We had a later start today - bags out at 8am and brekky at 9am. Woo hoo! Except for one slight detail..... when I set my alarm last night I somehow managed to move the clock forward one hour so instead of getting up at 7am, I actually got up at 6am. I thought it looked pretty dark so I checked my watch and my phone and both said 6am, but I rang reception just in case. It would be awful to be late on the last day! There is a very subtle yet strong peer pressure for people to be on time. We had a couple of Asian ladies on this trip, one of whom was rather elderly and they constantly got the times mixed up at the start. But they worked it out after a few days and all went well from there.
There was also another "character"on our trip.... Rockwell - commonly called Rock! He is 90 years old and fit as a fiddle. He actually really reminds me of my dad in looks and mannerisms. He been married 4 times, and three of them had died - of "natural causes" he was quick to point out. He was a great story- teller and entertained us quite a bit.
As did Bernard our tour guide who is definitely related to the leprachauns.... he had a story for every occasion... often about father O'Brien or one of the saints. That's one of the interesting thing about Ireland. Because it's such a Catholic place many of the stories involve the Church or the struggle of the Catholics. It's so easy to see where the faith of our parents came from....
Anyway, back to the travelogue....
We started the day with a short visit to the Waterford Crystal factory- short being the operative word, because Waterfor Crystal has gone bust - another victim of the recession. So all we really saw was a display of some of their best pieces and their showroom. Like Belleek, you can understand why the pieces are so expensive when you see the time and craftmanship that is put into each piece, but there was little to be bought under $100AUD.
Next we moved on to Kilkenny to yet another castle. But the price of entry was not included in this little jaunt so I chose to pass on payment. We could look around the outside but the day was dark and gloomy and raining on and off. And I have to admit, one can take only so many castles!
Kilkenny Castle
Instead I wandered down the street to look through the shops of Kilkenny. I love how the shops all face right onto the streets here. There are some quaint little shops in all the towns, but they all have one thing in common - they're very expensive!
Kilkenny ShopsThe highlight of today however was the visit to the Irish National Stud farm (relating to horses, of course!)It was so interesting to wander around ths farm with the local guide telling us all about horse breeding and the money involved. It is such a high profile business these days, and for a mare to get coupled with a stallion (or "covered" as they say) it starts at 10 000 Euros. But, no foal, no payment. So they have all these strategies in place to make sure the mare is right to accept the stallion, because if she's not interested, she'll kick the stallion and could break his legs, and their goes the meal ticket!
Foals at the stud farm. Did you know that horses are born with their legs at the same size as they are as adults...?? The rest of the body grows but the legs don't get any longer....
The guide was a funny fellow and he told us how they know the mare is on heat. They have a little Shetland Pony called Tommy, who is in a stable with the top of the stable open and if the mare is ready for business, Tommy lets them know. But he can't do any damage, because he's locked inside but they reckon the system is nearly fool-proof!
He was also telling us that once a stallion fathers a horse that starts winning money, the value of the stallion's services goes up exponentially... Their most expensive stallion commands 60 000 Euros for each hit. And it's all very controlled as to how many goes he can have. it's all recorded and there has to be witnesses to maintain the purity of the blood lines. It was really fascinating stuff!
Expensive Irish Stallion
It was also lovely to see that famous irish rac horse - Vintage Crop, who is put out to pasture here. Although he is a gelding, and doesn't have a lot of value in their business, he earns his keep as a tourist attraction. I actually backed him when he won the Melbourne Cup in 1993. Of course we asked if he has a runner next week in the Cup, and apparently there is one called Proud Beauty (I think) but he said he will only be a chance if it's wet. What's the weather like in Melbourne...??????
The other lovely part of that visit was the neighbouring Japanese Garden. See, I do go into gardens sometimes...! The colours of the trees were just exquisite and the layout was very peaceful and calming. I'll include some pics below and you can see for yourselves.
So now, my journey takes another twist and turn as I hire a car and wander off on my own for a while. I'm actually staying in Dublin for one night with Mary, Bernadette's sister, to catch my breath and do my washing (big issue when travelling, as I have revealed before in an earlier saga!). Then I'm off down to County Clare to visit the land of my heritage and hopefully share a coffee with my relatives. I think I have the car for about a week - I'd better check those dates at some stage!It will be nice to have a breather from the bus, and just move at my own pace for a while. Although I will miss the camaradarie of the people on the bus, I won't miss the rocking and rolling and the disciplined regimentation of life in the tour coach.
So ends another chapter on the journey. I might even have a little rest from the blog tomorrow - unless I find I have more exciting pearls to share! Right now I'm going to check my clock is set on the right time and hopefully have a bit of a sleep-in for tomorrow.
Thanks for all the lovely emails you are sending. I love to receive them so please keep them coming as you can!
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