of Choice: Gin & Tonic with Cucumber and Pepper

Alan (our host) made us a great breakfast. Shane had the full Irish breakfast, Jill the scrambled eggs, mushrooms and sausage. We then took the car into town and headed straight for Canice’s Cathedral, which we heard by many was pretty spectacular. We looked around a bit, checking out the headstones that were scattered around the property and the amazing architecture. Then we climbed the round tower. We had to squeeze through small openings as we climbed a series of ladders inside what felt like a narrow silo. If there were people trying to get down, it made for a very intimate space swap. But it was worth it when we reached the top. The view was incredible. We could see the entire city from above along with all the old buildings.

Our next adventure was to be the Kilkenny Castle. We walked there from the Cathedral, plotting our path using our minds eye based from the view we had from above the city. We walked in and started looking around the court yard and noticed a video playing in one of the side towers. It discussed the castle’s history, the people that owned it in the 1200’s, and all of the updates that took place on the castle over the years. On the way after watching the video, we decided not to go into the castle and instead walked around the market across the street and purchased some olives as a snack.

We heard there was a unique bar called The Hole in the Wall and sought it out for an Irish Coffee. The bar lived up to its name. It was pretty much a closet sized bar with a few outdoor sitting areas. The coffee was good. Once we got a taste for some booze, we decided to have some more. We visited the Brewery Corner and tried a few micro brews and some Gin.

Shem’s was our next pub stop, where we talked politics with the bartender for quite some time. We started a mission to find Lanigan’s Bar, where there was to be a gentleman doing Irish dancing. We found a place called the Playwright and had a light supper – garlic bread and a Caesar salad. In looking for Lanigan’s we stopped at Paris Texas and enjoyed a bit of live music. We ended up back at Kytlers Inn again and used their wifi to locate Lanigan’s. There was more live music and when an Irish acoustic version of Uptown Funk was played, we decided to show Ireland how us Americans like to move on a dance floor. After a few other songs, the Irish dancer showed us his moves. Dude can move!

On the way home, we decided to get second supper from Apache Pizza. Its a take away style restaurant similar to Domino’s. Our choice was the Geronimo: Pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and sweet corn. It was delish!