Salmons on tour–Europe ‘07

We arrived in Kilkenny around 4:30 on Thursday and checked in. Our hosts at the Butler Court-Yvonne and John  as well as Frisky were wonderful, and recommended places for us to dine and pubs for later in the evening. After some walking around the city center, we both had Irish Stew by the fire at the Kyteler’s Inn, a pub established in 1324. We then headed to Andrew Ryan’s Pub for a traditional Irish music session that must have been the place to be on a Thursday night, because it was packed. Arriving a few minutes before the music started we had front row seats.  The music was amazing, and we had a great time.  Dad would have really enjoyed the banjo. Meg wants me to learn to play the Uilleann Pipes

Friday we got a little bit of a slow start, but hit the historic must-see sights of Kilkenny including the impressive Kilkenny Castle, St. Canice’s Cathedral-begun in 1202 and the round tower built in 849(unfortunately closed for restoration, so we were not able to climb it), the Black Abbey founded in 1225 and Rothe House the house of John Rothe, a local merchant built between 1594-1610. We wandered the streets of this quaint town a little bit more, took in the Kilkenny Design Center and then headed to Ristorante Rinuccini, apparently THE  place to eat in town.

We did not realize until after dinner that three of the places travel show host/writer Rick Steves mentions in Kilkenny are Kyteler’s Inn, Rinuccini’s and the Butler Court, but it is understandable. They are all special places that I would recommend to anyone coming to this part of the world.

St. Canices Cathedral

Meg and our host

Downtown Kilkenny

Kilkenny Castle

On a trip like this I go from one anxiety that I have created and magnified to another. This really doesn’t dampen the enjoyment of the other experiences, it is just the way it is. So as we stand at the Hertz counter in the middle of Dublin (bad traffic previously mentioned), my stomach is churning. But, it is driving after all, it can’t be that bad.

I’ve heard about the narrow roads, potholes, and how sometimes the Irish like to pass, going 3-wide where there is only safely room for 1.

Still, it is driving a car and it can’t be that bad…

So I ease myself into the drivers seat and out into the road on a rainy Irish morning and , oh my, I am driving on the right-hand side of a tiny car, on the left-hand side of the road. THIS IS INSANE!!!!

The car is a Toyota Avensis. It is about 16 upgrade levels from the tiny standard car that makes a golf cart look like a luxury ride, but still roughly half the size of my Accord.

This Avensis must be reserved for American renters. There were 27 dings on the pre-inspection paperwork and the left side-view mirror was hanging out by its wiring (Kent Spillman has been here!)

We also thought it was a good idea to get the Neverlost navigation system, since we did not know exactly hot to get out of Dublin, or on to Kilkenny.

The first time the Neverlost voice said “In 800 meteres take the 2nd exit of the roundabout”, my stomach tightened, and palms grew sweaty. Yield to the right and go. My turn. Look right, don’t hesitate and get run over…2nd exit. Done!

We survived and realized that the 2nd exit means to go straight on the road you are on. The next time the voice said “Take the 2nd exit of the roundabout” I sad “Go straight, I can do that”

And so my confidence grew. These roads are not as bad as advertised. You get used to hugging the center line, since you don’t really know where the left side of the car is.

When we arrived in Kilkenny, our hostess Yvonne was kind enought to parallel park us for our stay at Butler Court.

Yesterday we drove from Kilkenny to Cork under mostly gorgeous sunny skies and had a great day.

And so this morning we returned the car to the Cork airport without scratch, scrape or ding number 28!