Kilkenny Ireland

Monday afternoon we checked into a lovely little hotel called the Pembroke. We had adjoining rooms, which was a welcome change from sharing a room for the last 3 nights with all 4 of us.

The Pembroke is located a half block from the center of this medieval town that is situated in the southeast of Ireland. Kilkenny reminds me so much of Leavenworth but with suits of armor instead of lederhosen.

We started by grabbing lunch at a little old bar called Kyteler's Inn. Named after an alleged witch (who really was simply a widow of 4 and the target of jealous attacks from other women), this old pub offered lots of atmosphere and plenty of greasy pub food. I tried to order something healthy called the egg farmhouse salad. It turned out to be hard boiled eggs smothered in mayo. Was it good? Yes. But it certainly wasn't the healthy salad I thought I ordered. Which is all part of traveling....

Up next was touring the castle, a large stone estate owned by the Butler family for generations. The castle sits in the center of town and once occupied hundreds of acres. The historical society has gone to major efforts to restore several rooms, including a magnificent hall displaying some of the 500+ pieces of artwork collected by the family. Many areas were still needing renovation and closed. The lawn expanse in the front of the castle is particularly impressive and was filled with families and groups enjoying the mild weather.

After meandering around the town for a short bit we ended up at the home of Smithwick's, my favorite surprise of beers here in Ireland (Red Ale!). We took the Smithwicks (pronounced Smid-icks) Experience, which paled in comparison to Guinness but did a great job all the same of telling the story of the original monks who brewed beer in the abbey and the present-day Smithwick family. The boys patiently (OK, somewhat patiently) endured through the tour. Although when they started talking about yeast and the regeneration of cells, Grady was suddenly interested. See, beer can be educational!

We got dinner at Matt the Milner's, a traditional pub just across the river. It wasn't spectacular but they did have live music on a Monday night.

The next day, after returning from Waterford, we spent the evening walking the city of Kilkenny and admiring all of the churches. It was past when they were open so we simply enjoyed their beauty and presence from the exterior but we were impressed all the same not only by the size but the number of churches in this small town (St. Canice, St. Mary, Black Abbey, etc.). The graveyards are particularly amazing, with Celtic crosses taller than most of us.