Kilkenny, Waterford and Tramore

I hadn’t slept much when Lance roused me from slumber. Laying awake for hours I blamed last night’s Irish coffee for containing more coffee than Irish. 

And I found that the beef and Guinness stew had turned my bowels to water. 

The drive to Kilkenny was mainly motorway so it was easy to zone out and rest a bit.  And we are still seeing these brilliant yellow fields, and I can confirm that it is rapeseed for canola oil.

Kilkenny is a lovely little town. Being a Sunday the streets were quiet when we got there. Fortunately we arrived early and were the second tour bus. By the time we left there were at least ten buses lined up. 

Jumping into the tourist road train we circulated the town squeezing through narrow alleyways that had traffic the coming the other way. 

This little circuit gave us a great perspective and the jolly Irish music has us singing along as many of the songs were the same as e has the evening before. 

And in case you have been concerned for me things had firmed up and there were no messy accidents. 

But the place wasn’t crowded we visited Kilkenny Castle which was once again a great place to walk through, from the beautifully fitted out rooms to the garden. I was intrigued with how they matched the fabric to recreate the drapes. They found an ancient piece of fabric behind a skirting board and sent it to Paris to be reproduced.

And lucky me, I managed to collect a bird poo on my walk around the garden. You know you feel the splat of the main plop, and then you are so busy getting that clean that you miss the splatters that adorn the rest of your clothing, bag, shoes, shopping etc. 

Back on the road we made our way to Waterford who’s claim to fame it glass originally and then crystal. 

Waterford really had nothing much for us. We did a quick spin around the crystal showroom admiring many beautiful pieces of crystal that were too expensive and too heavy for this trip. I did pop into the glass museum and saw the oldest piece of Waterford crystal made by Quakers in 700AD. 

Arriving in the seaside village of Tramore our case has been delivered to our rooms in the Majestic Hotel. The entrance matched the name, but as you moved up into the accommodation things became ordinary. 

After an hour break we were whisked off to Dunmore to have a bit of a craic (party) at Aggie Hayes pub. 

As we drive down into Dunmore we commented on how lovely the homes were. Modern with manicured front yards they were quite a juxtaposition with the landscape around them. 

Hook’s Head

Hook Lighthouse is the oldest working lighthouse and is 300 years old.

Hooks head found its way into our language in the saying ‘By Hook or by Crook’. Apparently the phrase cam from a vow to take Waterford by Hook, being Hook Head, or by Crook, being a village on the Waterford side.

Arriving at Aggie Hayes pub we were greeted by the publican whose family had owned the pub for 300 years. 

With its thatched roof, thick stone walls and low beams it offered a welcome rest after a long day. Beamish stout was on offer and Lance felt obliged to partake in a couple of pints. Myself, I was a bit sceptical of any of the wine that may be available so super on a gin and tonic. Two drinks were on the house, or more likely the tour but we fully expected to pay for the gin. I managed two buckets of gin as we sang along to the songs and laughed, mainly at ourselves to the entertainment provided by a fine Irishman. 

On my second gin I tried to see what sort of gin it was, at came out of a bottle with Cork on it, Cork on the label that is, not in the neck of the bottle.

Lance went to the bar to purchase an Aggie Hayes pub the shirt. One of the older guys at the bar asked about the tshirt that Lance was wearing ’Cadrona Pub’ from New Zealand. Lance started explaining that is was one of our oldest pubs, but when he pointed to the date on his chest 1863 he had to rephrase his comment to ‘one of our oldest, but not really that old’.

It was a grand evening and the highlight of our day.