Our Trip to Ireland - Chapter 8
We got back onto the bus and drove through Kilkenny. Tony talked a lot about the town. He explained some more Gaelic words to us. Everything seemed to be picking up in speed. We knew that we only had a couple more days left on our tour then we would be heading home.
We were all getting pretty tired of riding around at that point. We arrived at our hotel. We grabbed our bags this time and headed to the hotel desk to get our keys. The room was nice, but I could tell the hotel had been there for quite awhile. The town was full of people and cars. Fortunately, there was a lane just for busses. We saw a lot of things before we got to the hotel, but it was hard to take pictures as everything was going by so fast. Greg went out for awhile to do some exploring. He had hoped to find another swimming pool, but this hotel didn’t have one. I got restless, so when he came back up. I went back down to the lobby with him. We went out on the street which was super-crowded with people running around everywhere. I felt completely out of my element. I didn’t like the fast pace of the city. I didn’t like not knowing where I was going. We passed Jessica and John on the street who told us they had just been to the Hard Rock Café. I knew Greg and Terra would want t-shirts from yet another Hard Rock Café, so Greg and I ran through town trying to get to this place. I was starting to get out of breath trying to keep up with Greg. We found the Café then the lady behind the counter told us their Visa machine was down. We would have to use up some more Euros, and t-shirts aren’t cheap in Ireland! We were running low on Euros now. I knew that the next day was Good Friday, and banks would be closed. I didn’t stop to think that the ATM’s would be open just the same. When we got back to our hotel we found that the ATM was out of order. I panicked wondering if we would have enough Euros for the next two days knowing we still had lunches to buy and other things we might want to get. Greg went back out and found another ATM the hotel clerk had told him about. When he got back he was all out of breath. I felt bad about letting him go. He really needed his inhaler by the time he got back, and we didn’t pack it. He has gone without it for months at a time, but now he had a cold and needed it. I was concerned about taking it in the suitcase due to security rules. He does very well without the inhaler unless he gets a cold. I didn’t know he was going to get a sore throat and worse cold symptoms until we had already left home. When he was able to catch his breath again we boarded the bus. He was still having a hard time, but he managed to get relaxed. Being able to get another good night’s sleep helped him again later that night. Tony picked us up in front of the hotel, and we made our way to the Abbey Tavern for dinner, drinks, and a show. We listened to more traditional Irish music and enjoyed a delicious dinner. I had cream of leek & potato soup, Silverside corned beef with cabbage & baked potatoes, a baked apple tart w/cream, and an Irish coffee. It was a superb meal. My friend, Fridolin, had told me earlier not to expect large portions of food when I arrived in Ireland. Fridolin was wrong!
A young man and two young women danced Riverdance-type dances for us on the stage located at the end of our dining tables. We joined in the chorus on the songs, “I’ll Tell Me Ma”, “Whiskey in the Jar”, “Wild Rover”, and “Molly Malone”. A young girl sitting in the audience was invited to come up and dance with the band. The girl said she was from North Carolina. She did pretty well dancing to the songs she knew the steps for.
North Carolina was mentioned a couple times during our trip. A couple joining us on our tour was from North Carolina. After leaving our tour at the end, they were going on to visit Scotland and stay there a week! Tony also told us earlier when we were out on the road that the potato and cigarettes were brought over to Ireland by visitors like Sir Walter Raleigh which reminded us about the potato famine and further deaths caused by cigarettes! That was humbling!
We had a wonderful time at the Abbey Tavern then we headed off back to the Jury’s Inn Hotel located across the street from the Christ Church Cathedral. We were very close to the Temple Bar area and visited there the next day with Fridolin. First, a good night’s sleep in our hotel!
We were all getting pretty tired of riding around at that point. We arrived at our hotel. We grabbed our bags this time and headed to the hotel desk to get our keys. The room was nice, but I could tell the hotel had been there for quite awhile. The town was full of people and cars. Fortunately, there was a lane just for busses. We saw a lot of things before we got to the hotel, but it was hard to take pictures as everything was going by so fast. Greg went out for awhile to do some exploring. He had hoped to find another swimming pool, but this hotel didn’t have one. I got restless, so when he came back up. I went back down to the lobby with him. We went out on the street which was super-crowded with people running around everywhere. I felt completely out of my element. I didn’t like the fast pace of the city. I didn’t like not knowing where I was going. We passed Jessica and John on the street who told us they had just been to the Hard Rock Café. I knew Greg and Terra would want t-shirts from yet another Hard Rock Café, so Greg and I ran through town trying to get to this place. I was starting to get out of breath trying to keep up with Greg. We found the Café then the lady behind the counter told us their Visa machine was down. We would have to use up some more Euros, and t-shirts aren’t cheap in Ireland! We were running low on Euros now. I knew that the next day was Good Friday, and banks would be closed. I didn’t stop to think that the ATM’s would be open just the same. When we got back to our hotel we found that the ATM was out of order. I panicked wondering if we would have enough Euros for the next two days knowing we still had lunches to buy and other things we might want to get. Greg went back out and found another ATM the hotel clerk had told him about. When he got back he was all out of breath. I felt bad about letting him go. He really needed his inhaler by the time he got back, and we didn’t pack it. He has gone without it for months at a time, but now he had a cold and needed it. I was concerned about taking it in the suitcase due to security rules. He does very well without the inhaler unless he gets a cold. I didn’t know he was going to get a sore throat and worse cold symptoms until we had already left home. When he was able to catch his breath again we boarded the bus. He was still having a hard time, but he managed to get relaxed. Being able to get another good night’s sleep helped him again later that night. Tony picked us up in front of the hotel, and we made our way to the Abbey Tavern for dinner, drinks, and a show. We listened to more traditional Irish music and enjoyed a delicious dinner. I had cream of leek & potato soup, Silverside corned beef with cabbage & baked potatoes, a baked apple tart w/cream, and an Irish coffee. It was a superb meal. My friend, Fridolin, had told me earlier not to expect large portions of food when I arrived in Ireland. Fridolin was wrong!
A young man and two young women danced Riverdance-type dances for us on the stage located at the end of our dining tables. We joined in the chorus on the songs, “I’ll Tell Me Ma”, “Whiskey in the Jar”, “Wild Rover”, and “Molly Malone”. A young girl sitting in the audience was invited to come up and dance with the band. The girl said she was from North Carolina. She did pretty well dancing to the songs she knew the steps for.
North Carolina was mentioned a couple times during our trip. A couple joining us on our tour was from North Carolina. After leaving our tour at the end, they were going on to visit Scotland and stay there a week! Tony also told us earlier when we were out on the road that the potato and cigarettes were brought over to Ireland by visitors like Sir Walter Raleigh which reminded us about the potato famine and further deaths caused by cigarettes! That was humbling!
We had a wonderful time at the Abbey Tavern then we headed off back to the Jury’s Inn Hotel located across the street from the Christ Church Cathedral. We were very close to the Temple Bar area and visited there the next day with Fridolin. First, a good night’s sleep in our hotel!
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