Dublin/Kilkenny

I write this from what could best be described as some sort of loungeroom. The hostel we're staying at for the next two nights is definitely one of the more 'homely' places we haved stayed. I'm pretty sure the guy who runs the place lives here, and we're currently using his old PC. And I'm also pretty sure that half the food in the fridge in the 'communal' kitchen is probably his. The place is also less than half of what we were paying in Dublin, haha. Nevertheless, the beds and room we're in are clean, so I have no qualms with the place, besides a little bit of weirdness.

We rolled into Kilkenny this afternoon after a two hour bus drive, having finally left Dublin this morning. For our final day in Dublin, we decided to walk over to the Guinness Storehouse, to partake in the tour. The walk was a smart move on the way there, financially at least, despite what would be described as a brisk breeze. It was however, not so smart on the way back, as we were subjected to the ever fluctuating Irish weather, and drenched in rain. Claire had the foresight to pack a poncho, although the three of us may very well have not have opted to wear one anyway considering the looks and comments Claire got from us as well as passers by. Once we arrived at the Storehouse, we picked up our tickets we had ordered earlier, and we progressed throughout the self guided tour, maps in hand. The tour itself was pretty much all you can expect from a brewery, going through the history/process/advertising of Guinness, and concluded with a complimentary pint in the 'Gravity Bar' - the highest point of the Storehouse that had 360 degree views of Dublin. Not a bad place to have a drink.





Guinness Brewery




Claire with Emergency Poncho

After making dinner for the night, we got all dressed up (changed from shorts to jeans), and headed throughout the light drizzle back to the Temple Bar district. Our enthusiasm for the area waned when we realised the pub which promised so much was full of middle-aged Irish men and women, and loud, drunken women on hens nights. The mood was worsened amongst the girls when they were charged over 17 Euro (nearly $30 Australian!) for two vodka pineapples. Somewhat disheartened, we headed back via McDonalds to our hostel, to relax and mingle back at the hostel.

Kilkennny, is a smallish town, with a population of around 9000 or so, big enough to have traffic lights and a 'Supermacs' - an Irish competitor to McDonalds and Burger King, but not a great deal of other shops around the place. I think Ben and myself will get a bit of use out of the rugby ball I bought in Dublin (only because they don't sell AFL footballs anywhere..)



Kilkenny

Should be back in the UK by Wednesday, as we're hoping to go through Stonehenge on the way back to London...