Galway, Limerick & Kilkenny

Sunday, October 10 – Galway & Limerick

On Sunday, I caught a bus into Galway with the intention of walking around and exploring more of the sights. But, I didn’t realize it was Sunday and got to the main part of town a bout 10am and everything was still closed. I did manage to find a double decker tour bus that was still operating in October and spent an hour on it seeing the outskirts of town.

Here are some shots from the highest point in town.

I got off the bus in an area know as Salthill on the south side of town when I saw some swans floating in the bay.

		Swans VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

With everything seemingly closed I tried to figure out what to do with my time. Since I had the “Golden Trekker” train pass I went to the train station to see where the next train was headed. There was a train leaving for Limerick in 5 minutes so I hopped on board to see what Limerick was like.

Here’s the train station in Limerick.

And, my first view of Limerick.

When I had arrived at the train station in Galway and decided to go Limerick I had asked when the train returned to Galway. The gentleman taking my ticket told me 5:30 (I thought). When I arrived in Limerick I went to the ticket counter and asked what time the train returned to Galway and was told 5:10. Either way I had 2 or 3 hours to explore Limerick which is what I did.

Limerick Pubs VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I think he’s doing the “River Shannon Pub Crawl”..

Limerick straddles the River Shannon. It reminded me a lot of the Muddy Mo.

		Limerick Scenes VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After wandering around for a bit I headed back to the station to catch my train at 5:10. I still had about 30 minutes so I stopped in here to grab a bite to eat since it was right across the street from the station.

First, though, one needs to quench his thirst. You can never get in a hurry when ordering a true stout in Ireland. First the glass is partially filled and allowed to age properly.

After ageing for a proper period, it is then filled to the rim.

Then it’s time for the meal. I’ll post a picture of the meal I had while working on this blog on Tuesday but this is what a 10 euro pub lunch looks like in Limerick.

I started running out of time to catch my 5:10 train on account of that properly poured stout. So, I left about a third of my meal and got over to the train station at about 5:05. I looked up at the departure board and I swear I read where it said my train would be leaving at 5:35. So, with time to spare I hurried back to the pub and what was left of my meal was still there. Since I had time I ordered another stout.

I got back to the station about 5:30, looked up at the board and there was no train shown departing for Galway. There were a couple of ticket takers standing at the entrance and I asked them and they said the train left at 5:10 and confirmed it was the last train to Galway until Monday. One of them said there was a bus for Galway leaving pretty soon. I rushed outside to where all the buses were and began scanning them for the Galway bus. It was down at the end of the row and the driver was shutting the door. I ran down there and managed to catch the bus just before it left. Whew! That was a close call. My luck’s going to run out one of these days, but never on Sunday.

Even the buses here are nice.

Side note: (5am, Wednesday, October 13) I sure hope someone is reading this. I’m not complaining, mind you, and I’m sure I’ll be glad to have done this, I spent 4 hours yesterday updating this and I’m sitting in the Dublin airport right now trying to get the rest of it caught up. Of course, I’ve got over 5 hours before my flight leaves and nothing better to do but it would be nice to know someone is reading this. Leave a comment, give it a 5 star rating or something to let me know you’re out there.)

October 12 – Kilkenny

More days without  wifi. I haven’t had a wifi connection since I’ve gotten to Kilkenny. I long for the days in Latin America where there’s at least one internet café on every corner it seems. I’m at the airport right now and they have wifi but it’s 5 euros per hour.

Other than lack of wifi, Kilkenny is the nicest place I’ve yet visited in Ireland. A small town of about 10,000 but it feels much larger than than.

Without wifi I am unable to post links to some of the sights I’ve been to. I like to do that so you can click on the link rather than me rambling on the blog and forcing you to read all about them if all you really want to do is click on the pictures.

Pictures? I’ll go ahead and post some generic pictures of some of the places I’ve been then when I get a wifi connection I’ll post some more pictures of the more significant/historical places I’ve been

I got up early on Monday and my wonderful hostess, Maureen, had a cab waiting for me at 5:30 so I could catch a 6:05 train to Kilkenny, via Kildare. If I hadn’t caught that train the next half dozen or so would have forced me to go to Dublin and then backtrack to Kilkenny.

