Kilkenny and Kilkenny Castle

Hello All!
I arrived in Kilkenny still disappointed over the cancellation of the Where's Wally street festival. :(  After finding my hostel for the night, I went off in search of food.  One thing about Ireland on Sunday: Nothing is open....  I eventually found a small restaurant and got some sustenance.

Sign in the Middle of Kilkenny

 Next morning, I went in search of adventure.  I had until my train left at 5:30 to see everything there is to see.  And luckily enough, Kilkenny is small, so that is actually possible.

I started by making my way to the castle, stopping at Subway for a sandwich that I would eat later in the park behind the castle.  Kilkenny Castle, isn't really a ruin or like Blarney Castle.  It is still pretty old by American Standards, but it had been updated over the years, and could really be called a palace more than a "castle".

Kilkenny Castle

After thoroughly going through the castle tour and stopping by the castle tea room for a bit of Tea and a scone, I hopped on this adorable train for a tour of the city.  I was probably the youngest person on this train by about 50 years, but as my ankle was still aching, I wasn't about to walk the entire city by myself. 

Adorable train!!

The spot that I most wanted to go back to after my train ride, was St. Canices Cathedral and since it was right next to my hostel, I went ahead and make the walk across Kilkenny, and I was glad I did!  St. Canices Cathedral is a beautiful little cathedral full of history!  Many of the floor and wall markers throughout the entire cathedral date to before 1600, and the oldest dated back to the 1200s!
 

St. Canices Cathedral

I climbed that tower, and let me tell you, if you can get up the courage to climb about 10 wooden ladders and 1 rather perilous stone staircase, the views are worth it!!  You can see for miles! But word of warning: It's not for people afraid of heights.  The only thing between you and falling to the ground, is a spindly looking railing around the top. 

Floor Marker

The entire Cathedral was covered in floor markers, wall markers, and table tombs.  But I thought that this particular floor marker, was pretty cool.  You can't really read anything on it, except for maybe one of the words is Butler....

Next entry will cover my trip in Dublin Part 2!
Cheers!
KM