Happy Winter Solstice!
I was up this morning and moving as the sun was rising. I am discovering that the weather forecast, at least through Weather.com, is not to be relied upon to plan your day. Earlier this week the forecast started with … rain. It has changed so many times since then. As of last night, according to both weather.com and Ireland’s TV news, we were to expect fog until 11am … Yet, I work up to the sun rising.
My goal for the day … Kilkenny! I was fortunate that the drive north was clear. I managed to find the ‘city centre’ and a place to park. I will admit that I took the long way; even with a GPS unit (it wasn’t worth the money.) It was busy! People were out Christmas shopping and then school let out. There were crowds everywhere; inside and out!
My first stop was the Kilkenny Design Centre. The front of the Centre houses a shopping area. Behind houses I found a variety of art workshops that can be rented by artists as studios, both to create and sell their art. A little more nosing around and I found a great old house behind the workshop area called the Butler House with gardens.
From there, I wandered across the street to revisit the Kilkenny Castle. Things are decorated for the holidays!
And this is exactly what I wanted to do … Wander and explored!
In the castle area, the Kilkenny Christmas Market was set up. There was about twenty wooden sheds that offered everything from chocolates to vegetables to crafts. I grabbed a cup of coffee and proceeded to …. yep, wander the old, tight streets; taking pictures along the way.
Here are today’s photos. Also, I did grab some new windows and doors. They have been added to other other blogs.
Location via Google Maps: