Time Is Tickin', Gotta Get Those Last Pints

Hi there all,

Last note before leaving for home. I head back to Limerick today, fly out from Shannon tomorrow to London, spend one night in London and then fly out on Thursday to HOME!

I have had a great time, went out to the pub again last night, quite a gang of us, probably 10 from a bunch of countries and heard some more Irish music -some expressions I've picked up are that we went out for some "Craic" (Irish word for a lot of fun) or we went "out on a piss) (Aussie's word for going on a drunk [which is an Eastern Canada one)

Today we're all heading off to the Castle and I might just do the tour again, for the heck of it, it was great fun the first time!

So, I will be back on-line regularly when I get back, rejoin most of those pesky listserves, joke lists andso one that I belong to...

cheers from Ireland!!!

-Jude

When In Ireland...

Hi all,

Well, today seems to be a kind of day of rest...Sunday's there isn't much open, and not much going on, so we walked around the town for a while, looked at a few things, such as some 13th century stone coffins by the Black Abbey, and a few more cathedrals (they have more than you can shake a stickat!!!) tooks some more photos of the Castle (I amwalking around with another Aussie and a Canadian).

We think we might actually get out the playing cards later and see how the tempers can rise!Went out to the pub on Friday and heard some more Irish music, but the smoky pubs are really getting to me now...would much rather do without the smoke and itseems like nearly every one smokes here in Ireland!!!

Spent yesterday reading and shopping...seem to be collecting Irish silver rings on my fingers...they are so nice and very cheap though! Last night was another round in the Sitting room with another bunch of worldtravellers...still more Aussies and Saffies(SouthAfricans) than anything! But also so many stories to tell, last night we had a fellow from France, Spain,Belgium, a couple of Swedish gals, two Aussies and one Saffie, and then two of us Canadians. Lots of chatter! All in front of the beautiful turf fire.

Managed to get sick AGAIN with a nasty cold so have decided to stay here in Kilkenny until Tuesday when I leave for Limerick...fly out from Shannon the following day to London and then out from London the next day to HOME! I've been in Kilkenny since last Tuesday and it's very nice here, the people are so friendly and hate to give up a good hostel! I'm having a blast and love Ireland but I am ready tobe at home again...miss that kid of mine, and would much rather be sick in my own house than in a hostel, then I'm not keeping anyone up with my hacking and coughing.

Tomorrow me and the Canadian are hitching down to a nearby town to do a little poking around. The locals tell us that as long as we identify ourselves on a cardboard sign as Canadians and where we're going, it should be ok, so we'll do that. It's just a day trip, so we hope to get down and back again in the sameday!!!

Well, looks like the others are wrapping up their surfing and e-mailing, so I should move along. Will probably send one more note from Limerick before I return and then should have some photos up on my little photo barn website by next week sometime, depending on how sick I am!

Cheers!

-Jude (sick in Ireland but not sick of it :-)

Chillin' In Ireland

Well, I'm still sick, coughing and full of congestion in both my head and chest. This is NOT FAIR! Good thing I'm going home soon, as I would much rather be sick at home in my own bed, than here in Ireland, as much as I like it here.

Didn't do a whole lot again yesterday. Went shopping with Phyllis for a little while, then came back and read for a while. Ended up not cooking supper, just had some cheese and crackers as my appetite was poor. Then sat in the sitting room again all night in front of the cozy turf, chatting with yet another Aussie, a Saffie (who relocated to Australia), another Aussie, two Swedish girls, the same guy from France, a fellow from Italy (who is now living in Belgium) and of course, Phyllis from Canada. Another Aussie guy came in later as well.

So we stayed in there chatting until they rooted us out - it closes at 11pm. Then we headed off to bed where we (Phyllis, Sarah, Josie and I) chatted in our beds for another hour or so. I didn't sleep well though, and felt like I was smothering. I have to wonder if that down comforter isn't adding to my misery.

Today after breakfast, Sarah, Phyllis, (Josie had gone) and I went out to see some sights. Tried to get in to climb the tower at St. Canice's but the gate was closed. Then we went over to the Black Abbey as Phyllis wanted to see the stone coffins, and then we all went out for lunch at Super Macs, which is very similar to McDonald's. After lunch, Sarah and I walked up to the theatre with hopes of catching the matinee, but the movies playing for the matinee were not what we wanted to see, so we decided to go back to watch one tonight - The Wedding Planner.

