Kilkenny was our final stop in Ireland so we could catch up with Rita and Sean that we had met in Chengdu, China.
Rita was glad to be out of the real estate industry with the current recession. Her mum had a jewelery shop and Rita has taken it over and is also working as a insurance assessor.
Sean is an archaeologist and is working in Limerick. He drove through to spend the evening with us so it was great to catch up. He had to leave early to drive one and a half hours back for work. He has move to where the digs are so living away from home is a hazard of the job.
Kilkenny Castle in the middle of the town sits beside the River Nore. We did a tour of the castle but quite a lot of it was closed for renovation and restoration. The first structure here was built of wood in 1172 and was burnt down. The stone castle was built in 1192. There is not much original furniture in the castle but a few pieces that were sold at auction have been lent by the present owners for displaying.
The city now owns the castle and they have reproduced some of the original yellow shiny silk 'wallpaper'. It was used in the dark drawing room and the shiny bright colour helped reflect the light from the lamps. They have also managed to get original designs from the Axminster carpet factory to reproduce the carpets that were in use by the Butler family when they owned the castle.
Rita had some time off so we went for a drive to nearby villages of Graignamanagh, Inistioge and Thomastown. All very scenic and a target for movie makers. Nice coffee shops as well.
Inistioge.
