In one Fell Swoop--Caution, picture heavy post!
In the interest of completing this series, here is our final week in Ireland in one huge post. There's not as much commentary as I would normally provide, but if you want more details about anything, just ask! Also, if you go to my flickr site, there are a ton of notes on the pictures themselves (as well as a WHOLE BUNCH more pictures!).
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The day we went to Bunratty Castle, we had hoped to stay for the Corn Barn Irish Night--a gathering with song, dance, home cooked food, and story telling. They also have a banquet at the castle, but we thought that would be a little stuffier or formal or something.
Anyway, we couldn't get into the Corn Barn, it was booked full, but there had been a cancellation at the Banquet, so the hostess pulled us in at the Corn Barn price (which secretly made me very happy, because that's what I had wanted to do originally anyway). The food was served on wooden trenchers and the only utensils were knives. It was a wonderfully fun experience, but we had to run out about 20 minutes before the end so we wouldn't miss our bus home.
The next morning, Wednesday July 4th, we headed back to Dublin on the train, caught another train into Kilkenny, had a nice (albeit late) supper, took a walk, shared a platter of fruit, cheese, and chocolate, then went to bed--we sort of forgot it was the 4th of July. Oops.
The first time I went to Kilkenny was about 8 years ago; I was so excited to bring my mom to this beautiful and interesting Medieval city. It would be an understatement to say it's changed a bit in the last 8 years. It's nothing like it used to be, and if there weren't certain landmarks, I would have wondered if we were even in the right place. But now we've done it, so I'll never have to feel like we might have missed something, and I'll also never have to go back there again.
The landmark places, such as the Rothe House (courtyard pictured just below) made the trip worthwhile:
Ah, and this picture, Sloth, is just for you!
Here is the final Kilkenny landmark--St. Canice's Cathedral, just on the outskirts of town.
The parish chapel--the oldest part of the building--is still reguilarly used for services and private prayers. The first time I visited the cathedral, I prayed here. Shortly after going home, I got myself an Emily.
After the Cathedral tour, we hopped on the train again and headed back to Dublin where we checked into our hotel, walked down the street for some pub grub, then hit the hay. Vacationing is hard work!
On Friday morning, we had a lazy breakfast, made our way into town, and grabbed a half-day bus tour to Avoca and Glendalough.
This is the Avonmore River in Avoca (also known as Ballykissangel). We had lunch at the Avoca Weavers Workshop. It was so good, we bought the cookbook (and I bet not many people say that about Irish cooking!).
Glendalough means "valley of the two lakes"; it's the legendary home of St. Kevin
It makes me want to simultaneously laugh and cry. It overwhelms my emotions and I don’t know how to respond.
It rained all day long, but even that couldn't dampen the emotions this place evokes. It did keep the tourists at bay though, and that was nice.
On our seventh day, we rested. (I figure we were in good company.) In the afternoon/evening, we headed downtown (Dublin, remember?). It was only a tiny bit crowded (!)
Dublin in the evening—shopping center area.
We toured more of Dublin on Sunday
The 1916 Easter Uprising left a bullet-hole in this poor angel's boob.
Sorry girls—I tried!
Monday, our last full day in Ireland, we spent touring the area North of Dublin. First we went to Melifont Abbey. It was founded in the 1140s, based on French design of Clairvaux, and was the first Cistercian Abbey in Ireland. Within 30 years of its founding, the Norman invasion of Ireland began (1169).
The next stop was Monasterboice (which looks like "Mon-aster-boice", but is actually pronounced "monster-boice"). This site is still used as a graveyard; some family plots are so old the headstones start in Gaelic, move to Latin, and then are written in English.
On these carved crosses, one side depicts all the major stories of the Old Testament, while the other shows the New Testament.
Finally, we ended up at New Grange--the pinacle of our vacation:
(Fibers, finally--but they're not for sale!)
(Dog hair? Seriously? Hmmm, I'm not sure about that...)
On the morning we left Ireland, we finally managed to find a wool shop that was open. I ran in and bought some size one needles for my travel-home project (my bamboo set had broken sometime during the trip). Girls, you'll probably be as disappointed as I was to hear that it wasn't all that impressive. That's probably a good thing though, as I had a cab waiting outside the door with his motor running!