After coming back from there, I decided it was high time to begin organizing my stuff, so spent over half an hour doing that, throwing some stuff out.

Think I'll get my book and do a little reading upstairs, before going out to the movies. Tomorrow Phyllis and I are going to hitch-hike to Ballyhale to see what I can dig up about my sister-in-law's ancestry as she has roots here in this part of Ireland. Have pretty much run out of things to do here now anyhow, so it might be an interesting trip and hopefully successful. If nothing else, I can get some photos of the River Glory for O. or a postcard from Ballyhale

Pub Crawl

Didn't think about writing yesterday so will have to catch up today. Wednesday night I went for supper with another Australian I met, Karen and we had a great supper at Matt the Millers, then came back and spent a couple of hours in the sitting room with a whole room full of travellers, all swapping stories. Couldn't sleep after the sitting room closed at 11:00pm and didn't want to disturb my bunkmates with the overhead light, so sat on the huge stairwell reading for about an hour.

Met an interesting guy here this week, an archaeologist working near here from Belfast. the accent he has is way different than the one they have around here in the Republic. He was such a funny character with so many stories to tell, and so knowledgeable about this country's history. His name is Chris Conway, and he's even co-authored a few journal articles so I hope to look them up when I get home.

Yesterday morning I met yet another Australian girl, Sarah who walked downtown with me, then we ended up meeting again later and going to see some of the sights. We saw Black Abbey, and St. Canice's Cathedral, then came back to the hostel and met up with some others we had met in the sitting room the night before and so all went out for lunch at Matt the Millers (good food!). After that we all went out to Rothe House which is a museum consisting of three townhouses facing one another in a courtyard, with a few little courtyards off to each side (hard to explain), Their exhibits were ok, but mostly more recent stuff, and nothing really all that fascinating. They start you off with a cheezy video too, which was poorly homemade, and not really worth the 17 minutes.

After Rothe House, we all went our separate ways, except for Beth and Rob (British) and we went to check out Black Abbey and St. Canice's. After supper we gained a new traveller, someone Sarah had met a couple of nights ago in another town - Josie from Montreal - Yay! My first Canadian traveller in a hostel (I forgot about Phyllis). Turns out she is a bit of a smug person who I don't really like that much, but it was only our first meeting yesterday. We all ate supper together - Sarah, Josie, and I. Beth is staying with a friend for the weekend, but we all met up for the movies last night and saw The Mexican with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. It was a really good movie, and we laughed like hyenas.

After the movie, we headed out for a pint (what a surprise) at a pub across from the hostel called Anna Conda who had some Irish music (live) stayed for a pint, but then I left early and put my sick self to bed.

Just saw Phyllis who I met in Galway! She strolled into the kitchen and turns out she is on our dorm, so that's fun. Must go see if my laundry is done.

Castles, Abbeys and lots O' Pubs

Hi there folks,

Arrived here in Kilkenny on Tuesday, and am staying in the nicest hostel yet called Kilkenny Tourist Hostel(go figure!). Very nice staff, kind of a hippie environment, but very clean, and huge rooms with 10 foot ceilings throughout the whole building. Lots of color, great fireplace in the sitting room and GREAT showers (which I have found to be worth their weight in gold). The kitchen is quite large with lots of working appliances.

Went to the pub the first night with a couple - James from Ireland and Helen from Australia, as well as another Australian gal who is travelling on her own for the next 3 months. We went to a pub just across the street from the hostel, complete with live Irish music, and had just a few pints.

Yesterday I toured Kilkenny Castle, which is only done by guided tour, which was actually very interesting. The castle was the home to the Butler family for over 500 years, and many parts of it actually date back tothe 12th century. The Butler's live in it right upuntil 1930's, so it is in very good shape with many recent restorations. The grounds were very large, and the castle sits on the edge of the River Nore that passes through the town of Kilkenny. The castle is one of the few that Cromwell didn't smash to bits.

