After the antics of Porto it was always going to be a tough act to follow up, so who better to draft into the fold than the Lord of Loose, Captain Oh-Zone himself. So the scene was set, 2 good looking roosters, one Emerald Isle, 68,700 pints of Guinness ... news of this weekend would be the biggest thing to come out of Ireland since Boyzone!
20.25 Friday night was touch down, this allowed me enough time to race to the shops for 3 cartons of beer and a heap of snacks in preperation for the weekend. After the flight eventually landed (due to delays out of Deathrow, what a surprise!) we jetted over to my mate Daves place for a few cheeky beers and a 'Welcome Back O' party. Having chopped a couple we then hightailed it over to the cultural epi-centre that is Saggart, via a police check point, dumped O's gear and headed to the hotel bar for a few Guinness.
The bar was pretty quiet so we took our leave (once I had fooled some poor bloke into believing that I owned the Ferrari out the front) and headed home to rest up for the road trip tomorrow.
Saturday rolled around and after a hearty breakfast, we headed off to Wexford to explore the home Irish cheddar. I had received some glowing recommendations of Wexford; let me begin by saying they all fell well short of the mark. The drive down was beautiful, as most driving trips in Ireland are, with some great scenery although, in typical Irish fashion, the coast road actually didnt really go along the coast, it was a few km's inland. Hence, when we saw the first opportunity to snap the ocean ,we grabbed it, unfortunately it meant we were required to walk through graveyard, although it did give a nice photo opportunity.
Next stop Wexford, not really much to report here, fishing town on a river with an above average representation of teenage mothers. It was like walking through Tea Tree Plaza there were so many young Mum's. Had a wicked lunch here though, seafood chowder was sensational despite having capsicum in it (has anyone ever heard of that before?). We did manage to board a few fishing boats whilst there, which was really interesting and no one seemed to care!
O at the harbour
Next stop was Kilkenny, which had also received good reviews so by this stage I was not really hoping for much. The drive there was pleasant enough (apart from me nearly running out of petrol), we stopped at a really nice little town to take some pics before jetting to Kilkenny, with the goal of drinking some Kilkenny.
The old bridge we just drove over
To take a pic of O by the river
Arriving at Kilkenny we were pleasantly surprised to see it was actually a really nice town, complete with Castle, many watering holes with traditonal music and Travellers/Pikeys. We had a pleasant stroll along the mall until I decided to head into the local souvenir store. Out the front were some pikey kids giving the shop owner grief, trying to steal postcards as he stood there warding them off with his golf umbrella. Eventually the poor bloke had too much and belted one of the kids with it, next thing we knew a knife came flying at him from around the corner, thats right a 12yo girl decided to throw a knife at the bloke. This was topped by the 14yo boy declaring "if you think thats a knife you should see the one in my pants. If you come near me I'll bury a knife in your neck". All rather pleasant really, so we purchased our fridge magnets and took our leave.
Next stop was Kytelers Inn to sample the Kilkenny, this pub was excellent, exactly what you'd expect from an Irish pub with local music, pleny of bar space and a nice publican. I proudly strode to the bar, confident of receiving the obligatory pat on the back from a local for ordering the home brew. Said I to the bar keep "2 Kilkennys please". Only to have the local next to me say "what are you drinking that piss for?" as he proudly sipped on his Carling. Unpreturbed I stood my ground and returned to our table excited in the prospect of chopping a Kilkenny in Kilkenny. Now I have done Kalamata Olives in Kalamata, Dijon in Dijon (well close to it) and Port in Porto so it would be a stern test and it did not disappoint, sure it's not Guinness but it's still a good drop and easy going down. In fact it was so good we toyed with the idea of staying there but, unlike so many other occasions, 2 did not lead to 20 and we headed back to go out in Dublin.
O points the way, Kilkenny Castle
Worker @ Kilkenny Castle
O goes his Kilkenny
Not to be outdone I chop one as well
O outside the local
After a couple of pints we returned to the car, ready to face the Irish roads and oncoming traffic with courage! Arriving back in the Dubs we dressed up and headed to a nightclub in town where we proceeded to dance the night away with a hens night and several other locals. Now heres a tip: if you ever go out in Dublin leave before the club shuts because you have to contend with 1,000 other people all trying to get home at the same time and there are no taxis!
Sunday was spent recovering then having lunch in town with the lovely Inneka, who is all domesticated and loved up over here now, she had just purchased a new leather couch and BMW!! It was great to catch up though, for just the second time in the 11 months I have been in Ireland, pretty slack by me but what are you gonna do!?
All in all a massive weekend spent with a great mate, a lot of man love and a road trip - what more could we ask for?
Next stop ... Leeds & Liverpool to see the birthplace of my Dad and the Beatles respectively
