After some initial confusion and a bit of a trip in the wrong direction we eventually were on the right road toward Killkenny!
Now, after plenty of driving its not hard to see why Ireland slaps some green in everything that represents them; their flag, sports gear, lepricorns waistcoat, tea towels, key rings, etc etc etc! Even their beer for St Paddy's day! Equally, its not hard to see why everything here is so green; it's always cool and raining; no droughts here!
Killkenny was a pretty spot on the river Nore with a fairly impressive castle and estate.
The castles here are built of a grey limestone unlike the castles of France and England we've seen which are more made of sandstone.
Main streets here cornered by the quintessential Irish pubs with their often humorous and larger than life Guinness advertisements. Don't be fooled however, the pubs aren't confined to corner sites; middle of the block is just fine too!
Waterford crystal was an interesting stop; certainly more informative than Swarovski in Austria (they use sand, red lead and pot ash to make it where as Swarovski replace the lead with silver I believe) and we watched them blow vases etc from hot globs of semi molten glass with varying results (some of their efforts tossed casually into the recycling bin much to the tour groups amusement and for some horror!!!). The fired glass was then cut (both by hand and machine - quite an amazing sight to see both as the machine is so precise and the men doing it so patient and accurate) the if needed etched by hand before being polished in a concoction of highly corrosive liquids!! The high prices they charge perhaps somewhat substantiated by the craftsmanship and attention to detail. Showroom here as usual had some elaborate works including a Cinderella carriage (a steal at €30000) and some lovely chandeliers ranging on price from €1700 to €7000. Also managed whilst on the tour to not only find but to swipe a London 2012 Olympics gold medalist vase however the guide ensured me it would be missed! Interestingly Waterford's factory makes the large pieces; all the trophies, big bowls and vases and the likes. Their factories elsewhere in Europe make the rest (glasses etc).
As luck would have it we then past Lismore Castle on a scenic backroad drive. This is the castle (at least the decorative turrets) that Waterford crystal took their original design for the cutting from. As usual it was a very grand show of power and not surprisingly snuggled in high and tight against the river as they so often are (reminiscent of England and the Dordogne in France; just greener here!).
The kissing of the Blarney stone at Blarney castle another real highlight!
When climbing it I couldn't help but to think of the Holy Grail and call from the top to the swarm of tourists below in the rain "ahoy down there! What is your business here!" Many amused faces was all I got, no replies! Blarney stone otherwise was not what was expected at all: the stone was more a collection of rock bits in the wall all stuck together and to kiss it/them you had to lay flat on your back over a big hole in the floor with 2 metal bars stopping you from falling through and only 2 metal hand rails to hold onto. As there were 100 people waiting in a line behind you at the top of the castle it was a matter of quickly dropping to the ground, planting a kiss on the darkened spot and jumping back up and getting out of the way for the next grubby lipped tourist to do likewise! Nice! Anyway, it's done now and fingers crossed we will all be more eloquent next time you see us!
Killarney on the southern coast was the base for our unmissable self guided tour of the Ring of Kerry; 180km through some amazing countryside and seaside, some perfectly Irish villages and the stunning Killarney National Park. Grizzly, gloomy, overcast and cool weather greeted us the morning of our drive but the B&B host in all her wisdom advised us we had been blessed with nice weather. Happy to know it could be worse we head off only to drive 30km the wrong way! With the exception of the narrowest and bumpiest of roads and the many cars, motorhomes, vans, busses and bicycles it was a pleasant drive; Killarney NP the highlight with Ross Castle, Muckross House and gardens and a number of pretty rock bridges built within it's grounds over the loughs.
The other highlight was a distant view of the 2 Skellig Islands just off the coast where the Monks built a monastery back in 500AD. As in Meteora it's hard to imagine how they built the monasteries in such hard to get to places! That's dedication for you!!! Couldn't get out to see them close up as ocean needs to be glassy flat (bugger!) but did spend some time at the info place learning all about them.
Killarney had scrubbed up for our arrival! It was in immaculate condition; grass cut, edges trimmed, windows gleaming! The week surrounding our visit here had coincided with the hugely popular Irish Golf Open! Didn't see any big named stars but did have perhaps a caddy or lowly ranked player at our B&B!
