Month: November 2017

Friday was shopping day and we headed off to the Old Boot Factory to see if I could find a pair of boots to supplement inventory of things to put on my feet. After wandering around a bit we did find the place and ultimately picked up a nice pair of low boots and several other things for our trip. Heading back to the room, we stopped at a nice Italian restaurant for lunch and then after unloading our stuff we went to tour Kilkenny Castle.

The Normans built Kilkenny Castle in 1195 to control a fording- point on the River Nore. It was both a symbol of Norman occupation and used as a defensive point for the City. Over the years it was modified and changed ownership several times but the longest owner/occupants were the Butlers. They owned and controlled the area for over 500 years. The final hereditary owner decided to grant the State ownership for fifty pounds. Thirty years of neglect meant the refurbishment was costly, but area families who had bought up furniture when the family moved south, responded to a request to donate furnishings from the 19^th century. Photos by one local gallery owner over a period of time provided guidelines for wall coverings, room designations etc. The carpeting throughout was rewoven from patterns that had been designated as “not to be duplicated” except for the family. The family , over a 500-year residence, adapted the surrounding 12^th century walls to the needs of each generation, including removing all the south walls to reveal the beautiful park. We spent about an hour on a guided tour of the Castle and ventured into a number of different rooms, learned the history of the place, and very much enjoyed what we saw. We have been in a bunch of Chateau’s, Castles and Big Houses, and I would have to say that the Kilkenny Castle was one of the most enjoyable ones I have seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The town of Kilkenny is a generous host to gatherings like the Subtitles Film Festival that was going on while we were in town.

They generate many return visitors, and seem to have a love of American culture

(see Paris Texas BBQ restaurant photo).

We left Dublin, via rental car with David driving, and headed to Kilkenny. The day before we headed out it had rained virtually all day, flooding Dublin. Our trip south, fortunately, was in good clear weather and there were no problems figuring out which side of the road to be on. I will admit that Janeen kept a sharp eye on me to help out our navigation.   Kilkenny is a medieval town in southeast Ireland – we had been close to it when we were in Waterford but didn’t venture into this part of Ireland. This spot had been a recommendation of our guild, Tony, on our CIE Adventure around Ireland. The town has deep religious roots and there are many well-preserved churches and buildings. The primary highlight is the Kilkenny Castle built in 1195 by Norman occupation.

We stayed in a nice place just up from the Castle and the main intersection of town – Butler Court.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Kilkenny in time for a light lunch at Pennyfeather Tea Room and a quick walk around town before getting changed for dinner. During our walk about, it was very clear that the American influence of Black Friday sales has come to Ireland. There were lots of Black Friday sales signs inviting us to come in to various shops and buy stuff at great discounts, and Janeen found a warm wool cardigan,20% off! We decided to make plans for a Friday shopping for David boot excursion.

It being Thanksgiving, David made reservations for dinner at a nice restaurant in town – Campagne, a one star Michelin Restaurant where the executive chef/owner had been at Chapter I in Dublin for many years prior to opening the spot in Kilkenny. When we got to the restaurant I sent a card into the Chef that I had picked up at Chapter One along with one of my Loverofwine cards and he came out to our table to meet us. Not one to let an opportunity get by, I asked if he would prepare three dishes for us he considered his best representations of the menu paired with wine.

He gave that some thought and said he could do that. So, over the next couple of hours we had a wonderful relaxed dinner without knowing what would be coming next! We highly recommend this approach if you can be adventuresome and get a Chef to agree to do this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, it was time to hit the Guinness Storehouse ,which our C.I.E. had provided vouchers for, along with transportation on the Hop on Hop off Bus. For those out there who don’t know, St James’s Gate Brewery is the official name of the brewery founded in 1759 by Arthur LEE Guinness (Yes, Lee is his middle name – meaning I have IRISH in my background) and has been brewed in Dublin ever since. Arthur LEE Guinness put a lease on the land for IR£45 (Irish pounds) per year for 9,000 years – not a bad deal. The main product of the brewery is Guinness Draught.

The Guinness Storehouse covers seven floors surrounding a glass atrium formed in the shape of a pint of Guinness. The building was constructed in 1902 ,designed by a Chicago architect and was the first multi-story steel framed building to be constructed in Ireland. It was used as a fermentation plant until it was closed in 1988. In 1997 it was decided to create the Guinness Storehouse Experience and it opened in late 2000 as it is today.

The ground floor starts the tour with the beer’s four ingredients – water, barley, hops and yeast and an introduction to the founder Arthur LEE Guinness. Other floors of the building feature the history of Guinness advertising and other aspects of the brewing process.

