Day 9 - Kilkenny Castle, shopping

Kilkenny Castle tour €5.30 (photos at Kilkenny Castle)
A castle smack dab in the middle of the city, a very short walk from the guest house.
We had a skilled tour guide who gave a lot of detail on things, and actually asked questions of the tour group to make sure that we remembered facts she'd told us in the previous room, or to try to get us to pay attention to some details.
For instance, when she asked us which one of four book shelves in a room was original, the answer was the one with the slightly warped glass. Apparently, they didn't make glass as well when they originally made those bookshelves as they do now.
No photos were allowed inside, although I got some pictures outside the castle.

Lunch at Café Sol
We had a great lunch at a place called Café Sol (link).
Kristin had a vegetable panini (€9), I had a cajun panini (€9), and we shared garlic potatoes (€2.50). The food was excellent, the atmosphere was comfortable, and we enjoyed ourselves quite a bit!

Dinner at Lombardi's
After shopping for a bit, we strolled for quite some time before settling on a restaurant for dinner. We ate at a place called Lombardi's, which was quite elegant.
Kristin ate pizza margherita (€9.95).
I had spaghetti bolognese (€12.95). For a beverage I had a Peroni (Nastro Azzurro) Birra Superior (est. 1846).

Kyteler's Inn
We returned to Kyteler's Inn for another evening of music. On this night we saw a band called Uisce Beatha (link) who were great! Several Guinness enhanced the experience.

[Photos at Kilkenny Castle] [All Ireland photos]

Day 8 - Cahir Castle, Rock of Cashel, Kyteler's Inn

Left hotel and on road by 10:00 am. GPS says 11:40 arrival at Cahir Castle, our first stop today.

Cahir Castle (photos of Cahir Castle)
Spent two hours at Cahir Castle, from noon to 2:00. It turns out the castle was sieged in 1599 and lasted only three days (link to siege). Took many pictures. We self guided our tour, although they offer guided tours. Other than two groups of school children there for a class, there were only a few other people there.

Rock of Cashel (Rock of Cashel photos)
St. Patrick's Cathedral overlooks some long stretches of landscape around this 200 foot talll hill.
Several areas of the structure are under rennovation, but I got many pictures of the graves for Mark's submissions to findagrave.com. (photos of Rock of Cashel graves)

Dinner
We ate dinner at a place called Kyteler's Inn (link). This place is amazing! Built in 1324, the owner run out of Ireland because she was accused of being a heretic, it's still in operation today. The bands who played were great, the Guinness tasty, the service friendly!
Our waitress is apparently named Snug.
Kristin had stuffed mushrooms (€6.95) which were "so-so, kind of oily," in her words.
I had beef lasagna with chips and salad. The lasagna was ok, the chips quite small, and the salad very tasty.

[Pictures of Cahir Castle] [Pictures of Rock of Cashel] [Pictures of Cashel Graves] [All Ireland photos]