Mike demonstrates the hurley

Gonna kill THIS one!

At last we had the chance for a full Irish breakfast, which was included with our room. Eggs, bacon, mushrooms, sausage, toast, tomatoes, and beans, of course, were all available in a nice buffet, as well as fruit and pastries. We didn’t want to face the blood sausage pudding in the morning, but we each partook of many of the choices. That’s enough to get one easily through to dinner.

We hit the streets of Kilkenny and wandered up the Medieval Mile, a quaint winding street that runs from Kilkenny Castle to St. Canice’s Cathedral. It is lined with shops and restaurants and has several intriguing alleys leading off the Main Street. As we neared the cathedral, Tami noticed people standing on top of a tall stone tower that seemed to be next to the cathedral. Tami loves to climb towers! So we headed to the tower and sure enough, it was right next to the cathedral. While the cathedral dates to the 13th century, the tower was built by monks in the 9th century. How could we resist?

The Medieval Mile

Young hurlers

School girls

Church window

Unearthed during restoration

The tower is 30 meters high, but very narrow, and we had to wait a bit for our turn. Access to the top is via a series of wooden ladders that become steeper as you go up. There’s not much room for getting around people going the other direction. The final four steps are on the original stone spiral steps, and at that point the tower is so narrow that the steps are tiny and the rise is quite high. There is no graceful way to take those last few steps, but we hauled our newly fattened butts through the opening and marveled at the view from the minuscule top of the tower. A grand panorama of the town, castle, churches, and countryside was laid out before us and was well worth the climb.

Cathedral and tower

Mike is coming up

View from the top back towards the castle

Next, it was time to hurl! Julie had discovered that we could take a hurling lesson in the afternoon, so off we went to learn about and practice this sport that has prehistoric roots and dates back 4000 years. The Irish are passionate about it and the young fellow who taught us described it as a combination of field hockey, handball, and rugby. It’s a bit of a free for all since you can advance the ball with your hurley (stick), foot, or a proper hand pass. The pitch is huge at 150 meters long, and each team has 15 players. The object is to put the sliotar (ball) between the posts of the opponent’s goal, with more points awarded if it passes below the crossbar.

It’s fair game to whack at the opponent if they have the ball and the only player protection is a light helmet. We got to spend the hour lesson learning to whack that sliotar as far as we could, try and pass to a teammate, and see who could traverse that huge field with the fewest passes, with a free beer at stake. Mike was the winner! Four strokes! Well done, Mike. We had a grand time and were quite tired afterwards. There WILL be sore muscles tomorrow.

Tami showing Mike how it is really done

Lisa also had a mean swing

Couldn’t drag Tami off the pitch

The hurling experience included an Irish meal back at the pub and an actual game of hurling shown on the big screen. What a great game. The action is non stop, fast, and furious. We just need a little bit more practice, I’m sure. Wonder if there is a hurling club back in Seattle?

We were very happy to see this next to the pitch

Great sign!

But of course the adults smoke while they train

Picture Gallery in Kilkenny Castle

We said farewell to our Dublin flat this morning and strategically squeezed the four of us with our full packs into one trip on the tiny lift. As Lisa said, it was like a big game of Tetris. We climbed onto yet another bus to begin the day’s adventure, but this time we were headed south to Kilkenny for the next couple of days. It was a pretty quick trip and we were walking the picturesque streets of Kilkenny by midday.

Did not see a pie shop nearby

Loved this picture in a bar we walked by

Cool old church

In the churchyard

A blaa is a type of roll that is often used to make a blaa sandwich

We found lunch at an Asian restaurant and it was a delicious and well-prepared change from our pub fare of the last few days. Properly nourished, we walked down the street to the centerpiece of town, the Kilkenny Castle.

Portions of the castle date back to the early 13th century, and it was remodeled and added onto several times over the century. From about 1930 to the 1960’s it was left empty and suffered from serious decay and rot. In recent years it has been painstakingly restored and the “before and after” pictures were fascinating. Replicas of some original wall coverings were reproduced based on scraps of those coverings that were salvaged from behind baseboards. Copies of the original carpets were made after receipts were found for the original purchase and the patterns were tracked down at the company that made them.

Castle front

Moorish staircase

Mansplaining

The final room, the Picture Gallery, was truly breathtaking. It was built during the early 19th century and featured a huge arching timbered ceiling with gorgeous detailing. The end result is a beautiful and sumptuous castle that blew us away. After visiting many, many castles over the years, this one was the most impressive in the restoration of the original elegance.

Even the roof was painted

Each brace was a different animal

Next to the castle was a very large gallery showcasing local art and high quality crafts, such as Waterford crystal, Barbour coats, fine ceramics, and woolen goods. There were also some jewelry workshops on the grounds. The jeweler was quite talkative and told us a lot about the history of the shop and his work there. Mike and Lisa were very interested in his tools, both having taken jewelry making classes.

