Castle, Cathedrals, Chocolate Cafe

Today some of my Elon friends and I decided to go beyond the city and explore Kilkenny, which means "Church of Cainnech." This adorable town just celebrated it's 400 birthday of being a city, however it's been around since the sixth century following the Norman invasion of Ireland.

The four of us, Danielle, Elise F., Sarah and myself set out from our apartment just after 8 a.m. to catch the Luas (Dublin's rail system), which took us to the bus station. After purchasing our fares with our thrifty student travel cards, we boarded the bus and were on the way! Before shutting our eyes for relaxing two hour naps, someone noticed a rainbow outside the window--so Irish! The best part of the rainbow was that we could see both ends--something that I've rarely witnessed before! If we hadn't been sitting on the bus I'm sure we would have ventured to either side of the rainbow in search of pots of gold!

"Somewheeeerrrre over the rainbow..."

Napping on the bus was relaxing, but I tried to keep my eyes open as long as possible to see the rolling green pastures and hills that we passed in the countryside. I saw cows and sheep and a horse which was quite exciting as I'm a big fan of farm animals. Our driver was very skilled navigating the winding roads that carried us through the scenic countryside through little towns with quaint shops and familial farms.

Our first stop in the city was Kilkenny Castle, originally built in the beginning of the 13th century for William Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke. The castle later became the home of the Butler family, who was connected by relation and political allegiance to British royalty for nearly 600 years. The castle was lovely and it's transitioned from being a protective fortress to a victorian family home. It's a building that has truly evolved with Ireland through the ages and I'm really happy we got to visit! Unfortunately the expansive picture gallery in the east wing was closed due to renovation, but all the other rooms were lovely. My favorite thing I learned during the visit was the origin of the phase "saving face." When ladies sat by the fire they used tall stands that had an adjustable piece of rectangular wood which would shield their faces from the heat of the fire. Pale skin was to be desired in olden days, and often women wore wax makeup, so these protective screens allowed the women to "save face" and embarrassment. Other aspects of the house that I really loved included the intricate family tree which included royalty like Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth, and the marble table (weighing over one ton) in the main foyer which used to hold family members' bodies during wakes.

Castles: A big reason why I came to Ireland

Princess Elise(s)

After pretending to be princesses in the castle, we went on a tour of a few churches. The first we visited was St. Canice's, the namesake of the city, also known as Kilkenny Cathedral.

St. Canice's

Obviously walking around a castle after sitting on a bus for a few hours made us quite hungry, so after eating our packed lunches we naturally had to find ourselves a chocolate cafe! Lucky for us some adorable Irish boys in uniforms pointed us to just the spot we were hoping to find...Cafe Mocha! We all sipped hot chocolates and nibbled specialty truffles while sitting in a posh room filled with ladies eating their dainty lunches.

My ideal meal.

Cheers!

Then we walked to the Domincan Black Abbey. At the time it was built in the 13th century, Kilkenny was divided in two parts by the river--one part was an Irish town, and the other, an English town. The Dominicans established the priory between the two towns to show their disconnection from either side. The abbey has been a courthouse and the home of the government called the Irish Catholic Confederation, and was also taken over by the British for a time.

Dominican Black Abbey

Our last church we visited was St. Mary's, which is on the highest point in Kilkenny and just one mile from the front door of the castle!

St. Mary's

Our final stop of the day in Kilkenny was a trip to the Rothe house, built by a wealthy merchant named John Rothe. The house was built in 1594 and furnished with luxury goods. Rothe later expanded his estate to include three houses and two garden courtyards which all stand on the same plot of land originally owned by Cistercian monks in the 13th century. What is most interesting about this house is it's size for a home of that time; Rothe was an extremely wealthy merchant and his estate certainly showed that.

View of St. Mary's from a garden at the Rothe house

One of the highlights of the day was meeting a woman named Shivan whose family had lived in Kilkenny forever. Her father was a butcher and the shop still existed, and was also employed by Smithwick's-- a famous Brewery that has been making beer for 300 years. Shivan first saw us walking down the street on our way to the Rothe House and asked what we were looking for. Her family, like the majority of the Irish, were affected by the famine, and some of them immigrated to the States but they have lost touch. She was such a pleasant local, and we ran into her and chatted right before catching our bus back to Dublin. Both times we saw her she knew people and spoke with them--one was an older man, another a Belgium boy not much older than us who she'd met at a play. She isn't married, and spends her time helping at an after-school tutoring center for children of broken homes. In the evenings she feeds several outdoor cats meet, dry food and milk. One of the several cats' names is Pushkin, but that's all I can recall. When we had to get on the bus she stayed on the sidewalk watching the whole time and waving as we pulled away. She asked us to come back to Ireland when we're "established." It's because of people like Shivan that this country is so inviting and welcoming for an young traveler like myself.

My middle name, minus the "e" on the end. Hoping to trace my Irish roots from Mom's side while over here!