15/05/2023
We headed off from Kilkenny and headed west toward Killarney and the famous Ring of Kerry.
On our way, we went via Blarney. Yes, home of the famous Blarney Stone! Of course I couldn’t come here, be close and not kiss the stone. So we popped in to bust Blarney Castle and did what we had to do… kiss the stone. Yeah, it’s weird. But when in Blarney…
We spent a few hours exploring the gardens before making our way the long way to Killarney.
13/05/2023 to 14/05/2023
For a couple of days we based ourselves in Kilkenny.
We left Delgany and started the day at nearby Powerscourt Estate, home to one of the most famous gardens in the world. Very much styled on the French estates, we spent a few hours in the glorious sunshine wandering around. It was then off to the largest waterfall in Ireland, also in the wider Powerscourt Estate. It was quite the scene there… being a glorious day and a weekend it was packed with a mix of locals and tourists, the locals all with their barbecues out.
After relaxing there for a bit we headed toward Kilkenny, with a detour via Waterford to visit the crystal factory and see the amazing craftspeople at work, still handcutting the high end pieces. It was then to the hotel for the next two nights.
Next day was reasonably low key. We started by driving a little to visit the Rock of Cashel, a dramatic previous seat of power on the hill and emblematic of the sites of Ireland.
From there it was back to Kilkenny to wander the old town, popping into the castle. Seems it was the Butler family that presided over the area. I wonder if I’m from royal stock?
We capped the day by heading to the pub of a former witch (yes, the owner was tried as a witch back in the 14th century… so of course we had to go there).
12/05/2023
We had a very early morning and it was off to the train station to start our journey out of the UK and off to Ireland! A couple of trains and we were in Holyhead, and then the ferry got us arriving into Dublin.
We picked up our car and headed out of the city. We would be back at the end and have time to explore Dublin, but for now it was off to the countryside.
Very quickly we were on narrow roads and subjected to relentless GREEN in the countryside 🙂
On our way to the first night’s accommodation in Delgany, we visited Glendalough, an old monastic site nestled amongst trees and lakes. Quite the introduction! We then wound our way to our cute digs for the night… a great way to spend the first night, enjoying a pint of Guinness (the first of many…)
09/05/2023 and 11/05/2023
So Eurovision has always been a bucket list event. But we always knew it would be difficult… getting the timing, location and importantly tickets all lined up seemed a bit of an impossible task. When I knew I would be in Europe for work, and it was in the UK, things were starting to look promising. So the final bit was tickets.
A few months ago we got in virtual queues with over 100,000 people and scored tickets for Semi 1 and Semi 2, so it was all on! Aaaahhhh!
We actually went to the final previews of Semi 1 and 2, not the live shows. The live shows are notoriously difficult to get tickets for, and so we opted to try for preview shows to increase our chances, and it paid off. We didn’t get tickets for the final, but this was pretty amazing.
So how was it? Such an amazing and surreal experience. Seeing the acts live was incredible, especially Finland, Austria, Australia and Loreen from Sweden. But it was weird to see all the behind the scenes parts that you don’t see…. the stage changes, the crew running around, cameras, and the hosts. Then to watch on TV was very surreal!
Here is a bunch of snaps of the acts and people we met. They will never capture what it’s like to be there, but it hopefully gives an idea!
07/05/2023 – 11/05/2023
Mid morning we headed off to Euston to make our way by train to Liverpool for… EUROVISION!
Our train was nice and smooth and early afternoon we arrived at Lime Street Station to a sea of Eurovision people and signage everywhere. After checking in we wandered the town and soaked up the atmosphere.
I will fill you all in on what we got up to in Liverpool besides Eurovision. That was obviously our big event but we also made the most of our time.
Our first live show wasn’t until the Tuesday so we had a free day. What to do? What do you think… we got on board a Magical Mystery Tour bus and explored all the Beatles sites! We saw the childhood homes of the band, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and of course The Cavern!
We also took the opportunity to visit the Brtish Music Experience, a museum like experience of British music from the 19040’s to now. I love seeing the Bowie, Kate love seeing Sam Ryder’s 2022 Eurovision outfit 😛
On Wednesday we took the opportunity to catch up with Kate’s other Aunt and Uncle. As they were from near Birmingham, we met halfway at Stoke on Trent. Conveniently it was also the home of Kate’s favourite Moorcroft Pottery so we took the opportunity to visit the factory before a nice afternoon tea with the family.
Thursday, before our Eurovision we visited the Tate. While the permanent collection just OK, the Turner exhibition they had on was great, in particularly the sketchbooks.
Anyway, that’s Liverpool! Eurovision will be another post 😉