Old Irish rune alphabet the jeweler uses on some rings he makes

While in Kilkenny, we had to sample the locally brewed Smithwicks beer and hear some Irish music. Mike also tried clonakilty, chicken wrapped in bacon and stuffed with black pudding, covered with leek cream sauce. It was quite good!

Outside the bar we went to – apparently Smithwicks is brewed in Kilkenny

Hurling is a MAJOR sport in Kilkenny

Malahide Castle

Boy howdy did we ever finally get some sleep last night! After three nights of very little sleep we fell into deep comas. By the time we finally woke up the day was half gone, but our bodies were thankful. We took our leisure over the small bit of the morning that was still left, then went out to explore some of the area north of the river. It’s an area of pedestrian malls and is obviously where the locals shop as opposed to the area south of the river, which is full of bars, restaurants, tourist shops, and museums.

Our afternoon was occupied with a bus tour out to Malahide Castle and Howth, a fishing town on the coast. Our motivation for taking the tour was that Howth is supposed to have lots of good fish and chips places.

Malahide Castle was just a 30 minute drive from downtown but it was located on extensive, beautiful grounds. Parts of the Castle date to the 12th century and the remaining grounds cover 260 acres. It now belongs to the state and it was great to see the massive lawns being enjoyed by so many people on such a beautiful, sunny day.

Family polishing their pet ostrich?

Ceiling decor

On a chest

Loved this banister detail

We did enjoy the story behind why pineapples are considered the symbol of hospitality. It all has to do with impressing your guests in the 17th and 18th century when pineapples were extremely rare and therefore expensive. It was a sign of your wealth to display a pineapple at a dinner party, but you certainly wouldn’t consume it. It was just for show and there was a good chance that pineapple had been rented out previously to someone of lesser means so they could impress their friends. We never did find out how many times a pineapple might be rented out before it was actually sold, but they were likely rotten by the time they were eaten, and there certainly wasn’t enough to share around a whole dinner party.

Old chapel

Guarding the old chapel

After another 30 minute ride we pulled into the coastal town of Howth. As we drove in, we went by the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey which looked intriguing but the bus continued down the hill and down to the pier at the other end of town. We learned we only had 30 minutes, not enough time to get to the abbey and back, so we wandered down the pier and looked at fishing boats and fish and chip shops that we did not have enough time to patronize. (Disappointing, as one of the reasons for the trip was having heard about the great fish and chips in Howth.) We did admire the views out over the water at the islands in the distance. The forecast of rain was completely wrong and the sunlit views of the water on the drive back to Dublin were beautiful.

Howth marina — guess they are Man U fans

Howth lighthouse

We did finally manage to satisfy the craving for fish and chips back in Dublin.

Driving back to Dublin

Mill on the River Boyne

We had to set an alarm this morning for today’s activities, and good thing we did because we were both up during the night for long sleepless stretches and only fell asleep an hour or two before the alarm went off. Lisa and Julie were also sleep-deprived to start the day, so we were quite the lively crew. (Tami was so sleepy by evening that these two sentences were “all she wrote”.)

Yesterday evening we were able to book a last minute tour for today to the Newgrange passage tomb at Bru Na Bóinne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This Neolithic site was built about 5000 years ago, 500 years before the pyramids of Egypt. The very large burial mound features a narrow passageway lined with massive stone slabs, some of which were inscribed with spirals and geometric art. The passageway leads to a small chamber within, which is also decorated with fine inscriptions. The tomb is engineered so that the sun sends a beam of light onto the back wall of the chamber at the height of the winter solstice. We were allowed to enter into the tomb in small groups and observe a representation of this effect using an electric lamp. It was so impressive to be within this chamber that was constructed 5000 years ago and see the engineering sophistication of the structure. We were not allowed to take pictures within the tomb, but the mound is surrounded by large stone berms, a few of which are also decorated. We were all in awe after our visit within the tomb. It’s just a shame we could not take any pictures to share.

Bru Na Boinne

Entrance to the mound

Carved stone

Bru Na Boinne is just above the sight of the Battle of Boyne (English spelling), one of the most significant battles in Irish history. it was here that in 1690 deposed Catholic King James II fought to regain the English crown from protestant King William III (William of Orange). James lost. As one guide put it, an Englishman and a Dutchman came to Ireland to fight over England.

Interestingly, on our last trip to Scotland we visited probably the most significant battlefield in Scotland, Culloden. In 1746 the grandsonson of James II, Bonnie Prince Charlie led the Scottish Jacobites against the English again over the British throne. Charlie lost. It was interesting that these two places we had visited on different trips were linked this way.

