Kilkenny

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Today was a nice day and 21 of us international students made the one hour bus trip to the medieval city of Kilkenny. The city is known for its castle and that was the first stop for us. The castle was magnificent. We started off in the rose garden before making our way inside of the castle. Once we were inside we took the guided tour of the castle and learned about its rich history from the attack by Oliver Cromwell to the giving of the castle by the Butler family to the citizens of Kilkenny. Sadly pictures are not allowed inside the castle, for understandable reasons, so none of you will get to see the beauty that was inside. The castle is a little unique in the fact that it looks very much like a medieval castle on the outside, but the Butler family had the entire inside redone in the Victorian age so it resembles more of a palace on the inside. The castle sits within a 56 acre park that the Butler family also donated to the city. By the time we finished our castle touring we were all hungry and headed for lunch. As we were walking to lunch down the main road, one could really get the sense that the city was from the medieval times. The roads were stone and narrow and all around were small little alleyways connecting one road to the other. After lunch, we made our way to Saint Canice's Cathedral. Although you are supposed to pay to go in, we just looked in the gift shop that was in the cathedral and took a peak at the church. After Saint Canice's, we went to the Black Abbey and then Saint Mary's Cathedral. At all three of the churches I noticed how simple they were. They was nothing extravagant to distract a person from the real purpose and meaning in the church. After looking around the churches, it was time for the Smithwick’s brewery tour. Smithwick’s is the oldest beer in Ireland and has a rich history dating back to 1710. The tour was great and then the best part was at the end when we were able to taste a free pint of Smithwick’s. This was a great way to end what had been a very long, but enriching day.

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