 

There is a tasting spot where you get a shot glass size taste and instructions on how to taste the beer – it’s really just like tasting wine so we figured out that part really quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

Part of the admission price is a pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar located at the top of the building with a 360-degree view of Dublin City.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a nice time touring the building and of course the Pint in the Gravity Bar was delightful. We looked in the gift shop for a bobble head of Arthur LEE Guinness but couldn’t find one.

Leaving the Storehouse empty handed, we flagged down a cab and headed back to our hotel. Unfortunately ,we didn’t get far as the rain and flooding created a massive traffic jam and the taximeter kept running. So I convinced Janeen to get out of the cab (big mistake on my part) and we started walking. Well, we walked and walked and walked all the while it was raining. We were walking along and Janeen said “we are stopping in this pub to get warm and dry”.

To my surprise, when I looked at the food menu, we had landed in The Brazen Head.

The Brazen Head was built as a coaching inn in 1754 on the site of a merchant’s dwelling dating back to at least 1613. Local tradition claims that the site has housed a tavern or ale house since 1198, although there is no documentary evidence to support this, who cares! I had hoped to stop at this place and lo and behold Janeen made it happen.

We had a couple of Irish coffees and some food before heading back out to try and flag a cab to get us back to the hotel (which ultimately happened after walking a block or two more).

Tuesday we had made an appointment for Janeen to have her hair done so off we went. The shop was along a main shopping area but we didn’t spend much time (together) shopping but got the hair thing done and continued on our Dublin Adventure. I did do a bit of shopping while she was being cared for – a nice sweater and also looked at an watercolor painting of Poppies (295 euros) and had a lovely coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

Once we were back together we were off to explore. Our first stop was to pop into a pub called McDaids.

The building that houses McDaids can be traced back to the late 18th century and is reputed to have housed the City Morgue. It took on it’s more ecclesiastical features when it was taken over by the Moravian Brothers some time later. They developed the practice of standing their corpses in a vertical position and it’s suggested this may be the reason for the very high ceilings in the pub. It went through a litany of owners including John Nolan who had the pub at the turn of the 20th Century and it was known as William Daly’s Bar before John McDaid purchased the pub in 1936. There was no food so we had a pint and continued on our way.

The decorations, wall tile and stain glass, were really quite lovely and the sign behind the bar was beautiful.

From there we got on the Hop on bus and just took it around the City to see the sites. Once were close to our hotel we got off and got ready for our dinner at Chapter One.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter One is a Michelin star Restaurant that had been recommended by Darren at The Ledbury when we dined there in London the prior week.

 

 

 

Reservations for an early dinner, 6 or so, were made and off we went. This restaurant with understated and elegant dining rooms is clearly doing a good job of pushing the menu with new and different presentations of Irish dishes.

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and the wait staff was attentive and informative. When I mentioned we where heading to Kilkenny later in the week, the GM recommended a restaurant called Campagne. Turns out the Chef-Owner of Campagne had been the Executive Chef at Chapter One prior to moving to Kilkenny. Naturally we made reservations at Campagne, but more about that later.

Dublin – we returned to Dublin from our trip around Ireland and stayed at a nice hotel across the street from the major sports stadium called Croke Park. The Hotel wasn’t in a central place so we did some walking which is always a good idea when having such wonderful meals. Our first adventure was to walk to City Central and pick up a two-day hop-on-hop-off bus.

These tickets were part of our CIE Tour package. Once we picked up the tickets,

 

 

 

 

I realized we were basically around the corner from one of the restaurants recommended by Darren in London. This Irish restaurant in airy room overlooking the River Liffey with downstairs bookshop was a nice place to enjoy a meal and a good glass or two of wine (they had a nice wine selection for such a small place).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we walked across the River to find the Chester Beatty Library.

This world-famous library, in the grounds of Dublin Castle, houses the collection of mining engineer Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875–1968), bequeathed to the Irish State on his death. Spread over two floors, the breathtaking collection includes more than 20,000 manuscripts, rare books, miniature paintings, clay tablets, costumes and other objects of artistic, historical and aesthetic importance. Turns out Beatty, an American, fell in love with Ireland and became a naturalized British citizen in 1933. He died in 1968 in Dublin. 

 

While the Library is located on the grounds of the Dublin Castle, we didn’t venture in to it but looked around the grounds and buildings from the outside.  There is quite an interesting memorial to the police officers that have died while on duty near the Library.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From here, as it was starting to rain, we took a cab back to our hotel to rest up for the next days adventure.