Adventures in Kilkenny

This past week has been full of hours of homework :( Who knew you'd have to work so hard? Isn't this supposed to be a vacation? Feels like one, with a side of accounting and marketing of course. This week I finalized all of my travel plans, soo with a slightly lighter wallet and grueling hours on ryanair.com, here they are:

Feb 4th: Kilkenny, Ireland
Feb 9-13th: London, UK
Feb 18th: Newgrange and Trim Castle, Ireland


Mar 5-7th: Milan, Italy
Mar 7-9th: Florence, Italy
Mar 9-11th: Rome, Italy
Mar 11-15: Verona, Italy
Mar 15-18: Barcelona, Spain
Mar 24th: Glendalough/Wicklow Mountains, Ireland


Apr 14th: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Apr 20-22: Munich, Germany

Anndd I think that's it. Going to try to fit a trip to Cork and the ring of Kerry sometime in April or May as well. Still a lot to see in Ireland :) 

So anywho, we all went on a day trip to Kilkenny yesterday. Kilkenny definitely reminded me of Galway, in that its this quaint little down, dates all the way back to medieval times, used to be one of the first walled cities, structured somewhat like a fish skeleton, with a cathedral as the head, Kilkenny Castle as the tail, and each bone in between would be homes, extending from the one main street all the way to the stone wall of the town. We visited the only remaining home that extends the whole way, Rothe House. This house has been remodeled and restored countless times, including the garden, made recently to look exactly as it did in the 16th century.

After the Rothe House, our program director Shauna took us out to lunch (we love free food) at this very nice hotel in the heart of Kilkenny. Warm potato soup, sandwiches and coffee have definitely become a staple in my diet. No complaints here. 


After lunch, Shauna gave us the rest of the day to do whatever we pleased. We meandered the streets of Kilkenny, one of the most popular things to do: shop. While we're all on a budget, it was definitely fun wandering around. In Kilkenny, there are the obvious streets that the shops are on, but then in between each shop, there is an alleyway connecting that street to another one. The alleyways are where the best shops were, including homemade liccoirce and other yummy treats.

Annnd yes, as shown in the picture, is was of course raining all day :( But we've definitely gotten used to it by now. After exploring the city for an hour or two, we made our way up to Kilkenny Castle. Normally when we have seen castles, they've been in the middle of nowhere surrounded by vast hills etc. Not here. Since this was the town's original castle, it is smack dab in the city.

For a small fee, we got to tour the inside of the castle, where photography wasn't allowed. Oops. I snuck a few. The gardens were absolutely beautiful, even in the middle of winter. Exploring the castle, we found secret passageways and beds that not even I would fit in :( My favorite room was definitely the Picture Gallery, where portraits of all the families from generations that lived in the castle.