Driving in Europe turned out to be a very interesting experience. After curbing our rental car a time or two, I managed to get us out of Kilkenny and on the road to Limerick. The drive was gorgeous. Our GPS unit took us through the Irish countryside on small winding roads, barely wide enough for two lanes. If we weren’t riding the center line to avoid scraping bushes on our left, we were riding the bushes to avoid oncoming traffic on our right. Through the ups and downs of traffic-induced adrenal panic and constant admiration of the landscape’s random stone ruins, we finally made it to Limerick and our Limerick City Hotel.
Once again we went upstairs and unpacked into our temporary home away from home. Connected to the lobby downstairs was a McGettigans bar and restaurant, and we heard some fish and chips calling our name. I was already tired and still jet lagged, and the meal and beer didn’t help. Then with some fish in our bellies happily swimming in Guinness, we though it might be a good idea to walk the town a bit.
We were staying pretty centrally downtown around the shopping district, but had no interest in shopping. This was the one problem we found with Limerick. Between Kaylee and I, we’re more interested in seeing and learning about the history of an area rather than buying what it has to offer. It being dark and rainy, we headed back to our room for a movie and quick nap. What I thought would be a nap turned into me fully sleeping from about 6pm to 430am the next morning. Regretfully admitting my mistake to myself, I took the opportunity to write the first Ireland Blog post and edit photos from the day prior.
Kaylee got up a few hours later, and after another continental breakfast we headed out to King John’s Castle, about a 25-minute walk up the road. The tour was 11 Euro a piece and completely worth it. The castle’s first pieces were built in the Norman era around year 1200 on top of an even older viking settlement. It is extremely well preserved, and the tour is very informative and interactive. The view of Limerick from atop the castle is also the best we found the whole time spent in the city. After a couple hours of castle touring, we headed across the street to Katie Dalys—allegedly the oldest pub in Limerick—for a quick whiskey and then down the street to St. Mary’s Cathedral for a self-guided tour. I had never been in a Gothic church before and I was blown away. So much so that my first words walking in were, regrettably, “Holy sh*t.” Goes to show I haven’t been to church in a while! It was an amazing structure dating back to the 12th century, I could feel its age. Past sermons echoed in its walls and I could sense every era of its history. It was surreal.
Ready to return to our lives of sin, we left the church and found the highly recommended Locke Bar right across the street. We laughed for a minute at the irony of this, and carried on to find some doner kebab for lunch and head back to the hotel. We watched movies and napped and relaxed for a little while to kill time before going back to the Locke for music later. Eventually it was time to head out.
We went to Smyth’s for a pint and watched a random football game and then made our way to the Locke. Good thing we showed up when we did, we got the last table for two in the house. It was totally poppin. Everyone was dressed in their Saturday best, and I soon realized I was the scrubbiest dude in the joint. Good thing I wasn’t there to try to pick anybody up! Everyone else seemed to be though. After some more whiskey and nachos, the music started. We wanted to see some of this Irish “trad” since our concierge recommended it to us when we checked in to the hotel. One guy on acoustic guitar and the other on accordion, they started jamming. It was upbeat and classic Irish folk-style, and we were even lucky enough to see a gal come out and dance traditional, what we in America would probably call river dancing. During the show I did happen to see something I was absolutely not ready for. Outside the window I had my back against were a few drunken Irishmen Kaylee and I had been observing time to time. Well this time one of them got gutsy enough to shove his hand down the front of the drunkest one’s pants and fondle his shite. Shocked, I turned around with what must have been a pretty hilarious look on my face because Kaylee started cracking up at my trauma. I guess these dudes were having a pretty good night too! At this point it felt like a good time to call it a night so we headed back to sleep before our next day’s trip up north to Sligo.