************
The day we went to Bunratty Castle, we had hoped to stay for the Corn Barn Irish Night--a gathering with song, dance, home cooked food, and story telling. They also have a banquet at the castle, but we thought that would be a little stuffier or formal or something.
Anyway, we couldn't get into the Corn Barn, it was booked full, but there had been a cancellation at the Banquet, so the hostess pulled us in at the Corn Barn price (which secretly made me very happy, because that's what I had wanted to do originally anyway). The food was served on wooden trenchers and the only utensils were knives. It was a wonderfully fun experience, but we had to run out about 20 minutes before the end so we wouldn't miss our bus home.
The next morning, Wednesday July 4th, we headed back to Dublin on the train, caught another train into Kilkenny, had a nice (albeit late) supper, took a walk, shared a platter of fruit, cheese, and chocolate, then went to bed--we sort of forgot it was the 4th of July. Oops.
The first time I went to Kilkenny was about 8 years ago; I was so excited to bring my mom to this beautiful and interesting Medieval city. It would be an understatement to say it's changed a bit in the last 8 years. It's nothing like it used to be, and if there weren't certain landmarks, I would have wondered if we were even in the right place. But now we've done it, so I'll never have to feel like we might have missed something, and I'll also never have to go back there again.
The landmark places, such as the Rothe House (courtyard pictured just below) made the trip worthwhile:
Ah, and this picture, Sloth, is just for you!
Here is the final Kilkenny landmark--St. Canice's Cathedral, just on the outskirts of town.
The parish chapel--the oldest part of the building--is still reguilarly used for services and private prayers. The first time I visited the cathedral, I prayed here. Shortly after going home, I got myself an Emily.
After the Cathedral tour, we hopped on the train again and headed back to Dublin where we checked into our hotel, walked down the street for some pub grub, then hit the hay. Vacationing is hard work!
On Friday morning, we had a lazy breakfast, made our way into town, and grabbed a half-day bus tour to Avoca and Glendalough.
This is the Avonmore River in Avoca (also known as Ballykissangel). We had lunch at the Avoca Weavers Workshop. It was so good, we bought the cookbook (and I bet not many people say that about Irish cooking!).
Glendalough means "valley of the two lakes"; it's the legendary home of St. Kevin
It makes me want to simultaneously laugh and cry. It overwhelms my emotions and I don’t know how to respond.
It rained all day long, but even that couldn't dampen the emotions this place evokes. It did keep the tourists at bay though, and that was nice.
On our seventh day, we rested. (I figure we were in good company.) In the afternoon/evening, we headed downtown (Dublin, remember?). It was only a tiny bit crowded (!)
Dublin in the evening—shopping center area.
We toured more of Dublin on Sunday
The 1916 Easter Uprising left a bullet-hole in this poor angel's boob.
Sorry girls—I tried!
Monday, our last full day in Ireland, we spent touring the area North of Dublin. First we went to Melifont Abbey. It was founded in the 1140s, based on French design of Clairvaux, and was the first Cistercian Abbey in Ireland. Within 30 years of its founding, the Norman invasion of Ireland began (1169).
The next stop was Monasterboice (which looks like "Mon-aster-boice", but is actually pronounced "monster-boice"). This site is still used as a graveyard; some family plots are so old the headstones start in Gaelic, move to Latin, and then are written in English.
On these carved crosses, one side depicts all the major stories of the Old Testament, while the other shows the New Testament.
Finally, we ended up at New Grange--the pinacle of our vacation:
(Fibers, finally--but they're not for sale!)
(Dog hair? Seriously? Hmmm, I'm not sure about that...)
On the morning we left Ireland, we finally managed to find a wool shop that was open. I ran in and bought some size one needles for my travel-home project (my bamboo set had broken sometime during the trip). Girls, you'll probably be as disappointed as I was to hear that it wasn't all that impressive. That's probably a good thing though, as I had a cab waiting outside the door with his motor running!
posted by Aimee at
1:15 PM
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