After the castle I found a very nice little cafe withjust 5 tables, called the Friary Cafe, so named because it is right next to one of the Abbeys. Had a delicious baked potato, but I can't seem to find sour cream anywhere here in the restaurants...good potatoes though!

Last night at supper, I met another Australian (guy this time...Aussies are crawling over here!)And two South Africans (not travelling together). We all had supper together then headed off on a pubcrawl...four pubs later and 2am...I don't feel 100% today...We found two that had live music, and the Australian, who buskers, got up and sang Black Velvet Band, which was quite good. At the last afterhours pub, we ended up swinging each other around on a part of the dance floor, surely making fools of ourselves!LOL

The hostel closes its sitting room at 11pm, so in order to wind down, the Australian guy (he's just a kid, only 22, in case you're wondering) and I sat out on the front step and chatted for the better part of an hour, until Nathan realized he better get some sleep in order to do some buskering this morning.

Still managed to crawl out of bed this morning at a respectable 8 am, and headed off to the supermarket(Dunnes Stores seems to be the popular one over here) to get a litre of orange juice that I downed, hoping to stifle that fire in my throat from all those smoky pubs...God I miss the smoking bylaw of WaterlooCounty!!!

Another beautiful day here in Kilkenny. I like it so much I may just decide to stay here more than my regular 3 days I have been averaging. I want to get to Cahir to see a castle over there still, but it is on the way to Limerick, so may stop there on my trek back there next week.

I'm still thinking about going down to Waterford to see the Waterford Crystal factory, but it is in the opposite direction. Will see how things feel tomorrow. As for today, I am off to do the walking tour (self-directed) of Kilkenny to see the sights!

Cheers!

-Jude (in Ireland)

Kilkenny Stud

Just as I began writing this morning, Emma was getting ready to go to the castle so I walked down with her and then went to the Internet Cafe. Spent most of the day just wandering around the city, including sitting on a just painted park bench. I was so mad that they didn't post a sign for wet paint. I was there standing next to the bench, cursing and swearing to the wind! And of course, the paint HAD to be brown, so it looked like I just sat in dogshit. And it ws oil paint, so wouldn't come out with water. Asked the hostel hostess for help, and she gave me some "white spirits" (turpentine) which did an excellent job of taking it out AND she washed and dried the pants for me. Very nice!

Met Nathan on the way back from getting paint on my pants and he was trying to sing - his throat was so sore and hoarse that he gave up. (sidenote - he sang at the IRA pub last night and smoked hand rolled cigarettes - he doesn't smoke) He also said he was having terrible spins, which probably has something to do with the keg of beer he draink last night, ha ha.

Decided to do something wild and crazy and got my nose pierced! And I'm not going to tell my daughter, but surprise her. I was just shopping on some lane and found a really nice jewelry store with loads of silver jewelry for cheap cheap prices including body jewelry and asked the gal where one coudl get piercings done, and how much it was, only to find out it was just 6.50 pounds Irish, so I went to the health and beauty salon and got it done. Hurt like a bitch when she popped the gun, but after that it was just a dull ache. My daughter will be quite surprised, even though she knows I have toyed with the idea for a year or so.

Nathan and Emma just came back and are getting ready to leave. Nathan is from Australia, and Emma is from South Africa. They are such nice people. Wish we could spend more time together, but such is the nature of meeting travellers.

Pub and Castle in Kilkenny

Last night I ended up meeting a few folks - Helen from Australia, Joames from Ireland, and another gal from Australia who is travelling on her own for 12 months. She did a hop-on/hop off train ride through China and Mongolia that sounded very cool. We all had a snack together in the kitchen, an dthen went off to the pub down the street where the Irish music was playing. Turns out the pub was an IRA pub (The Witness Box - who'd thunk it), and I think one of their big guys was there, sitting in front of me, all dressed up in a suit. The music was good, but there were a couple of guys who were acting like assholes there, Americans of course.

After I left the pub at 12am I phoned my daughter, then went back to the hostel where our room was pitch black - so I stumbled around in the dark and went to bed. No bedtime reading tonight.

