Sligo Town and William Butler Yeats

So, after my successful adventure on Knocknarea, I got back to the hotel, had a cuppa to warm up, and changed to go downtown.  I was determined to see as much as possible!  I took a taxi to the Sligo Abbey.  I wanted to see this one as it has a stone altar that is still in place, whereas most of the abbey ruins are not so well-preserved.  But upon getting dropped off outside the Abbey, I discovered it was closed.  I wasn't completely surprised as it was the middle of the week, but as it turns out, the Sligo Abbey closes from October 8th until March 30th!  It was  lovely from the outside, and I will definitely go back up to see it in the Spring.

Fortunately,Sligo isn't a huge city, and I was able to walk around to the Sligo Library and Museum which I had also planned to visit.  It is actually a lovely town.

In the museum they had a special cabinet dedicated to W. B. Yeats.  In the left corner is the Irish Flag that was on his coffin during the funeral ceremony held in Sligo in September 1948.  The booklet in the right corner has the signatures of those who attended the funeral ceremony.

The other two items are the Citation and Nobel Prize in Literature which was awarded to Yeats in 1923.  I have never seen one in person of course, and it was rather amazing to be seeing it right in front of me! I couldn't touch it of course, but loved it just the same.

Jaunty statue of W. B. Yeats!

Though it's hard to see, his clothing is covered in his poetry.

After visiting the museum, I was quite hungry, and so went to The Kitchen Restaurant, located in The Glasshouse Hotel, for an early dinner.  I was on my own as Steve had a dinner he had to attend with his conference.  The restaurant was empty of guests, and I got FABULOUS service!  It is located right on the Garavogue River, and I sat at a lovely table overlooking the river, eating pasta and drinking some wine and reviewing the photos I had taken on Knocknarea.  The waiter saw my pictures and was HUGELY impressed that I had climbed the hill that morning! 

Then, to top off my day, I decided to walk back to the hotel.  It was only about a 25 minute walk, and it was still early so I knew I could get back to the insane asylum before dark!  I got back in time to see Steve for a bit before he had to head out for dinner.  Our plan was that I would meet him later that night at the hotel bar, but after my windy day of walking and climbing and my 2 glasses of wine with dinner, and knowing I was soon going to turn 51, I was toast!  So, I enjoyed a quiet evening reading my book and melting into oblivion...