I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane....

With our time in Dublin nearly up there are always those last minute moments you want to relive. Simple things like just one more visit to the "Queen of Tarts", one last trip to the Cobblestone or one last bike ride. 3 months seems like a long time but time goes all too quickly!

On our last weekend in Dublin, it was time to sell our bikes.  We had previously asked whether the local bike shop was interested in buying our bikes and so it was just a formality in leaving them complete with bike locks and my WWII German war relic helmet. We then caught the bus into town for some last minute shopping.

With purchases in hand we had our last opportunity to visit the Queen of Tarts and partake in their delicious, sweet and moist carrot cake. We were not disappointed!

That evening we headed off to the Cobblestone to hear Dermot play. I love the traditional music of Ireland, the friendliness of the people and their ability to have a good time! After a Guinness or two ( or in my case a wine) we headed off to dinner with Dermot, Tara and Helen to Baritalia one of the first restaurants we had experienced in Dublin. Once again  we were not disappointed. As usual the food here and company was great. Although we would have the opportunity to catch up with Dermot in Rio and in the new year in Australia this was our last chance to farewell Tara and  Helen.

The following day, ignoring the weather forecast,  we decided to relive our previous experience of 2012 and go to Phoenix Park for a tandem bike ride. If only it was possible to ride a bike while holding an umbrella! While the ride started out ok, with us riding through the park at breakneck speed, past the President of Ireland's residence, stopping to watch the herd of fallow deer that inhabit the park and having a picnic in the grounds near the visitor centre, the heavens soon opened. Extremely wet and soggy we conceded defeat and returned our bikes to the hire place.

All that was left now when we returned to the apartment was some last minute cleaning and packing, and a last dinner at The Yacht.

And so it is time to sign off on my blog. We have had 14 weeks in Ireland and travels abroad. I have loved every minute of it and have seen and experienced some wonderful places and people. We head home via London, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago, a little fitter and with wonderful memories.

We look forward to seeing family and friends and saving up for another adventure!

Nobody Knows The Troubles I've Seen

I had mixed feelings about this weekend away. David and I were looking forward to seeing the sights of the North with Kath and Mick yet knew that this would be the last touring of Ireland we would do. 

We set off on Thursday afternoon after David got home from work to pick up the hire car that was to take us to Belfast and around the coast to Derry in Northern Ireland and further on to County Donegal.

Our first stop was in Belfast, in accommodation that overlooked the water and towards the Titanic Experience. The first challenge we faced was finding our way into the apartment block. We entered into one apartment block, to find the reception was actually located in a different complex.  Once we had found reception and checked in, it was back to the original apartment block and up to the ninth floor to our apartment.  We settled in and then were soon off into town for dinner.

We had a full day planned for Friday. David was off to give a talk at the University of Ulster while Mick, Kath and myself were heading firstly to the Titanic Experience. This was a great exhibit. Although based around the Titanic and its construction by the White Star Line in 1911 and its subsequent demise, it also highlighted Northern Ireland's boom in engineering, ship building and linen making in the early 20th century.

We had an hour to wait between this and our Black Taxi Tour so we headed off for something to eat at a nearby cafe. The Dock Cafe operates on an honesty system where you pay what you believe your meal is worth. I had read up on this cafe and had found that it had an interesting philosophy. Established by Chris Bennett, the chaplain of the dock, this cafe was created to bring a new kind of church to the people. It offered a place for prayer and reflection but was equally a place for people to come together in a social context and just take some time to sit. We found it to be a thriving venue with people of all ages. Obviously the locals knew of its existence yet others, like us, happened to stumble upon it and enjoy its eclectic style and vibrancy. 

The Peace Wall

We were to be picked up by our Black taxi guide under the "ic" of "Titanic" for our Black Taxi Tour of the political areas of Belfast. Our tour guide was a lively character who wanted to know how Mick was fortunate enough to have two women! He kept us entertained and could tell a good yarn. In fact, I'm not sure if what he had to tell us was the truth or what he thought tourists wanted to hear about the "troubles" and Northern Ireland. I had been around Belfast on our visit in 2012 and found nothing had really changed in regard to the peace wall and heard similar rhetoric about peace.

It was therefore poignant to read this quote by Chris Bennett, the founder of the Dock Cafe who would like to see a new Belfast. "Belfast has been the example of the danger that religion can bring. How wonderful instead to be an example of the healing of faith."

