Well, actually, it doesn't until tomorrow, but tomorrow is a travel day. Some of the folks on the tour are going home, some on to other places. As for me, I head to Belfast for a few days later today.
We ended in Cork last night - really not that exciting, just another city. Today we head back to where we started, which is Dublin. On the way though, we get to travel through beautiful landscapes and also to the medieval city of Kilkenny. So here goes!
We left Cork at about 9:00am and headed toward Kilkenny. Our main stop of the day was Kilkenny, which has a castle and river walk. There was an optional excursion (which I had signed up for - I signed up for all of them!) called "A Stroll Through the Marble City". Our tour guide was Joe, who has lived in the area his whole life, and who started with us at the castle and then walked us down the 'medieval mile', telling stories all the while.
The castle,
St. Canise's or Kilkenny Cathedral (dating from the 13th century,
The main street, including Rothe House (16th century merchant's townhouse)
Kyteler's Inn is a public house located in the centre of medieval Kilkenny in Ireland. Parts of the buildng date back to the 13th/14th century, and the building has been an inn since (according to our tour guide) 1639, Dame Alice Kyteler was was the first person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland. She fled the country, but her servant was flogged and burned to death in 1324 - the only person executed during this period.
This was actually the end of the walking tour/stroll. There was a group of seven of us who decided to stay in this area and have lunch at Kyteler's Inn, as we were told they actually had fish & chips on the menu and some of the group had not had a chance to have it yet in Ireland. It was actually quite good. The pictures below are of the outside and inside of the inn, along with Alice!
After lunch, we gathered again with the tour and started the couple of hour drive back to Dublin. We arrived in the mid-afternoon. We had a couple of hours free and then the whole group got together in the hotel bar for a farewell drink together. Then we all (with the [I think] single exception of one person who wasn't feeling well) headed off to a dinner & caberet night at a place called 'Taylor's Three Rock'. Taylor's is a rambling farmhouse pub with the largest thatched roof in Ireland (at least that what they say)!
The evening was really a delight. First we had dinner (a choice of various traditional Irish dishes), and then the cabaret, with amazing singing, dancing and music. One of singing stars of the show is Rob Vickers (he starred in the West End in Les Miserables (as Jean Val Jean) and also a very talented female singer whose name escapes me at this moment. When I remember I will update it here. I am including a couple of short videos of the performance just so you can get an idea. We had so much fun, clapping along, singing along at times, and all of us up and dancing at the end. We even sang along to music on the bus on the way back to the hotel.
What a way to end this part of the trip! I would definitely consider another tour with Insight Vacations.
On to Belfast tomorrow!
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