Kinsale

We took the bus to Kinsale this morning, There's a cool wind today and daughter is a bit off colour, cold and sleepy. We had a look round, the city in the morning, stopping at the Crawford art gallery where we had scones and a drink and then nipped back to the hostel for daughter to have a quick nap, and we fetched warmer coats.

The road to Kinsale is lined with golden gorse and cordylines - an odd combination. Daughter slept.

We wandered around first, found the Tourist Information to get a map, and then, being as this is the gourmet capital of Ireland, treated ourselves to a light lunch of sea food and tabbouleh in Max's wine bar followed by a rhubarb tiramisu and a succes cake (meringue & caramel). We then strolled round to see sights. We observed the influence of the British history in the post boxes.



Another thing that interested me was the brightly painted houses. There are terraces of them in Kinsale and Cork.

The most interesting place to my mind was Desmond Castle. This has a long history as a customs house, an arsenal for the Spanish and a prison for French prisoners in the 17th century. It might have been rather overcrowded and there was a disaster in 1747 when a fire killed 54 prisoners. It is now a national museum and includes an exhibition not only of the gaol but also of the history of Irish wine links. Being a port, Cork has imported wine from Spain and France for centuries if not millenia.