Mick cleaning the floor
in Crumlin Road Goal

Wall mural in Belfast

After our tour and lunch we headed off to Crumlin Road Gaol where we toured various parts of the gaol including the cells of the condemned and execution cells, gaining some insight into the political segregation. We met David after our tour and walked around the town before having dinner.

We awoke the next morning to a cold and wet Belfast and a severe weather warning. We were never sure what happened to this weather warning but it never eventuated and in fact the morning cleared to a lovely day!  David had been told of the beauty of Glenarrif Forest so it was to be our first stop. We parked at Laragh Lodge where we ate some delicious scones before setting off on a 45 minute walk in the lush forest with the clover and ferns still glistening from the recent rains and beside waterfalls rushing over the rocks down through the valley. The only downside was finding that someone had dented the hire car on our return.

David had also heard about the Dark Hedges. Intrigued by the name, we travelled the Irish country roads in search of this tunnel of trees seen in the Game of Thrones. The gnarled trunks of the trees and branches reached up to form a canopy over the road but were not as dark as we had expected and the name leads you to believe.

From here it was on to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. A breezy walk along the coast took us to the bridge. It was first erected many years ago by salmon fishermen to join the small island of Carrickarede to the mainland. It spans the two areas 30 m above the water and had amazing views in the distance along the coast and over to the Mull of Kintyre on the Scottish coast.

Our last stop for the day was the Giants Causeway. After paying 9 euros each to enter through the Discovery Centre (to later find out that it is actually free to visit the causeway alone) we walked down the road with the view of a beautiful rainbow in the distance, to this UNESCO World Heritage site, of polygonal shaped blocks sitting on the waters edge. It is described as " magnificent and mysterious" and was certainly an interesting place to visit.

So after a full day of travelling and taking in the sights in what you should probably take 4 days to do, we settled into our B&B in Derry. It has been known when I have travelled with Kath and Mick in the past that I have got the accommodation with the disabled shower - a shower where there is no lip to contain the water and consequently water goes everywhere with seemingly little going down the drain. We were given our two rooms with each of us feeling we had scored badly gaining the disabled shower! As it turned out both our showers were either for the disabled or that was the room design! ( I suspect the latter given there was a flight of stairs to ascend to the rooms.)

Derry or Londonderry as it is officially known is a walled city on the River Foyle. On Sunday morning, we walked the walls with its canons and gun placements, taking in the view and skirting the German tourists who walked on mass to every vantage point we seemed to be. The city was very quiet, being a weekend, with the only noise (apart from the tourists) being the tolling of the bells for matins. The walls were broader than others we had seen with notice boards for David and Mick to read about every aspect of the history of this area. Once having circled the city, we walked towards the Peace Bridge. It was a curved pedestrian bridge which spanned the river. Colourful flower boxes lined the banks and it was here we noticed the first leaves of autumn in shades of red and golds on the ground in the park.

Earlier this year, Mick and I had both read in the Sydney Morning Herald about a pub with a view in Donegal. Neither of us could remember its name or where exactly it was but a search on the Internet (while we waited for Rebecca to search Mick's study at home for the article), came up with a different pub called The Beachcomber Bar at Rathmullen, North Donegal. It boasted the best beer garden with a view and indeed had a fantastic view over Lough Swilley and the Inishowen Peninsula. Mick and I ate a huge bowl of mussels for lunch.

Mussels and a Sav, now that is a great way to spend a late Sunday lunch!

After a walk along the beach, little did we know, we were heading towards one of the funnier moments of the trip. Chief navigator on this leg of the journey was David who doesn't always believe the Tom Tom knows best and is always interested in the alternative route! In fairness I should also remark that he had found reference to the Glenfries Harvest Festival so it was through Glenfries we were to travel. As we approached the town there appeared to be a traffic delay and we patiently sat in the queue wondering what the hold up was. In actual fact we were in the queue for the parade floats and felt if only we were armed with some Australian memorabilia could easily have pulled off the Australian contingent in the Gelnfries Harvest Festival Parade!

Not one to miss a good parade, we parked the car and walked towards the town, to the parade of floats and bands. A man also caught in the queue just got out of his car which was double parked, locked it up and left it with all the floats blocked in behind it. Some highlights were the "turf no hay" float, the "Tazetta Mink Farm" float, "Leo's Bog Drying Service" float and the tractors all decorated with hand made signs on bits of cardboard. We were amused by the man who halfway through the parade decided to drive his car which had been parked by the side of the road, through the parade in the opposite direction as it was processing through the street. 

