Tuesday, March 26

We awoke to snow coming down and wondered where that springlike weather might be.  Not deterred by the cold and wind, we set off for Kilkenny which is about an hour and a half south of Dublin. With Tyler navigating for Karen in the lead car, Jeff followed along and honed his driving-on-the-left skills. The motorways are actually quite nice and easy to drive, which made the drive to Kilkenny uneventful.

The main attraction is Kilkenny Castle that punctuates the center of town. We parked on the street nearby, put our Euros in the parking meter, and headed off for our day. Beginning at the castle, we watched a short video describing not only the history of the castle, but of the area as well. We continue to be amazed by the rich and varied history of the country. The current version of the castle is decorated in the Victorian style decorated with paintings of the Butler family, the “original” owners of the estate. Heirs finally sold the castle to the city in the 1930s. Since then it has undergone extensive renovations. They were able to tell a lot about the history of the area by looking at the foundations. An earthen foundation marked the original structure.  At one point there was a wood framed home and the “newest” iteration is the castle we now see. The Butler family still meets on this spot every three years for a reunion. The docent told us that last year there were over 300 descendants in attendance.

Canice’s Cathedral across town was our next stop. We made off toward the steeple only to find out that we were following the wrong steeple, which took us a bit off the beaten path. With tummies rumbling and most of the main street behind us, we ducked in to the only pub we saw. To our delight it was quaint, staffed by extraordinarily friendly people, and served great food. Soup, sandwiches and Irish stew were all real treats. It was a good lesson in going with the flow while traveling and being open to embracing the moment.

The highlight of the cathedral was a tower. According to the guide, many churches built towers next to the churches as a sigh of wealth. They were also used as a place to hide important documents when under attack as well as the place to hold a bell on top to ring for various occasions. In total there were 10 flights with 110 steps up , and we joked that visitors would have had to sign a liability waiver in the US because going up and down was pretty precarious.

We spent the balance of the afternoon looking in various shops in Kilkenny and arrived home with just enough time to eat before heading out on our evening adventure. Karen delighted us once again with another home cooked meal and then sent us off with as many layers as possible and some green accents.

The evening activity was indeed special to the soccer fans in the group and a cultural experience for all as we took in the Ireland vs. Austria World Cup playoff game. We took two buses and did a little walking to get to the Aviva Stadium, which   holds 40,000 people. Though it’s outdoors, we stayed fairly warm with all those bodies and excitement. We sat right down in the first few rows to the right of the goal on the end, which were great seats. Ireland led 2 to 1 by half time and there was no scoring during the second half until the last few seconds of the three minutes of stoppage time when Austria scored and tied the game.  The crowd was not happy but had been good fans, chanting and singing songs like, “Stand up for the boys in green.” Tyler and Ryan managed to get some scarves from a street vendor on the way out, and Tyler was excited to add one more to his growing collection of soccer scarves.

We arrived back home cold and tired but full of enthusiasm for the experience.  What a full day! Before turning in, Anne had to remove three layers on the bottom and seven on top. But let the record state that she stayed warm.