Today was another travel day. Our Airbnb host, Jennifer, offered to drive us to the train station at 11am, but that meant that we would miss seeing downtown Kilkenny and Kilkenny Castle since they are both close to the train station. Instead of driving us, we asked Jennifer if she would meet us at the train station with our luggage. That would make the 45-minute walk much easier. She agreed, and yes, she was right on time! Today's weather was overcast with occasional drops of rain. The umbrellas stayed in the pockets. We're headed north to Belfast, Northern Ireland via Dublin where we'll switch trains and train stations. It was a 45-minute walk between trains stations and there was a traffic jam that would've given us a 31-minute taxi ride. We chose to walk. 👫
I'll start the photos with a wide view of Kilkenny Castle. We didn't have time to buy tickets and take the inside tour, but simply walking the grounds was impressive.
Before getting to the castle, we found breakfast at The Worlds End Bar. It's the one with the red awning in this picture. It was a small diner in the front serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a full bar in the back just beyond the double doors. We were fortunate to find this local gem right there on the main road.
This group of five behind was so loud and boisterous, no doubt solving the world's problems, that the server apologized to us after the group left. No apologies needed. It was very entertaining. We loved it.
A full Irish breakfast for Patrick, and scrambled eggs and bacon for me, with a basket of brown bread. This was so much bacon, I made a bacon sandwich to eat on the train. It was the perfect snack.
The two Irishmen on the left were in the diner earlier. I took this picture from across the street, and when the man in the grey shirt saw me, he smiled and waved. I wish I had taken a picture of that! It's 10am on a Friday morning, and I'm pretty sure he had an adult beverage in his hand.
As we left The Worlds End Bar, we saw a group of children walking down the street. A few minutes later, we saw them headed for the Kilkenny Castle. Photo below shows the group walking along the river.
Below are a series of pictures from the entrance to the 40-minute walk around the base of the castle and up the stairs onto the castle grounds. It was free to walk the premises.
So many tours available, so little time. www.boattrips.ie
Surely this bowl is for the black and orange castle cats we learned about yesterday.
Remember the rain in Kilkenny yesterday where we stepped into a craft booth for shelter and I found some treasures? This is the same area from the castle side, and it's empty. How fortunate to have found the market open when we did. Thrift stores are proving to be far more elusive.
We took the train from Kilkenny to Dublin and walked 45 minutes to another train station in Dublin where we could continue our journey. Because we had 3 days in Dublin when we arrived two weeks ago, so much looked familiar and the learning curve was lessening. This second leg of our train journey took us to Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. When we arrived, even though it's a different country, there are no borders, and no customs to pass through. Not getting another stamp in our passport was a bummer, but the ease of walking off the train and into the streets of Belfast more than made up for it.
Some of the train seats are set up like a dining car where there is a table and two chairs on either side facing one another. We were paired with two retired teachers, married, enjoying life in Belfast with family in the Republic of Ireland, Kerry, I think. We had two hours together, and we learned so much. He was an English teacher who loved to write poetry, He also had a fantastic sense of humor. She was an elementary teacher who told us of the struggles as a teacher as any teacher in the USA would have. I wish I could remember their names. They highly recommended going to the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens, both free of charge, and recommended the famous Belfast poet, Seamus Heaney, once visited by King Charles and Camilla. You should've seen the look on his face when I said I had never heard of Seamus. Upon further research, Seamus' face does look familiar. They also recommended the restaurant, The Flame, near Europa. The Europa Hotel is the most bombed building in Europe.
Our dinner at Flame was delicious.
Below are pictures of our train ride, our walk to Flame and our dinner at Flame. Little did we know, our evening was far from over. Our Airbnb host agreed to pick us up at Flame. Two hours later, we were at the Airbnb, because Jim gave us a tour of Belfast. Showing us where the Titanic museum is, where the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods and the gates that still separate some neighborhoods and the walls that are still there as a reminder the violence from 1969 to 1985, where some of The Game of Thrones was filmed in the Belfast studios, where the big ships are built, where the Ulster Museum and Botanical Gardens are, and so much more. Jim is so passionate about his homeland having grown up in Belfast.
Finally out of the city and into the country to his farm home, we drove on the same road that the famous Ulster Motorbike Speedway takes place. It's a harrowing street race, and there is usually one fatality each year. It was curtailed during COVID, and for insurance reasons hasn't resumed.
But wait, there's more. It was 10pm by the time we got to the farmhouse and Jim wasn't done telling us stories about his neighbors and how he's been adding on to his family home. He has farm fresh eggs from the chickens out back, one cat, and one dog. No horses, cows or sheep. He's in construction, so he works outside the home. He served us tea and then a nightcap of Jamaican rum. While we were in the kitchen listening to the local radio that he put on by saying, "Alexa, play U105," we heard our names announced on the radio. No kidding! He had called into the DJ earlier and requested that she send a shoutout to the travelers Patrick and Jennifer from Charlotte, NC wishing us a safe and fun visit in Belfast. Jim's Airbnb is certified by the tourist board. He says the Republic of Ireland to the south doesn't have such tight regulations, but he has regular inspections to be sure his guests have what they need.
It all sounds too much, but he was as sincere as could be. We were up until 11:30pm when we all finally faded and went to bed. Jim had an early morning at his construction site right next to The Flame restaurant, so it was definitely time for us all to get some sleep. Below are pictures from the day.
Above are a few pictures of our train ride from the Dublin station to Belfast. It was overcast and the countryside looked a lot like the other photos of Ireland, except for the photo directly above.
That's the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland.
Below are pictures of our walk through Belfast to our restaurant, The Flame.
Europa, the most bombed building in Europe. It's been renovated. Obviously. LOL
The Flame dinner. Beef, mashed potatoes and cauliflower for Patrick. Vegetarian risotto with mushrooms and spinach for me.
Tomorrow I'll have pictures of our Belfast Airbnb, an old farmhouse.
As you can see, it was a very long day, but one that we wouldn't have missed for the world.
That was Friday. I still haven't even begun to post Saturday's travels, and right now it's Sunday night and we're watching the final round of the PGA Championship in a pub, of course. I'm going to do my best to get caught up by the end of the day tomorrow, Monday. It's been an amazing weekend.