Having decided to push on towards Donegal, David found an alternate route around the town. We were driving a very narrow back road, obviously used only by local residents. Once again we encountered a road block only to find the parade had turned around and was going back up the street again. A half hour extra took us back on route to Donegal.

A truly funny Irish experience! 

Exhausted by our day of travelling and arriving later than planned we arrived at our B&B in Donegal. We had previously indicated in our booking request that we would arrive earlier in the day. Consequently we were gently reprimanded by the manager for arriving late! Despite this, the very serious manager ( I would think she is probably a control freak) directed us to our rooms (with specific instructions about the use of keys ) and later greeted us warmly for dinner at the restaurant.

Donegal is a lovely town, bigger than I expected, with its confusing history about Red Hugh! He was the King of County Donegal who led a rebellion against the English government from 1593-1602. We saw multiple references to Red Hugh with conflicting dates to add to our confusion. As it turned out there were a family of Red Hugh's so our confusion was settled and history restored! We looked around Donegal Castle and the remains of the friary before moving on towards our lunch stop at Smugglers Creek Pub.

We were fortunate that Rebecca had found the newspaper article as this was the pub we had been searching for. It was lovely and certainly did sell tasty oysters and seafood chowder as the article suggested.

The view looked over the beach where you would have needed to walk quite a distance to reach the water as the tide was so low. We watched the paddle boarders practising their skills braving the cold temperatures as we sat in the warmth of the pub with old timber seating and large glass windows to take in the view.

Dermot, David's colleague from Dublin City University, had offered us his house in Carrick for a night. Away from the main tourist route we were looking forward to seeing this North west area of Ireland. With explicit directions we found our way to this small village and after a quick drop off of bags headed to the Cliffs at Slieve League. These wind swept cliffs were spectacular, probably the best we have seen and for once there was no admission to a Discovery Centre or parking lot and consequently few tourists. We climbed to the top where you could stand on the edge of the cliff face with huge sheer drops to the wild Atlantic below. One cliff top led onto another and on the other side of the mountain small white houses set amongst farming land could be seen like dots in the valley far below.


Invigorated by our walk we returned to Carrick and took a short walk to the local pubs for dinner and music. We joined the locals for dinner at the Siabh Liag pub, then moved to the pub across the road for an evening of 70's Irish music with Billy Fury. It was a very enjoyable evening before our final day and drive back to Dublin.

Before finally heading back to Dublin we drove to Glencolumbkille. This is a farming area where woolly sheep wander the roads with few fences to contain them. It's an area known for its Neolithic markings and wild countryside. Tractors manoeuvred themselves through the narrow lanes and there was almost a feel of a primitive existence with farmers going about their daily life. I loved this area with its remoteness and white stone houses! 

It was a great 5 days away with great company, (thanks Mick and Kath) and an area of Ireland that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I am only left to announce the MAD K AWARDS 2015 as voted by Mick, Anne, David and Kath:

Best pub with a view... Smugglers Creek Hotel.

Best Meal ... all of them but the mussels and oysters were hard to beat.

Best Accommodation ... Too hard to pick they were all lovely and all had something that made us laugh (Apple Apartments - finding the entrance was a challenge, Derry - loved the disabled shower, Donegal - got in trouble from the owner for arriving late).

Best Drink ... Guinness and Sav Blanc.

Most Humorous Moment ... Accidentally joining the queue for the Harvest Festival parade in the car.

Best Entertainment ... The Central Bar, Carrick for Irish 70's music.

Best Tourist Experience ... Slieve League for an amazing walk and view of the coast and it was free to visit!

Most Annoying trait ... David and Mick reading every information board about the history of every single place we visited and if there wasn't an information board  looking up the information on their phones and reading it out loud to us.

Best driver and navigator ... David and Mick (as voted by themselves).

Best Travel Sweet ... Werther's original.

Eiffel Good (I Feel Good)

It is so hard to describe Paris.  There are the notable and famous city landmarks - the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, the history, the bridges, the cuisine so beautifully presented, the romantic language and the excitement of being in the City of Romance.  On the other hand, there are beggars, graffiti, constant warnings about pickpockets, traffic, the homeless and litter.  I'm so glad that I have been to Paris but I'm not sure that I can say its the best place I have been.