This morning I got up and found an internet cafe after breakfast, dashed off a few emails and then went up to Kilkenny Castle. Admission was only 1.5 pounds Irish for students, which I had to prove, but who cares, I saved 2 pounds Irish. They give a guided tour only and I missed the 11am one, as it was full, and the 11:30am one was also full, so booked into the noon one and went shopping for an hour.

The castle tour was very informative, and the castle itself was beautiful. Lots of tapestry, paintings, prints, carved fireplaces, stairs, and so on. It's quite a large castle, and lots of history with plenty of royalty passing through. And it was one that Cromwell didn't totally ruin, so they were able to keep most of it intact, and have renovated extensively over the years.

The grounds were acres and acres of park, with a feww trees and flowers, some benches and a very nice water fountain. I took tons of photos, including some with the River Nore in the background.

After the castle tour, I went in search of somewhere to get a baked potato, and found it a rather frustrating experience. I finally stopped in a girls trendy clothing shop and bought my daughter a shirt that said "Flippin' Mad" on the front - how British! And perfect for her. I ended up asking the gal there where I could get a good baked potato and she directed me to a little (TINY) cafe called The Friary Cafe, just off the main drag. The potato, complete with cheese and their idea of bacon, was DELICIOUS! And quite cheap, so I shall be going back for sure.

After lunch i came back and had a very cozy nap, and now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the day. I'll probably sit in the lounge/sitting room and read. I bought a few paperbacks at a charity shop.

Off To See the Wizard, I Mean Castle

Hi all,

Just heading out of Cork in an hour or so to the town of Kilkenny as mentioned before. It's raining off and on again here in the city, so the bus ride might be as hairy as before. These drivers drive like they're on the 401 at home, only the roads are treacharous (sp) at best...they peel around those corners, fly over the bumps and I have fingerprints left on many of them I think (the arms of the busses) LOL

Spent the evening in a pub (what???) with a new bunkmate from Germany where we swapped life stories, bought each other pints and ended up watching AllyMcBeal on the big screen...much to the chagrin of the dozen or so big lugs that walked through the door shortly after we asked the bartender to change the channel...apparently there was a big game on! We got about half of it watched before they made so much noise (no doubt on purpose) that we left...guess we had invaded their space LOL...went back to the hostel and watched The Beach with a few of the other hostelfolks...one from Australia (they're everywhere, just like the Americans), and a fellow from France. It was interesting watching this movie about travellers and not one of us from the country we are watching it in...

Besides Kilkenny Castle, I am hoping to get a tour of Dunmore Cave, just outside the town, as well as a night or two in Cahir, as they are supposed to have a grand castle there too that the Butler family live din, and where parts of Excalibur were filmed.

I'm sure they will have internet in Kilkenny somewhere so might get something off again in the next few days.

Cheers!

-Jude

Kilkenny Hospitality Abounds

Well, I arrived at Kilkenny not quite an hour ago after a very bumpy ride, but the scenery was gorgeous. Rained the whole time but so much green, rolling hills, and over a half a dozen stone towers/castle ruins. I think I saw the Ormande Castle, and the one in Cahir (I think it is just called Cahir Castle) from the bus. Kilkenny so far, is just beautiful. The hostel is very nice with lots of charm - not many people yet though, but it might pick up later in the week. The building is quite old I think, with 10 foot ceilings, fireplaces everywhere, and lots of wood floors, ornate mouldings, etc. The hostess seems almost like a hippie, though I haven't quite figured her out yet. So for 10 pounds Irish a night, I think it's fine so far. There are little notes everywhere reminding people to do things like wash and dry your dishes, store your bags, name your goodies, etc.

Looks like I have another working roommate - she (I think a she) is asleep in the late afternoon. So I'm left down here to entertain myself as I don't want to disturb her.

Went to Dunnes Stores (the supermarket chain) and it is just down the street. What a huge one it is! So that's great. The hostess told me where the internet cafe is, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow today as I've already been there today.

It's still raining out but Kilkenny so far looks like it has a lot of charm. The streets are neatly kept, flower pots are everywhere, no shabby buildings (on the two streets I've seen anyhow). I don't think I'll go to the pub tonight unless I meet up with someone. Only a few here that seem to be a group, and one Asian guy here in the sitting room, reading. No television so I guess movies are out tonight, which is fine. I think I'll check out their novel collection.