We also visited the Hill of Tara, another archaeological site with several ancient monuments. The territorial views from the hill are extensive and we were fortunate that the spitting showers of the morning had passed and we were treated to wonderful views. This site has had great ceremonial significance over the ages and is reputed to also be where St. Patrick got his start, probably choosing it because of its significance.

Another mound, on the Hill of Tara

Carved stone inside the entrance to the mound

Mike and Julie checking out a, um… monument. Tami says Mike is casting a spell.

Our tour leader had an amazing knowledge of all the history of the sites and area, from Neolithic to modern. She also had a keen wit and dry delivery that kept us smiling. It was a great way to spend a day away from the busy city.

Irish blackberries!

Lisa, Mike and Tami

And who is the black sheep in this group?

Some things do not change

Tami has never been to Dublin before, but Mike traveled there with Kevin 40 years ago, pretty much exactly. He believes it was the fall of 1978. Dublin has changed a bit.

Wednesday evening we once again donned our trusty packs and caught the bus downtown for the light rail ride to SeaTac. We arrived extra early after excellent connections only to find our flight delayed, but they thought they could shorten the delay. Nope. We left late, but on a nine hour flight it doesn’t really matter and soon enough we were in our zooming metal tube heading east to Ireland. But first we had to stop in London and change planes, which meant we also had to go through passport control and security again as well. The plane to Dublin was also late, and then we got to go through passport control again! Yay! At last, though, we were in Dublin and the official start of the adventure.

We took a double decker bus from the airport and sat in the front row, giving us a thrilling view of all the cars, bicycles, and pedestrians that it seemed we were seconds from running over. No mishaps occurred, though, and soon we were meeting up with Julie and Lisa at our home for the next few days, Ha’Penny House. It’s a funky apartment building with meandering hallways and the apartment has “character” as well. It overlooks the Liffey River and is across from the Temple Bar district. This is a very popular nightlife area with lots of pubs and restaurants, and it also borders on much of area we want to explore.

On the Liffey

We were all approaching complete exhaustion, but we did make our way to O’Connells Restaurant and had a fine dinner of cold smoked salmon accompanied by Guinness and Bulmer’s (a major taste memory from Mike’s first trip here). A fine way to end the day.

The next morning, after the sleep of the dead (having gotten maybe an hour of sleep between Wednesday morning and Thursday evening), we headed out the door to begin our Dublin explorations on foot today. Julie and Lisa wisely opted to take the bus that would take them around the city to get the lay of the land. We felt we needed to stretch our legs after our hours spent on airplanes the 2 days before.

We did, however, need to make one important stop to start the day. We’ve discovered that Dublin has a multitude of doughnut shops. The doughnuts themselves are all based on the same raised doughnut, but the huge variety comes in the frosting and toppings on the doughnut. Tami selected the Dub, which was like a Bismarck at home, and Mike had the chocolate and orange doughnut. We were both quite happy with our choices and were fortified for the day’s adventures.

The next stop was the General Post Office, which was the main stronghold of the Irish volunteers in the 1916 Rising. It was also where Mike was able to place a call to Tami when he had stranded himself in Ireland on his trip with Kevin in 1978. Prior to cell phones, email, and the internet, it was much more difficult to communicate long distance and make arrangements for emergency travel. Mike’s trek ended happily and the Post Office is still functioning with all its original woodwork and brass service windows.

Mike remembers the Post Office well

We wandered back across the river and found Trinity College where it happened to be “Freshers” week. There were booths set up for various clubs and organizations available for freshmen to join. Nobody seemed to be interested in beckoning us over as we mingled with all the freshmen, but that’s okay, we already belong to enough of our own clubs.

We also visited St. Stephen’s Green, another significant site during the Easter Rising. Today it is a beautiful, peaceful park. It is also near the National Museum of Ireland, our next stop. Tami had the museum on the top of her list since they have several Bog People and also a new exhibit on the Vikings in Ireland. The gold treasures from the Bronze Age were fascinating and prompted the question, where did all that gold come from? Apparently they don’t really know, but the artifacts showing the influence of Norse design on some Celtic art pieces were gorgeous. They did have a film program running about the various artifacts, but the dark room and comfy chairs led to dozing off and we decided we needed to keep moving.

We saw a picture of this recently, we believe in the National Geographic

Intricate design work

Moving meant walking, so we explored more of Dublin’s streets on foot. Inevitably that also meant our feet started complaining, so we connected with Julie and Lisa and went for a dinner in a “genuine, old traditional” pub that was unfortunately disappointing. Perhaps it was too old and traditional?

Dublin Castle

Saw this guy at the castle

New and old architecture

We returned to the apartment and attempted to run a load in the combined washer/dryer that seems to be ubiquitous in the British Isles these days. We’ve battled these beasts in the past and the beast won tonight, but we will do battle again!