We arrived at our apartment in the Marais district in the 11th arrondissement at midday where we were met by Bruno.  I would describe the decor of this quirky apartment where we were to stay for the next 3 nights as "warehouse chic with zebra embellishments".  The toilet was bright red and in a cupboard beside the front door, the shower was in the bedroom and the front door was 15 cm thick with 10 locks.  There were 2 security doors with different codes to get into the apartment complex.  I was not sure with all this security whether I felt safe or nervous.  The streets surrounding the apartment were full of wholesale clothes boutiques and boulangeries, charcuteries and patisseries. We stocked up on breakfast supplies, had a baguette and pastry for lunch, and then set off to explore Paris!

A 40 minute walk had us in the vicinity of Notre Dame where we purchased a "Hop On, Hop Off" bus ticket and headed off on the 'classic' route.  It was like being at a tennis match - Lourve on the right, palace on the left, museum on the right, ..........

So much to see, so much history, so much traffic, so many people!

Our plan was to head towards Sacré Coeur for mass. We walked up the steep hill and steps (there are always steps!) of Montmartre. Our path took us up the hill slightly past the church and then it was a short downhill walk to the front of the cathedral. It was a little disconcerting having noisy crowds circling and viewing the cathedral while mass was on. Equally as off-putting were the crowds of tourists sitting on the front steps drinking Heineken much to the delight of the street vendors selling it, and the other vendors who grabbed your wrist (as happened to me) to put a braided bracelet on your arm then demand money. This made me feel very uneasy and not what I was expecting from Paris!

Dinner that evening at the Eiffel Tower, however, was amazing. It was an early birthday present for me and a late one for David from Mum and Bruce. The lift took us to the first level where we were seated and given a glass of champagne. It was hard to make a choice from the selection of food on the menu and it was all so beautifully presented. A photographer roamed amongst the diners and took photos - gazing into each others eyes, holding hands, resting your chin on your hands looking pensive, together, individually etc etc. We made a deal with the table next to us.."you take our photo and we'll take yours". The result was just as good. The evening saw one proposal and three birthdays where the staff clapped their approval at each event. After dinner, we strolled back through the Trocadero where we watched the couples ballroom dancing in the glow of the evening. We also watched the tower twinkle like stars on the hour and late into the evening made our way back to the apartment. It was a wonderful evening and memory of Paris!

The next morning saw us back at the Eiffel Tower. Our only option, given the queue, was to climb the 669 steps to the 2nd floor viewing level. We overtook the man walking his toddler up the stairs and were amazed by the people pushing prams around. We managed the compulsory selfies and took in the fantastic view from each side of the tower before descending to the crowds below. 

We once again used the "hop on, hop off" bus to get ourselves around this huge city. We were wanting to head back to Montmartre for lunch. We got off at the closest stop to our lunch destination and walked up the steep hill again past cafes and boutiques. The square at Place de Tertre was surrounded by artists painting scenes of Paris and was alive with people lunching at the footpath cafes so we found a cafe in the centre of Montmartre a few streets away. We happily ate our lunch while watching the passing crowds and the roaming artists trying to convince tourists to have their portraits sketched, as well as taking in the quaint scene of the narrow streets and old buildings. Finally we headed off back towards the bus, past signs describing the history of many of the famous artists like Van Gogh who have at some time made Montmartre their home.

Our dinner that night was at a little restaurant called "Le Petit Prince de Paris". This restaurant, in the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank, was originally a tavern in 1450. It had a decor of wild and bright colours with low lighting and tables arranged close enough to hear the conversations of everyone around you. We actually had a lovely meal but the night was full of dramas for the new young waiter who was trying to find his feet in this busy restaurant. After taking our order, we had nearly consumed a bottle of wine before any food arrived, the people next to us received our bill and the American lady behind us, who loudly voiced her opinion on everything, disagreed with their bill and disputed their order. The poor young waiter! He ran up and down the stairs at a great pace with dishes precariously balanced and looked like he was unlikely to finish the week! 

On our final day in Paris, David was to meet Les Dutton, a colleague from Philadelphia University, who is in Paris on 12 months sabbatical. We met Les at Notre Dame, where David left me to spend a few hours wandering the cathedral and taking a river cruise while he went to Les' office at the Sorbonne.



