The tourist center was in a nice old building, but the people weren't nice, or even old. The one thing that this place ought to have had if nothing else was a map of the city. There were no maps of the city readily available, even though there was a whole map section of the shop. There was a fold out roadmap of the city that was roughly the size of a car hood. We ultimately settled for a local culinary guide with a small simplified map inside. I don't know if it was free or not, but if it wasn't we freakin stole it.
We sought lunch in a nearby pub, where we were served by an older gentleman who used every term of endearment in the book to address Nicole. When we entered, the Eagles' "Take it Easy" showed promise for the song selection, but came crashing down with "There's a Tear in my Beer." The Soggy Bottom Boys' "Man of Constant Sorrow."
A view of Kilkenny town center.
After the pub we went to Kilkenny Castle, a massive structure that dominates the city skyline and is one of the largest and best examples of a Norman castle in Ireland. We were informed that all the tours till 4pm were booked, so we put our names down and left. We went first to Kilkenny's Rothe House, build around 1600 and preserved as a museum. It was home to a wealthy local family, mayor included. They also hosted rebel activity in the 17th century before Cromwell got there.
Their sitting room had a massive skull of a Great Irish Elk over the fireplace. A cursory search on this monster revealed that its scientific name is Megaloceros giganteus (haha) and that it was 7 feet tall at the shoulder. Add on the big-ass skull in this picture.
After the Rothe house, we went to St. Canice's Cathedral, the second largest in Ireland. They have a round tower, but it was "closed for winter," whatever that means. They guy inside asked where we were from, and brought up Davy Crockett. I once had a guy in Cork start interrogating me about Davy Crockett's accomplishments, mincing words with me over events that I'm not sure he was aware were "tall tales." Anyway.
The inside of St. Canice's is basically a gallery of wealthy Anglo-Irish dead folks. They have a ton of tombs and crypts, and some awesome stained glass. The church is over 1,000 years old, but the present building was renovated in the mid 1800s.
The best part was probably the ceiling, done in Canadian redwood during aforementioned renovation. Each end is carved with some kind of figure, human or bestial. Ironically I found the wood more striking than some of the other stone or mosaic church roofs I've seen.
The view above the altar in St. Canice's.
After St. Canice's we went back to take our castle tour. Our tour guide was Amy Winehouse minus the redeeming vocal qualities. Unfortunately, they don't let you take pictures inside the castle.
The castle was the family home of the Butlers until 1963. They were an Anglo-Irish noble family that were awarded the stewardship of Ireland by one of the earlier Edwards. They once owned massive sections of Ireland, and received a royalty on all wine sold in the country. They were big supporters of the Stuart dynasty during the turmoil of the 18th century. We got to see the library, which had virulent yellow walls, and the main hall, which had a ridiculous ceiling. It too was carved wood, but it was also painted over with intricate landscapes and designs. It also had tons of portraits of important folks. Originally four-walled, Cromwell and his roundheads battered down the fourth wall during their siege of the castle. The gardens nearby are made in the shape of a Celtic cross.
After the castle, we walked around Kilkenny's two main streets for a while. I bought a great woolen green hat from a "man's store" in which everything was tweed, argyle, or plaid. The proprietor was convinced it was for my father. Eventually, we retired to a pub called Kyteler's which was formerly the home of a woman named Alice Kyteler in the 14th century. After her fourth wealthy husband died, local authorities tried her for witchcraft. She was prosecuted by the bishop at St. Canice's and held at the Castle. More than likely she poised the poor bastards with arsenic. Through some of her powerful connections, she was able to smuggle herself out of the country, but her servants were left behind to be burned at stake. The pub was great, really interestingly decorated. We got in in time to see the Manchester United - Arsenal FA Cup match, and there was a group of United supporters inside. United trounced the Gunners 4-0, and a good time was had by all. We stayed in Kyteler's for several more hours after having supper there, and then made our way back to our room.
The next morning was one of the coldest so far, a bit under 30. We arrived at the train station with about 20 old women taking a trip with their social club. On the way back, a Nigerian woman with two small boys kept the entire train car at triple digit decibel levels. It rocked.
Overall it was a nice little trip. This weekend I'm flying to London to visit the British National Archives so there will be a post on that, as well as on all the sports stuff going down this weekend. I won't even get into that now because I don't even want to think about the implications yet....
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