I had about an hour and a half layover in Kildare so I left my backpack at the station and walked into Kildare to try and find some breakfast.

Speaking of backpacks … Was that ever a mistake bringing my backpack instead of a suitcase on wheels like almost every other intelligent tourist I’ve run across brought. I’ve got an attic full of different size suitcases with those really, really handy wheels and the really, really handy handles that pop up and what did I  bring? A &)#(*&$ backpack. It’s been a total pain in the butt and when I left it at the Kildare station I made sure I had all my valuables with me and I was really hoping someone would steal it. All I would have had to do is buy some clothes and find a cheap suitcase on wheels and I would have been set. But, when I got back to the station about an hour later, there was my backpack. Damn the luck!

And, speaking of luck, my weather luck continues. Here is a shot from the Kildare train platform. Take a look at that sky. Do you notice anything missing? Like clouds or a gray sky?

I got into Kilkenny late morning and headed to the TI (tourist information office) to see if they could set me up with a B&B. It was probably about a mile walk to the TI (DAMN you, backpack) which was really unusual. Most of the train stations are more centrally located.

The closest TI they could recommend in my price range (cheap to budget) was another mile walk (damn you, again, backpack) and several others were a little further than that.

I left the TI headed for my fist option when, after having walked about 30 yards I noticed a sign that read something like “Really cheap en suite room available). Cheap?  Hmm, sounds like just what I’m looking for so I stopped into Darcy & Ralph’s and enquired about the availability. Sure enough, they had a room for 30 euros a night for 2 nights. No check in, no name required, just hand over 60 euros and here’s the key.

Actually, what the sign in the window says is “Guest Rooms, En Suite, Vacancy” but my mind registered “Cheap” because my back was crying out for a break from the damn backpack.

My bedroom turned out to be where the 2 windows are located just above the Darcy & Ralph signage. I opened the door and here’s what I found.

Not bad, I think I can live with this. Plus it has more room by multiples of anything I’ve had so far. The only drawback was the windows were really old and really heavy and I couldn’t figure out how to keep them open so I could get some fresh air in the room. It wasn’t stuffy but I just like the fresh 60 degree air in Ireland.

What to do, what to do? Wait just a minute! I’ve got an umbrella and since I haven’t gotten a chance to use it yet it would make a perfect prop to keep one of the windows open.

After dropping off my stuff I headed to the pub next door and got a really good tuna fish sandwich and a pint of Smithwicks.

I then headed out so tour Kilkenny.

The local garden center.

One of the smaller churches and graveyard.

A local resident.

A “real” hardware store just like the kind I remember when I was a kid.

They also have old fashioned butcher shops all over the country. And, the meat is the only thing I’ve seen here that appears to be cheaper than what we pay. Certainly cheaper than our local butcher shop, McGonagall’s (sp?). And, it’s all free range beef, no feedlots in Ireland.

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I wonder how much business this bank does in the Irish Republic.

Smithwick’s is brewed right here in Kilkenny but I did not have enough time to take the tour. I did manage to sample the product in the local pubs, though.

Now, here’s something interesting. Notice the prices on this drink menu. Guiness and Smithwick’s are 3.85 and Bud is 4.20 per pint. I can’t imagine paying more for Bud than Guiness or Smithwicks but I guess there’s no accounting for taste, even in Ireland. Guiness, Smithwick’s, Beamish, and Kilkenny are all available all over Ireland and in every pub they also offer Bud, Miller, and even Coors Light (ugh!) all for a premium price.

The Courthouse – this building is used for sittings of the district and circuit courts. The ground floor, formerly known as Grace’s Old Castle, was used as the county gaol.

Rothe House and Garden – This old merchant’s house was constructed between 1594 and 1610 by John Rothe FitzPiers. There are 3 houses in all, separated by courtyards and at the rear is a restored medieval garden.

This is an alleyway off the main street that contains a lot of residences. It is called “New Building Lane” and was remodeled in 2008.

St. Canice’s Church, not to be confused with St. Canice’s Cathedral.

		St. Canice’s Church VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Another real butcher shop.

I liked the colors on this house.

 

Thursday, October 14th – I finally have an internet connection and am publishing this update. I’m at Karen and Udo’s using their wifi. Once I leave here I will probably have to wait until I get home to finish up.

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