I learned very quickly that things in Ireland are very expensive because of the deficit…plus the fact that it's now in Euros. Before James and I left Alice gave us her left over Euros as sort of a thank you/I owe you for running so many errands for her thus far. She gave us 132 Euros, so we haven't even touched our bank accounts yet, but I'm sure that will happen once we get to Dublin and things start getting really expensive.
ANYWAY! Woodstock was great. With all the gardens that go up the hill in levels is very much reminds me of like Jane Austen films where you see those huge gardens that seem to go up and up and up and you see small staircases leading up to higher levels of the gardens.
And here are some pictures of Inistioge, the actual town and countryside:
After that we came back to The Belcher's and had some leak and potatoes soup that Margret cooked for us and herself and then helped Margret feed the goose. Yes they have a goose, 3 cats and a guinea pig , which I will show you picture of now:
That goose is MANIC! When we were leaving today(Wednesday) the goose was let out and was snooping around the cars. James and I were driving out after we pushed the goose back and bit and it like charged at our car head on when we were trying to drive out. It's crazy.
Anyway….after lunch we drove to Kilkenny--the town that James grew up in first in Ireland. James showed me bits around the town….we drove by the Castle, parked somewhere in the centre of town then wandered in and out of shops. The one thing James did take care to show me was his dad's old restaurant, Letrecs. It's on a little street that apparently you used to be able to drive down, but now it's been blocked off and repaved so it's just a cobblestone alleyway. James said that a lot of things have changed in Kilkenny so it didn't really feel like he was 'home' again, but I still liked seeing it.
Kilkenny Castle from the outside:
One thing that I saw in Kilkenny that made me laugh (and this is especially for one of my readers of this blog, T. Katz), we passed by this café/bistro:
While we were in Kilkenny we ran into the first of many uncles: Rohan. He works at the Kilkenny Castle and we ran into him and talked with him for quite a while. I could understand about 1/2 of what he said, then on top of that I noticed he had a lazy eye so part of the time I was understanding him I wasn't paying attention because I kept thinking 'oh my gosh, where do I look? Which eye is his good eye?' Eventually I figured it out and was able to pay attention and still catch only half the things he was saying to us.
After Kilkenny we headed back to the Belchers, had dinner (thai veg curry, which was alright), then got ready to head out. Since we got here we made plans to see a boatload of his cousins, aunts, and uncles all at once so we made plans to go over to his grandmother's house to say hi to everyone then go to a nearby pub to chill. And we did just that.
We went over to his gran's house and basically all filed into the kitchen and talked and drank and laughed.
Here's the list of people who were there(listing Alice's immediate family first--brothers and sisters--then their families…all how they relate to James):
*Gran
*Paddy Dunne(uncle)--looks after Gran
*Kiaren Dunne(uncle)--looks after Gran
*Malchy Dunne(uncle)--has loads of kids, but none were there
*Rohan O'Conner(uncle), his wife Berny(Bernadette), and their kids Neive(girl cousin, 12years old), Laura(cousin, 23years), and William(cousin, 17years)
*Margret Belcher(Aunt), and Bridget went, but not Meraid (or Mark….the father, who was down in Limerick while we were there)
The ones I DIDN"T get to meet, but I've heard loads about are the Anglems….Mary(aunt), her husband John, and kids: Siobhan(girl, 23years), Rochene(girl, 20years), Sean(15years), and James(6years).
It was good fun and very confusing at the same time. They're Irish so not only are they talkative and loud but imagine EVERYONE being overly loud and talkative but in a very tiny kitchen. I tried to keep up, people were handing me drinks and asking me questions left and right….and even when I wasn't the centre of attention it was hard to follow which conversation I was in; everyone's so loud and interesting to listen to that I panic and look around saying 'okay which conversation can I keep up with? It was quite entertaining.
After a few cans of Magners Irish Cider and looking at baby pictures later, The 'younger crowd' of cousins decided to go to the pub. As we were leaving I took this picture of the 'older' generation who were staying behind:
From left to right:
(top) Margret, Kiaren, Rohan
(bottom) Neive, Gran, Berny
The only two NOT featured in there are Malchy, who was driving us to the pub, and Paddy who slipped James two 50euro notes before letting us leave. Laura was slipped some money as well(I think they were the ones who got money because they're the 2 oldest, so they could buy everyone drinks). Apparently Kiaren and Paddy give away money to the cousins like free candy when anyone comes around. Still….we appreciated it and Laura and James each bought a round for everyone.
