After breakfast, we headed out with cameras and map in hand to explore Limerick (like true tourists!). Our first stop was St. John's Catholic Cathedral just a few blocks from the Milk Market. The church was beautiful! despite the poor lighting I was able to get a few great pictures of the architecture. After a long look around and lighting a few prayer candles, we were on our way...
We sloshed throught the streets of Limerick, and crossed the Abbey River in hopes of finding St. Mary's Cathedral (Church of Ireland/Protestant). After a long walk around the church wall we finally made it into the church grounds. Although we decided not to pay to see the inside of the church, the huge cemeteries and gardens within the church walls kept up busy for quite some time!
It was well past noon by the time we had seen what we wanted of the churches of Limerick. With tired and soaked feet we we decided that it was time for an indoor activity. Our proximity to the Hunt Museum made it a prime choice... and it is not a location that I am likely to forget anytime soon!
It was at this point in the day that the we began to see some true Irish hospitality and kindness! Although it only cost 3.50 euro for students to visit the Hunt Museum, the women at reception generously let the 3 of us soaking wet girls in for free! And preceded to find us a guide... also for free! We were unable to take any pictures in the exhibits, but we enjoyed almost 3 hours of art, trinkets, and banter from our guide! The museums collections consist of items donated by John and Gertrude Hunt and included items like pottery, paintings (a few Picasso paintings that once hung in the Hunt's kitchen!?), crucifixes (an entire room of them), and dog collars (Gertrude's collectable of choice!) among many others. It was a great experience despite the extreme case of 'museum legs' that followed (Pat!).
Now completely dry, personally and the weather, we left the Hunt Museum to find King John's Castle. Which is a relic of Limerick built along the river to protect the town around 1200 or 1210. The castle is now a history museum and an interactive 16th century village. We again decided not to pay to go in, but enjoyed the history from the outside! It was while we were taking pictures in front of a canon that we had our 2nd brush with kindness for the day! An older gentleman smoking a pipe (very cliche) offered to take a picture of all 3 of us (seen below). He then preceded to tell us that he worked in the Limerick Museum across the alley and that if we'd like to come in it was free!
It was a small museum consisting of the basic history of Limerick. Although a little shabby, see the picture below, it included pictures of historical figures and artifacts such as hand made lace. It's always good to know a little about the town you live in!
Clearly, the day was packed with adventure, rain, and a lot of walking! It was a day to remember, defiantly one of the reasons I decided to study abroad! Sorry this post was so long... I couldn't pick anything to cut out of the day! I hope you have enjoyed seeing a little bit of Limerick through my eyes.
PS: We actually headed back into town later that evening to experience a true Irish pub night, but I'll get into that later...
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