Notre Dame, one of the largest and most famous cathedrals on the River Seine was lovely with its rose stained-glass windows. The gardens surrounding it were equally as beautiful and contained a statue of St John Paul II in a garden with flowers in all shades of blue. The square in front of the cathedral was full of people, including armed guards, patrolling and watching the crowd.

I enjoyed the peace of the river cruise, away from the crowds and getting the perspective of the city from the top deck. The cruise did a loop from Notre Dame along one side of the Ile de la Cite, the island Notre Dame is on, to the Eiffel Tower and back along the other side, passing under numerous bridges and past many boats moored along the river banks. 

When David returned from his meeting, we headed off to see Sainte Chapelle, the Gothic chapel behind Notre Dame only to be greeted by a very long queue.  So we then decided to go to the Musée d'Orsay, one of the best Impressionist galleries in the world. Once again we were faced with a huge queue, we decided to change our plan and head off on the Metro to the Champs Elysee for some window shopping.

While I was never brave enough to tackle the Metro system on my own, I enjoyed riding the train network. Buskers would regularly roam the carriages and entertain the commuters. There were also people walking the length of the carriages preaching; at least that was what we presumed that they were doing. It was interesting watching the body language of the people on the train when this happened, as they tried to immerse themselves in their book or read their phones so not to make eye contact.

As we walked towards the Metro from the Musée d'Orsay, we saw a pedicab, one of those three wheeled tourist bikes with a poor rider who pedals like crazy to get you where you want to go. Although this is something we would normally avoid, for some reason, without a moments hesitation we climbed on board and with lots of laughter were taken around the Place de la Concorde, amongst buses, police cars with sirens blaring and crazy traffic up the Champs Elysee towards L'Arc de Triomphe. It sure beat the Metro!
 

 

We wandered the Champs Elysee past the cafes and theatres, chain stores, boutiques, car showrooms and into arcades. We saw high end shoe shops where a pair of shoes could set you back over 5000 Euros and clothing stores where the store owner looked as unusual as the clothes he was selling. Having had enough of all things weird and wonderful and feeling in need of some afternoon tea we headed off in search of crepes and coffee. So we sat beside the Seine on the footpath outside the cafe and fulfilled one of my things-to-do in Paris.

Dinner that night, our final night in Paris, was at a restaurant in the Bastille area, with Les and his wife Julia. We ate oysters, the largest I have ever seen, fish perfectly cooked, and a selection of mouth-watering deserts from a tasting plate, and drank a lovely crisp French Chablis. It was a great night with great company and a perfect way to end our Paris sojourn.

Only one day back in Dublin before we are off to explore Northern Ireland.  Au revoir!!

I Can See Cleary Now The Rain Has Gone

Statues in Waterford!

When we had visited Dublin 3 years ago, I had seen photos of Kinsale (the start of The Wild Atlantic Way) with its fishing boats and brightly painted buildings along the water front. It was one place I wanted to make sure we visited on this trip.

Kath and Mick Cleary had arrived earlier in the week and and the plan was to meet up with them in Kinsale on their tour of southern Ireland before moving on to the Ring of Kerry for a weekend together. So on Thursday afternoon, David and I travelled to Waterford on route to Kinsale. We were very disappointed in Waterford. The town lacked the lustre of other towns we had visited around Ireland and although it is Ireland's oldest city, the history of the town did not appear to have been maintained as in other towns.

In comparison, I loved Kinsale, a picturesque town on the Bandon River estuary with numerous sailing boats moored in its harbour, known not only for its significant part in Irish history but also its culinary delights. We had a beautiful meal at "Crackpots", which specialised in seafood, while being entertained by an accomplished pianist. As the evening moved on, two singers added to the entertainment, singing well known musical and popular songs - certainly not the style we had previously experienced around Dublin but adding nonetheless to a wonderful evening.

Dinner at Crackpots

Breakfast the following morning at the hotel, was in a room that took in the view of the tranquil marina and harbour. We were also entertained by two hotel guests who obviously didn't think they could be seen (or just didn't care) as they prepared for their day in their hotel room opposite.

Kinsale

We spent the morning in the town, walking through the streets with their vivid painted buildings, flowers in pots and window baskets. We stopped to take in the view of the harbour where huge fish were clearly visible, swimming in the shallows. 

At Kinsale harbour

Kinsale

We left Kinsale on a sunny morning and drove on to Charles Fort,  situated on the headland. This huge star-shaped fort sits on the water's edge and was prominent in the Seige of Kinsale in 1601. We roamed around the ruins in blustery winds, taking in the history and lapping up the sunshine.