I Kissed the Blarney Stone

One of my bunkmates was rustling around as she is leaving for the airport early this morning, so I ended up getting up early. Yesterday I left for the bus station and took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in suburbia, so after losing an hour, I found the right road and got to the bus station only to find that I had missed the bus to Blarney by just a few minutes. I went in search of an internet cafe, found one and spent the time catching up on email before the next bus left for Blarney.

The bus ride to Blarney was thankfully short and when we got off the bus, the castle was almost in front of us. Admission was just 2.50 pounds Irish for students (which I am!). I managed to walk to the top of the casetle, with lots of little stops along the way as many little rooms branch off from the circular stairwell. The main rooms in the centre of the castle have lost their floors over the years however, so the centre is the height of the castle, but they have marked what each room was at each floor and you can still see the grand fireplaces in most of the rooms. It must have been quite a castle in its day.

Kissing the Blarney stone was not difficult at all. You sit on a blanket with your back to the wall and and older gent holds your arms and guides you to the handrails, while you bend over backwards and kiss the stone. I got some guy in the line behind me to snap my photos.

The grounds of Blarney Castle were amazing. For whatever reason, there were tons of druid ruins just next to the castle such as a set of wishing steps, sacrificial altar, witches kitchen, druid cave, fairy circle. The flowers and blossoming trees transform the forest into a magical place. I could just imagine the knights and royalty passing through the woods and its ancient trees.

After returning from Blarney, I hung out at the mall for an hour next to the bus station, then came home and began watching another movie, this one called Trial by Jury. While watching it we gained another bunkmate, a German girl, Corinna who had been working outside of Tipperary on a stud farm helping with the horses and children. We watched the rest of the movie while chatting, then headed into the city centre to find a pub, and had a couple of pints while nattering like two goats. I know I can talk a lot, but she was quite a chatterbox too! We had a few laughs, watched part of Ally McBeal, much to the annoyance it seemed of some men who had just come in to watch sports. After coming back to the hostel, we hung out in the lounge, watching another movie - The Beach, with an Austrailian, a Frenchman, and my new German friend, Corinna. Quite surreal to be watching The Beach in another country, surrounded by backpackers...if you've seen the movie, you get my drift. The rude South African guy stopped by, completely hammered, so most everyone ignored him and he went off to bed.

I'm catching the afternoon bus to Kilkenny so have the morning free, although I don't think I'll go anywhere as I don't want to have to walk all the way back to get my stuff or drag it all with me. So I'll probably watch yet another video. I'd like to go see the Cork City Jail (it's a tourist thing) but from the look of the map, it's quite far away on the other side of town. I got to see Blarney Castle, which was my main reason for coming to Cork.

Cold Chilly Day in Cork

Well, I spent an uneventful day today watching a host of movies. Last night I met my two bunkmates, both Aussies, an donly in for one night. They invited me down to watch a movie, John Travolta in Phenomenon, so I did. A few bedtime giggles for one while she read the underside of her bunk, and they were gone in the morning.

I got up about 9am after reading in bed for an hour or so while the live-in bunkmate snored her head off. She works nights, and seems nice enough. I went to Mcdonalds for breakfast and read there for awhile. Found a park later and sat in the park to read for awhile, got a bit of a chill and then went in search of the library where I was told they had cheap internet, only to find it closed on Sundays and Mondays...after that I came back here and watched a bunch of movies - When the Bough Breaks, A Perfect Murder, Blue Sky, and Lake Placid. A total veg out day, which is what vacations are about, huh?

I managed to get the rest of my laundry done today by Paul, the host for 4 pounds Irish, which is ok I guess. He did a good job, and folded it, so I'm happy. Probably will only need laundry done once more if at all.

I decided to head off to Kilkenny on Tuesday instead of Dingle. I am ready a trashy novel by an Irish writer who talks a lot about Kilkenny Castle, so I looked it up in my guide only to find many things in Kilkenny that sound interesting, and have also been recommended by others to go to Kilkenny, so I booked a bed for 3 nights there this week. If I like it, I may just stay longer until I have to go back to Limerick on Tuesday of next week.

Well, I think I might go root out another video, ha ha.