Troysgate House Kilkenny

... disagree, and without a word of rebuttal, she's off to the corner store to pick up some pudding.<br><br>Lonely Planet describes black and white pudding as being 'like meatloaf, but sausage shaped, cut into discs and fried'. Like many LP descriptions, it is woefully inadequate, for a food that is as integral to Irish cuisine as potatoes and Guinness. Black and white sausage is two sausages, often sold as a pair. The white pudding is mainly made up of pork meat and oats ...

... roads in Ireland are miniature versions of the variety we have in Canada, but the speed limits don't reflect this. We clipped along, squeezed between rock walls and oncoming traffic.<br><br>"The side mirrors on the car fold in if they're hit" Michelle informed me. <br>That was immensely reassuring.<br><br>We arrived home in record time, Michelle threw together a proper feast, and I was in bed by 8.

... man in the room has to come give you a birthday kiss on the cheek! It was so embarassing, but I have the interesting tale of being kissed my about 15-20 men old enough to be my grandfather. ha Anyways on my birthday I went to classes and David gave me a pretty gold chain because I had broken one my necklaces when I was over here. Then after class the girls helped me get ready and David took me out for a nice supper. It was good to eat ...

... before going down to the shop at the bottom of the hill to get out of the wind.<br><br>We saw a sign for St. Patrick&#8217;s well just beyond the car park, so we walked up to it. It was dry, but we gave it a little time before getting back in the car and driving to the town of Trim.<br><br>Trim Castle dominates the landscape as one enters the town. We entered and rather than wait half an hour for a tour, we chose to explore just the grounds. The grounds were quite extensive, and the ...

... and plates. Nothing, in Ireland was served in/on paper or plastic. <br>We took our drinks on our stroll down to the water's edge. We found the water to be very cold. Everyone in swimming had a wet suit on, even the children. Two vans with surfing schools advertised on the side had surfboards and wet suits to rent. They also offered surfing lessons. Inch Beach was a very popular place for the locals. We enjoyed our short stop there.

... black! We got into town too late to do much touring, but I got a few pictures at night of the castle and the shopping center. Our hostess Bridgett had some of the loveliest china throughout the house. Her made to order breakfast on Sunday was also wonderful! We attended mass, (except Audie and our tour guides,) on Sunday morning at St ...

... we are here at some point. The next morning we checked out the dunmore caves which are steeped in legend, folklore and actual history. The caves saw about 1000 people (mostly women and children) massacred by invading Vikings around 928 AD. Again a little creepy but intriguing none the less. We spent the rest of the day exploring the grounds of Kilkenny castle and taking in the precious Irish sunshine.

... was when Amber stumbled on the almost totally hidden remains of some stone outbuildings long since taken over by the trees, ferns and creepers of the dark woods nearby. If you ask me it was these buildings that still carry the most character and mystique that surrounds the monastic lives of the people that lived here nearly a thousand years ago.<br> <br>From Ballyhack we crossed by ferry to Passage East and had left County Wexford behind for County ...

... gelato with a chocolate and raspberry sauce...tasty. Today I wandered around the Castle in the rain...before it turned into a downpour...at which point I made a quick entry to the Kilkenny Design Center and a nearby bookstore. Mom, there will be a package coming in about 5 days for me. (side note: there is something REALLY wrong about hearing a Ja-Rule song in Ireland.) I also bought a necklace with my birthstone in it...it reminded me of something Audrey ...

... minute), it was also curved. Talk about a disorienting effect! Throw in the psychedelic blue carpet they put in the hall and you have a visual guaranteed to make one nauseous. <br><br>O'Laughlin's also has a restaurant and pub on the first floor of the building. We had dinner there. They served a lot of food for the price. The food we had turned out to be a pretty good deal. Plus, if you eat there, they can just add it to the cost of your room. <br><br ...