Ireland ~Cork!!

Cork! After a very nice 5-hour bus ride through different parts of the country of Dublin, we have made it to Cork!  Now before we left we had figured out how to get from the bus station to our hostel, well we did not account for something, wrong information.  When viewing our hostel and the bus station it had said they were on the same side of the river, wrong. The hostel was on the other side of the river.  So after wandering for a minute or two and taking out a book, we learned from a wonderful Irish man that we were going the wrong direction.  This is not the first time we have done this and it is definitely not the last.

 

While in Cork we have visited the Blarney Castle.  Located in a city named Blarney, huh who knew?  The town was quite the tourist city and we did not want to stay there long.  But the castle was beautiful.  This was the third castle to be built on the site and built in 1446.  The castle had been attacked several times and had many rivers and hills for its protection.  Also the castle looks formidable, built on a cliff of exposed bedrock, that adds another 30 feet on to the castle.  There were tunnels dug into this, and though we looked at some, we decided we did not want to crawl around and get lost.  The castle itself is rather large and for the most part intact.  Even though the wooden floor/ceilings are gone you can tell where they were and are able to climb up many tiny staircases to the roof.  It is here that you find Blarney stone.  The stone is on the very top and built into the side of the castle.  You are to kiss the stone by laying down grabbing onto hand rails, as to lean over backwards, a man helps you.  We each got our picture kissing the stone and then fled.  For as were we just reaching the top floor it started raining, not the usual rain of Ireland, more like a torrential down pour.  This made things slippery, such as stone, which the castle is built out of, and caused us to not take many pictures of the aw inspiring view from the top.  But once out of the castle it slowed down, a wonderful thing about Ireland is the weather really does change every 15 minutes.  Now I know most of us say the same thing for Minnesota, but this is worse.  We have gone from extreme wind for a bit, to misting, to sunny, to rain all in the course of an hour.  The sun seems to rarely come out, but when it does it is wonderful.  In fact we did not see the sun until our 2^nd full day in Dublin and that was only for 20 minutes!  Anyways, the grounds of Blarney are beautiful, unless it is another torrential downpour and then you decide to cut your walk short, even though everything is gorgeous.  After Blarney it was a bus ride back to Cork City Centre for lunch.  And then a walk around the city to get in the sites.  We visited St. Finn Bier’s Cathedral, Elizabeth Fort, Cork public museum, and the tried to find Cork City Gaol (jail).  The jail was hidden way up some hills and after walking for 40 minutes we found it, about 5 minutes before it closed.  Then it was back to the hostel for a meal, and some down time.  And then back to Dublin by a 5-hour bus ride, to hopefully get to see part of the coast.

 

Now, here are a few things I have learned while traveling in Ireland.  Always have a raincoat, an umbrella is nice but doesn’t cover enough.  Keep snacks with you, if you are not sure where you are at least you have lunch.  Watch out for poo, and spot it for fellow travelers as well.  The French people will get made when asked about their soup, be prepared to ask your question several times and still not get a real answer.  Ask the Irish if you need help finding a place, if they don’t know they will at least point you in the right direction.  Do not get confused by the Gaelic that is everywhere, it is an amazing part of their history.  Go to pubs that have Irish music, even if they end up playing a few AC/DC songs really poorly.  Always check your hostel for its kitchen equipment, before shopping.  Ask the people working the desk, they know where almost everything is and have great suggestions for food, shopping, and entertainment.  Though one needs to not take all their advice, otherwise their suggestion for getting to Dublin jail would be to go and hit the guard that can be found a few blocks down the lane.  Hopefully this has helped you understand our trip a little bit more.  And I know one thing, I really want to come back to Ireland.  Poo or no poo.   

~DH