Kilkenny and Dublin (or at least the traffic)

I am very thankful that we didn't get a lot of rain on the trip. A number of mornings it would start out raining, but by the time we arrived at our first destination, the rain stopped. It made touring much more enjoyable.

Tuesday was Kilkenny and the beginnings of Dublin. After getting lost again, because Irish traffic signs are just not clear enough, we eventually found St. Canice's Cathedral. Ky and Steph visited this cathedral in the summer, and tell funny stories of trying to reach the top. Being an adrenaline junkie, I was quite excited to get to climb to the top. We get there, and the tower is closed for the winter season! Much disappointment ensued, and I spent a great deal of time gazing longingly at the tower, trying to figure out how to get past the locked door. These towers are really cool. The door is about 10 feet off the ground and were likely used to protect the church's valuable if there was a raid... which Irish history is full of.

Found a place to park, did a little shopping, and then visited Kilkenny Castle and the Butler House. There was a really neat art exhibit at the Butler house, which features works of art by Irish artists. My favourite was Sasha Sykes, and I really admired her use of forest floor gatherings and acrylic.

Because of the 2 hour lunch break common in Ireland, we had to wait a really long time to tour Kilkenny Castle. Another one that was first built in the 1100s, it has hosted the likes of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and too many dukes, earls and other noblity. It was gifted to the town of Kilkenny by the last owner in the 1930s for a handsome sum of 50 pounds.

The tour was only about 1/2 of what it was in the summer. While doing some minor renos in the bedrooms in the late summer, they uncovered a bunch of work that needed to be done, and shut that part of the tour down. But, the castle was really neat; all done up in 19th century furnishings and art.

Ky, we found this sign for you.

After Kilkenny castle, we, once again, got lost. This time I made a wrong turn in an effort to get a picture of a cute guy, and ended up hopelessly lost for 30 mins.

Then it was off to Dublin. We got to the edge of the city around 5, and then spent the next 1.5 hours in stop and go traffic trying to get to our hostel in Temple Bar. Sigh, big cities and their stupid wrong-way, left-sided traffic. By the time we checked in, and wandered around a bit, we were too tired to do anything be go to bed.

In an effort to save a couple euro, we opted for a 10-bed mixed dorm room. It was mostly men, and not even cute ones. I slept great. I've been having trouble with my ears getting plugged, and its especially bad at night, so I rarely hear anything. Poor Steph though is a light sleeper, and was treated to a symphony of snoring. At one point, they were not only snoring in unison, but one would start, and the other would finish the snore on the other side of the room. Wish we had recorded it. Plus her bed was super tilted. In the morning, we drew the broken bed to their attention and they moved us to an all-girls room down the hall. No extra charge.