Kilkenny

Drunk touristing the Irish town

Part of my holiday plan in Ireland was to stop at the very best place where happiness is made: the breweries. One of them is Kilkenny under the Smithwick brand, which made my touristy day in the town a lot funnier than I could’ve planned.

Went to the Smithwick brewery with food resting in my belly for 4 hrs long before. After an exciting tour, I got to try out the three types of ale produced under the brand, including 2 I’ve actually never tasted before.

As delicious as they’re, after a few minutes enjoying their free WiFi and the wonders once made by monks in that same building, my body was asking for some food.

Started a new stroll in search of a google maps stop called Kilendry Inn, recommended by my local friend Rosie. Supposedly named after a witch from back in their medieval days. Yes, Kilkenny has a long-ass history, that includes urban legends. Fascinating!

Done with the only vegetarian option in their menu and a fresh and unrealistically good Kilkenny from the tap, I kept going with my programmed self-made day tour. Which by then was still missing some medieval buildings.

If it were too easy…

Never one to count my drinks, but at that stage and considering my small body, I wasn’t doing the math right.

One of the planned stops, Church of Candice —dating from the 1200s—, included a 30 mt tower looking out to the whole of Kilkenny, now looking more like a city than a town, to be honest.

Thankfully, I carried my water bottle that kept my small body sorta’ hydrated after a mix of alcohol and European sun.

Unfortunately, that tower was pretty narrow and climbing up those stairs gracefully wasn’t an option. So, as I was climbing up, ended up dropping my empty bottle a fair few metres down, breaking its plastic lid.

To say that making it down with my motor skills not-at-its-best wasn’t a struggle, would be a lie. Definitely, not my most glamourous moment, as everyone around could witness.

Mutual cultural exchange

After the whole church tour, I felt like I needed some coffee to shake off the sleepiness, so stopped at a lovely coffee place that served vegan milk, surprisingly enough.

The couple at the till, most likely the owners, offered me some free scones because they were about to close, which I humbly accepted as I felt my heart getting warmer fast.

You see, as bad a cook as I am, one of the first things I learned to make –if not the only– was precisely scones, which mum managed to turn into a summer hobby back in the day.

Then, after a quick exchange of travel anecdotes, including some from a trip to my country, we parted our ways. But before I left, they wanted to make sure I knew their most important memory of that visit.

“There are many straight dogs around,” she says as if delivering an unknown piece of information.

Even though I’m sure they’re just happy to share that with someone who could get it, I somehow got offended this was their main impression, as correct as it may be.

Living in Australia for so long and being the crazy dog-lover I am, I’d been profoundly missing all the straight ones you see back home every day. Though I’d love for every dog to have a loving family of their one.

I never thought anything of it growing up, to be honest. Until I started travelling and realized it wasn’t such a common thing.

So, at the end of my day –with more alcohol than recommended–, and after two innocent comments, I was farming some severe homesickness.

Anyways, Kilkenny was more of an adventure than expected for a small-town-vibe looking place. It left me with plenty of rich memories of a long-lasting town with as much history as it has beers on its books.

Just magic. Hopefully, I’ll get to visit Ireland soon enough. In the meantime, I’ve plenty of memories and, to me, that’s what makes the trip worthwhile.