Dunmore East, Ireland...

Wow an early morning today as I finished doing my way too late last night…  Needless to say, I was a bit sleep deprived as I went out to catch sail in photos at 6:00 this morning.  The early morning was not for naught as it was a lovely sail in.  Just like yesterday, it was very cool but I was not outside for an excessive period of time. This was our first tender port of the cruise, and we were on the first one to shore. While waiting for our guide Bianka to arrive, I climbed the sea wall. On our way we left the port of Dunsmore East and headed North through Waterford for about 1 hour drive to Kilkenny. Kilkenny is a medieval town with a Norman history that’s layout hasn’t changed for more than 400 years. We parked the car and headed towards old town Kilkenny. Our first stop was the Kilkenny Castle. The Castle stands high above the River Nore and has dominated the city center since the 13th century. We toured the beautifully restored castle and the grounds. Leaving the castle we walked the cobbled streets, discovered small slipways like Butter Slip and admired the ancient buildings of the town. The heart of Kilkenny is a mix of churches, abbeys, and monasteries dating back to over 800 years ago. Bianka told us about Kilkenny’s history and the stories of former residents of Kilkenny as we wondered the streets towards St. Candice Cathedral and Round Tower. Entering this church takes you back 900 years and is Irelands best preserved medieval church. I climbed the 100-foot tower and had a panoramic view of the city. Our guide Bianka was having car troubles so she left us on our own to pick up a rental car to be able to return us to the ship. We stopped at a local bakery for a delicious scone and then off we went to visit St. Mary’s Cathedral. The church was English Gothic style with beautiful stained-glass windows. We met up with Bianka and we headed to Kells, which is only about 20 minutes away from Kilkenny city. Kells Priory is the only walled medieval monastery in Ireland. The ruins have a church, a chapel, residences and several domestic buildings where you walk in the footsteps of medieval Augustinian monks prior to Henry VIII Dissolution of Monasteries in the 1540’s. Kells Priory was off the tourist’s standard beaten path but it was worth the visit. We returned to Dunsmore East, a quaint fishing village before taking the tender back to the ship. We had thoroughly enjoyed our day touring with Bianka and another with stellar weather day.