KILKENNY

We picked up our car (neat little Peugeot 207 – similar to one we had in Europe a year or so go) and headed out of Dublin. Luckily we were quickly on a ring road (or get-out-of–the-city-quick road) and soon had left the hustle and bustle behind and were in the green fields of Ireland. Well, what we could see was green, but as the sides of the road were either heavily tree lined or had huge hedges, we didn’t see much for a fair while as we had chosen a rather indirect route. Unfortunately our GPS refused to “get a fix” and so we were left to our own devices and the rather inadequate map supplied by Budget. Somehow we managed to blunder along and find our way through the maze of narrow lanes and small villages. We lunched in a pub (where else?) in a small village called Roundwood before venturing on to Avoca – the town used as a backdrop for the TV series “Ballykissangel”. Of course we visited the pub but …. we had a tea and coffee! From there it was almost plain sailing to Kilkenny with just a slight unintended detour to catch a bit more of the countryside. Our accommodation here was in a Guesthouse and looked nothing like the photos on the website (surprise surprise?) – its amazing how BIG you can make rooms, car parks etc look with a wide angle lens! However, our initial misgivings were unfounded as the hosts were very pleasant and the room was comfortable and very quiet (again? Unbelievable!) The following morning we hit the town – Kilkenny has a well preserved medieval setting – the entire centre of the city has maintained its character and is fascinating to wander through. As it was Sunday most of the shops were shut but at least it wasn’t crowded! We visited Kilkenny Castle, meandered around the town and spent the afternoon watching the All Ireland Final in a pub (Gaelic Football, similar to Aussie Rules) Can’t wait to get to Waterford and sort out the GPS – need internet connection! On to Waterford
 * DUBLIN TO KILKENNY**
 * [[image:Roundwood.jpg caption="Roundwood pub"]] || [[image:Roundwood2.jpg caption="Roundwood shopping centre"]] ||
 * [[image:Roundwood3.jpg caption="Roundwood"]] || [[image:Bally3.jpg caption=""Ballykissangel" or Avoca"]] ||
 * [[image:Bally2.jpg caption="Bridge into Avoca"]] || [[image:Bally.jpg caption="General store Avoca"]] ||
 * KILKENNY**
 * [[image:Kilk1.jpg align="center" caption="hmmmm this Laneway just tickled Gail's fancy"]] || [[image:kilk3.jpg align="center" caption="Tholsel - (Town Hall)"]] ||
 * [[image:kilk5.jpg caption="Just a few of the quaint streets and shops in Kilkenny"]] || [[image:kilk2.jpg caption="This is the city centre!"]] ||
 * [[image:kilk6.jpg]] || [[image:kilk7.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:kilk8.jpg caption="Kilkenny Castle"]] || [[image:kilk9.jpg caption="Kilkenny Castle - built c1190"]] ||
 * [[image:kilk10.jpg caption="Hanging onto the post on St John's Bridge"]] || [[image:kilk11.jpg align="center" caption="Butter Slip - narrow alleyway which once served as the butter market"]] ||
 * [[image:kilk12.jpg caption="Black Abbey"]] || [[image:Kilk13.jpg caption=""Divil the Tag" Irish pub band"]] ||