Cork Day 3: Cork City Bus Fire
Though the day
started out rough, our walking trip to Blarney turned into a beautiful
afternoon in the hazy sunshine. We got to climb the castle, see the surrounding
gardens, and even say hello to a neighboring horse. Then, to top it all off, I
bought sweaters for everyone on my list, including myself, and sent them home
for free. The bus ride back was an added bonus. What a day it has been in Co.
Cork!
The morning
began normally with breakfast and a stolen lunch of two croissants, an apple,
and a hard boiled egg. These would come in very handy later for an on-the-move
lunch, so I am glad I snuck them. Anyway, our professor had told us that the
walk to Blarney from Cork would take around an hour, and was approximately five
miles long. Though I was more hesitant, both of us agreed that it would be cool
to walk it. And an hour did seem reasonable. Right? Wrong. We set off at 10 and
did not arrive until around noon or a little after. Though we did get to see
some amazing views over the hills, we had stretches with no sidewalks, lots of
uphill walking on muddy ground, and very close encounters with residential
houses, guard dogs, and speeding semi trucks. As soon as we arrived at Blarney,
we rejoiced a little, but we remained a little grumpy having gone through all
of that on our own without proper preparation. Our feet hurt just a little bit.
Now,
there was nowhere left to go but up. The castle awaited, and we could not wait
to see the view from the top. Unfortunately, we had waited until prime tourist
time to do this, so we had to wait patiently in line for about a half hour
before we could get to the top. And we didn’t even want to kiss the stone; we
just wanted to look over the walls! But either way, I think it was really worth
the wait and the hike up those teeny tiny stairs. The countryside extends for
miles, buildings nestle perfectly within the landscape. The mansion looms over
the grounds from across the way. Everything becomes small and things like a
tiring walk become unimportant. On the way back down, we stopped to climb through the earthy smelling dungeons, crawl in mud and let our hands touch the grimy walls that so many have touched before us. Then we emerged, thankful we are not prisoners fated to that small, dark tunnel. Instead, we get to enjoy the spring sun setting slowly over the river. The nature helped to bring us back, and we are
glad that it did.
Luckily, we met
up with our professor and other members of our group just as we were leaving
the grounds, so we did not have to figure out the bus ticket for ourselves—we
were not about to walk back after a day like that. They wanted to stop at the
Blarney Woolen Mills, so we gave it a try. I am so glad we did! I ended up
buying all five of my souvenir sweaters there, and they sent them home with no
shipping, just insurance. Amazing. I also saved a whole sweater’s worth just in
tax deduction. I don’t even know what that means, but I’m glad it happened. I
just thought the sweaters were great and everything, though definitely catered
to tourists, looked authentic. Plus, the employees were so accommodating to
helping me find what I wanted, each in the correct size. To me, that is
priceless.
The long day
almost over, we hopped on the bus and bought our one-way tickets back to Cork.
Finally back at the hotel and off of our feet, we did some homework in the room
and relaxed before dinner. I decided to go vegetarian for dinner, since fish
for a straight two weeks is probably not the best idea; instead, I got a
chicken and mushroom pastry for the appetizer, a delicious vegetable curry for
the main course, and an even more delicious chocolate mousse for dessert. Sure,
I should probably be asking for the fruit bowl dessert more often. But after
that five mile walk, I think I deserve some wonderful mousse.
But the day was
not over yet! Our music professor had already said he was going out to see some
music, so we decided to go with him. The place apparently came highly
recommended from people around here, and it did not disappoint. There were four
musicians to start: a piper, a concertina player, and two flutes players (one
of them a lefty—crazy!). They started off with some lovely songs with soaring
melodies—the classic stuff of trad music. The lefty flute was particularly
good, as well as the piper. Soon, a guitar player sauntered in and started
strumming along. But the real fun for me started when the accordion player
joined the group, which added a solid undertone to the whole outfit. Tonight
turned out to be more about listening to conversation than about listening to
music, but these talented musicians provided such an excellent backdrop that we
didn’t even need to pay attention to them to know that they were playing
fabulous music. Minus the short fire alarm going off thanks to a burned pizza,
the whole night was great. The pub was one of the coziest we’ve been to, but it
didn’t seem crowded or staged. It was exactly what I was looking for when I
came here.
Now it is late,
my feet ache, and I want sleep. Class starts at 9AM, so I need to get some rest
before then. But I will dream about reels in a cozy pub with a warm fire close
and friends surrounding me.
♥
photo credit Diana Cleveland
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