Now, after plenty of driving its not hard to see why Ireland slaps some green in everything that represents them; their flag, sports gear, lepricorns waistcoat, tea towels, key rings, etc etc etc! Even their beer for St Paddy's day! Equally, its not hard to see why everything here is so green; it's always cool and raining; no droughts here!
Killkenny was a pretty spot on the river Nore with a fairly impressive castle and estate.
The castles here are built of a grey limestone unlike the castles of France and England we've seen which are more made of sandstone.
Main streets here cornered by the quintessential Irish pubs with their often humorous and larger than life Guinness advertisements. Don't be fooled however, the pubs aren't confined to corner sites; middle of the block is just fine too!
Waterford crystal was an interesting stop; certainly more informative than Swarovski in Austria (they use sand, red lead and pot ash to make it where as Swarovski replace the lead with silver I believe) and we watched them blow vases etc from hot globs of semi molten glass with varying results (some of their efforts tossed casually into the recycling bin much to the tour groups amusement and for some horror!!!). The fired glass was then cut (both by hand and machine - quite an amazing sight to see both as the machine is so precise and the men doing it so patient and accurate) the if needed etched by hand before being polished in a concoction of highly corrosive liquids!! The high prices they charge perhaps somewhat substantiated by the craftsmanship and attention to detail. Showroom here as usual had some elaborate works including a Cinderella carriage (a steal at €30000) and some lovely chandeliers ranging on price from €1700 to €7000. Also managed whilst on the tour to not only find but to swipe a London 2012 Olympics gold medalist vase however the guide ensured me it would be missed! Interestingly Waterford's factory makes the large pieces; all the trophies, big bowls and vases and the likes. Their factories elsewhere in Europe make the rest (glasses etc).
As luck would have it we then past Lismore Castle on a scenic backroad drive. This is the castle (at least the decorative turrets) that Waterford crystal took their original design for the cutting from. As usual it was a very grand show of power and not surprisingly snuggled in high and tight against the river as they so often are (reminiscent of England and the Dordogne in France; just greener here!).
The kissing of the Blarney stone at Blarney castle another real highlight!
When climbing it I couldn't help but to think of the Holy Grail and call from the top to the swarm of tourists below in the rain "ahoy down there! What is your business here!" Many amused faces was all I got, no replies! Blarney stone otherwise was not what was expected at all: the stone was more a collection of rock bits in the wall all stuck together and to kiss it/them you had to lay flat on your back over a big hole in the floor with 2 metal bars stopping you from falling through and only 2 metal hand rails to hold onto. As there were 100 people waiting in a line behind you at the top of the castle it was a matter of quickly dropping to the ground, planting a kiss on the darkened spot and jumping back up and getting out of the way for the next grubby lipped tourist to do likewise! Nice! Anyway, it's done now and fingers crossed we will all be more eloquent next time you see us!
Killarney on the southern coast was the base for our unmissable self guided tour of the Ring of Kerry; 180km through some amazing countryside and seaside, some perfectly Irish villages and the stunning Killarney National Park. Grizzly, gloomy, overcast and cool weather greeted us the morning of our drive but the B&B host in all her wisdom advised us we had been blessed with nice weather. Happy to know it could be worse we head off only to drive 30km the wrong way! With the exception of the narrowest and bumpiest of roads and the many cars, motorhomes, vans, busses and bicycles it was a pleasant drive; Killarney NP the highlight with Ross Castle, Muckross House and gardens and a number of pretty rock bridges built within it's grounds over the loughs.
The other highlight was a distant view of the 2 Skellig Islands just off the coast where the Monks built a monastery back in 500AD. As in Meteora it's hard to imagine how they built the monasteries in such hard to get to places! That's dedication for you!!! Couldn't get out to see them close up as ocean needs to be glassy flat (bugger!) but did spend some time at the info place learning all about them.
 |
| Rock hut near Skellig islands |
 |
| Paddock with all the rock |
No comments:
Post a Comment