I consumed as my Night Cap beer, really took it's toll on me. I quickly had to shake off the grog, pop an advil and get downstairs to eat our free breakfast, as the Paddy Wagon Bus was leaving at 8am sharp for the Glendalough and Kilkenny tour.
Now like everyday in Ireland, it was raining yet again, how wonderful, but atleast we were getting a view of the real Ireland (a joke that the bus driver would tell later). I pounded back my Rice Krispies with a decent amount of sugar and terrible watered down juice (got to love hostel breakfast) and Hanne and I were ready to tour some of the Irish countryside.
The bus driver, John (a rather large older gentleman) came to the lobby and rounded up the free tour, we followed him to the big green paddy wagon bus and settled in for the ride. Now John, or JJ, as he liked to be called, was a very interesting fella, he loved the bus microphone, much like the contestants on American Idol. He chatted the entire trip about anything and everything, his life, Ireland, told jokes, the economy, this man was on a role, he was very informative, but there was just times when the people had to laugh at just how long winded this man was, he truly loved his job.
Our first stop was in the Wicklow National Park Glendalough Valley, which was located up in the Wicklow mountains. These mountains at one point in history were said to rival the Swiss Alps, but obviously that was disproven very quickly. This place is full of nature, ruins and folklore.
Hanne and I started by walking on the trail that lead around the lakes, where the bus driver informed us, was home to Irish folklore, where a saint drowned a women that was attracted to him, however, the bus driver disproved this and stated that "the gentleman did not drown her, he simple got an erection and to get it down he rolled around in sharp edges, but the women drowned another way". Ohhhh, well that's one way to suppress the urge and a round of applause for this saints dedication to fighting the need for human contact.
The trail wrapped around and lead us to ruins of a monestary (oldest in Ireland) that had grave yards scattered all around the rock remains.
The church itself stood from around the early 1200's. The ruins were kept well and was a great place to wonder around and get lost for awhile. After, it was almost time to leave, so I grabbed a cola on the terrace and the rain started really started to pour, so the bus driver informed us when we got back on the bus, that it was one of the worst recorded summers ever in Ireland (I need to research this).
On our way to Kilkenny, we had one quick stop at Brownshill Domen, which is a temple that was built to bury either high priests, or kings, very large stone with an environmental scan of the area that still needs to be done.
Finally, we arrived in Kilkenny, I was excited to see the Smithwick's brewery and of course enjoy the beer of the very same. Kilkenny, is quite a small medieval city with a lot of charm and naturally Irish pubs. However, some bad news, the Smithwick's brewery was closed on a Sunday, so we took a few pictures and headed for the castle.
The Kilkenny Castle, an impressive structure was built in the late 1100's to the early 1200's and was the home of the powerful Irish Butler family for 600 years. The grounds is quite large, and one must pay entrance to go into the Castle, which is now used as a museum, banquet hall and meeting place. The castle has a rose garden on the side and a view overlooking the canal down to the city, as most castle's are usually elevated, so that the occupants can see what is happening at all times.
Now it is time for that fantastic pint of Smithwick's with Hanne grabbing a Kilkenny, both brewed by Smithwick's, and I must say the difference in taste was noticeable to me. I enjoyed that Smithwick's very much, probably just the placebo effect of being in Kilkenny, but hell it worked.
We finally arrived back in Dublin around supper time, so time for my favorite part of any travel, eating and drinking, so we went to O'Shea's Hostel Bar for some great food. Note: If ever in Dublin, eat here and try lots of their dishes, affordable and amazing. I had the Bangers and Mash, and man I had never seen three large sausages stacked on a think layer of mashed potatoes with gravy that high in my life. Needless to say the third sausage might have been my death, but it was all worth washing it down with a fresh Guinness.
Day 3, was going to lead us to the coast and the Cliffs of Moher, in which I have a funny story, so we watched a movie in the old theatre on O'Connell street and called er a bit of an early night. Have to save some of the stamina for another night of beer tasting.....
Stay Tuned for Day 3, and enjoy a great beer tonight (just do it),
Roy
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