Charles Fort

Charles Fort

At this point, Kath and Mick decided to head towards Killarney before meeting us at our overnight accommodation at Portmagee on the Ring of Kerry and we set off around the Ring of Kerry. The winding roads took in the view, sometimes at water level and at other times from high up overlooking spectacular cliffs to the choppy water far below. You could often see calm inlets with many boats moored and houses dotted on the hills away from civilisation. Sheep roamed the steep hills and small towns came and disappeared equally as quickly as we travelled through them, all with colourful flowers and signs indicating whether they had been a tidy town winner.

Sculpture at The Ewe Experience

David had seen reference to "The Ewe Experience" in one of the guide books listing the "must do" attractions in County Cork. Intrigued by the description, we stopped on route to Portmagee to see what it was all about. It was actually the private home and gardens of an artist and was described as an "interpretive sculpture garden". It was set amongst waterfalls and had whimsical creations of all shapes and sizes, along with narratives about the art. Although a quick stop, it was also a welcome break from the winding roads and an enjoyable experience.

Portmagee

Our overnight accommodation was on Valencia Island, across the bridge from the town of Portmagee. The view from the B&B was spectacular - looking towards the town and marina with the hills in the background. Thankfully the weather was in our favour and we were able to look towards the calm waters, like glass, reflecting the colourful buildings and surrounding hills.  Our main reason for coming to Portmagee was to go to the Skellig Islands. This World Heritage Site is 12 km off shore and the opportunity to get there and to climb the larger of the Skelligs (Skellig Michael) is unpredictable because of the winds in the area. Over half the trips had been cancelled this summer, however we were so fortunate that the winds were mild and the sea relatively calm, and the trip was able to go ahead.

Skellig Michael

At the monastery on Skellig Michael

Descending from the monastery.

Arriving at the port on Saturday morning, we were directed to a small boat that held a maximum of 12. After donning the wet weather gear that we were advised was necessary, we set off on the hour long voyage out to these islands of rock that rise impressively 714 feet out of the sea.
The boat was able to land temporarily so everyone could quickly disembark before we set off along the path towards the start of the trail that takes you up 618 steps to beehive dome structures where monks once lived. Before climbing the steps, we were given warnings by a guide about the dangers of the climb and the deaths in the past. We were not deterred and made it up to the top, up small, steep stone stairs, although some in our group turned back. The amazing view from the top and the remoteness had us wondering how the monks were able to make it out to this island let alone live there in the 6th century. Puffins also inhabit the island during the Puffin season and it is also the breeding ground for lots of sea birds. The steps back down towards the boat were probably more scary than the trip up. A shower of rain made us mindful of our footing. As we neared the boat, we saw dolphins swimming in the waters. A truly amazing experience!

Little Skellig

On our boat trip back to Portmagee, we were taken around the smaller of the Skelligs, Little Skellig. This island is covered in birds nesting on its rugged faces and outcrops. It is home to the world's second largest colony of gannets, over 23,000 pairs nesting on every available ledge.

At Ballinskellig Castle

After returning to the mainland and having a late lunch, we drove the Skellig Ring scenic drive. We got a view of the Skellig Islands, cliff faces and beaches and wandered through Ballinskelligs Abbey and Castle. The castle is slowly being eroded away by the tide and a sea wall had been constructed to preserve the abbey with its old graves.

Dinner at The Point

We returned to our accommodation to get ready for dinner. We had a fantastic seafood dinner at "The Point". This is near the nearby town of Cahersiveen, a ferry ride across from Valencia Island to the mainland. 

Cahir Castle

Our weekend with Kath and Mick was coming to an end. They continued on their travels to Dingle and Galway while David and I headed off to Kilkenny. It was a quick overnight stop before we returned to Dublin. On route, we stopped in at Cahir in County Tipperary, which has one of the largest castles in Ireland. We had a quick look around the castle before continuing on to Kilkenny. After arriving in Kilkenny and checking in to our hotel we took off to mass before a look around the town.We walked around Kilkenny Castle and saw a small part of its expansive gardens overlooking the River Nore, walked the main street with its historical buildings and pubs and took in the sounds of Irish music at night. We particularly enjoyed listening to "The Kilkenny's" in Lanigans Pub before the local youth took over the place.

Kilkenny Castle

Back in Dublin for the rest of the week before we head off for a few nights in Paris!