When I say everyone, I mean the following who were at the pub: Me, James, Laura, William and Bridget. It was great fun hanging out with the cousins in the pub; I really enjoyed myself. James and William even taught me how to play darts, and I almost beat William at it…I only lost by 2 points. I honestly really enjoyed myself; I talked a lot with the cousins and when asked i told Laura and Bridget about how James and I met and plans the we had and stuff. So I felt more included in conversation, even when I wasn't centre of attention, I felt like I could have a right good laugh with the rest of them.
(from left to right) William, James, Bridget, Laura
Margret came round after about half and hour to pick us all up, because she wanted to get Bridget home in time for bed, since it's a school night. So, we drove William and Laura home, then headed off back to Margret's house.
When we got back, we munched on some pizza and more apple pie, then went off to sleep.
James outside Letrecs.
One thing that I saw in Kilkenny that made me laugh (and this is especially for one of my readers of this blog, T. Katz), we passed by this café/bistro:
While we were in Kilkenny we ran into the first of many uncles: Rohan. He works at the Kilkenny Castle and we ran into him and talked with him for quite a while. I could understand about 1/2 of what he said, then on top of that I noticed he had a lazy eye so part of the time I was understanding him I wasn't paying attention because I kept thinking 'oh my gosh, where do I look? Which eye is his good eye?' Eventually I figured it out and was able to pay attention and still catch only half the things he was saying to us.
After Kilkenny we headed back to the Belchers, had dinner (thai veg curry, which was alright), then got ready to head out. Since we got here we made plans to see a boatload of his cousins, aunts, and uncles all at once so we made plans to go over to his grandmother's house to say hi to everyone then go to a nearby pub to chill. And we did just that.
We went over to his gran's house and basically all filed into the kitchen and talked and drank and laughed.
Here's the list of people who were there(listing Alice's immediate family first--brothers and sisters--then their families…all how they relate to James):
*Gran
*Paddy Dunne(uncle)--looks after Gran
*Kiaren Dunne(uncle)--looks after Gran
*Malchy Dunne(uncle)--has loads of kids, but none were there
*Rohan O'Conner(uncle), his wife Berny(Bernadette), and their kids Neive(girl cousin, 12years old), Laura(cousin, 23years), and William(cousin, 17years)
*Margret Belcher(Aunt), and Bridget went, but not Meraid (or Mark….the father, who was down in Limerick while we were there)
The ones I DIDN"T get to meet, but I've heard loads about are the Anglems….Mary(aunt), her husband John, and kids: Siobhan(girl, 23years), Rochene(girl, 20years), Sean(15years), and James(6years).
It was good fun and very confusing at the same time. They're Irish so not only are they talkative and loud but imagine EVERYONE being overly loud and talkative but in a very tiny kitchen. I tried to keep up, people were handing me drinks and asking me questions left and right….and even when I wasn't the centre of attention it was hard to follow which conversation I was in; everyone's so loud and interesting to listen to that I panic and look around saying 'okay which conversation can I keep up with? It was quite entertaining.
After a few cans of Magners Irish Cider and looking at baby pictures later, The 'younger crowd' of cousins decided to go to the pub. As we were leaving I took this picture of the 'older' generation who were staying behind:
From left to right:
(top) Margret, Kiaren, Rohan
(bottom) Neive, Gran, Berny
The only two NOT featured in there are Malchy, who was driving us to the pub, and Paddy who slipped James two 50euro notes before letting us leave. Laura was slipped some money as well(I think they were the ones who got money because they're the 2 oldest, so they could buy everyone drinks). Apparently Kiaren and Paddy give away money to the cousins like free candy when anyone comes around. Still….we appreciated it and Laura and James each bought a round for everyone.
When I say everyone, I mean the following who were at the pub: Me, James, Laura, William and Bridget. It was great fun hanging out with the cousins in the pub; I really enjoyed myself. James and William even taught me how to play darts, and I almost beat William at it…I only lost by 2 points. I honestly really enjoyed myself; I talked a lot with the cousins and when asked i told Laura and Bridget about how James and I met and plans the we had and stuff. So I felt more included in conversation, even when I wasn't centre of attention, I felt like I could have a right good laugh with the rest of them.
(from left to right) William, James, Bridget, Laura
Margret came round after about half and hour to pick us all up, because she wanted to get Bridget home in time for bed, since it's a school night. So, we drove William and Laura home, then headed off back to Margret's house.
When we got back, we munched on some pizza and more apple pie, then went off to sleep.
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