Cork and Kissing the Blarney Stone
This weekend from Friday to Sunday I visited the far off county of Cork. A group of us (Nick, Andrew, Brett, Jaclyn, Monica, Lexi, and I) woke up at 8:30 and hustled our sleepy selves to the bus station to catch the 10 am bus. That bus was 5 hours and I was sleepy enough to forget my ipod (for those of you who are prone to motion sickness, you can feel my pain here) Luckily Lexi was kind enough to let me use an earbud and listen to her awesome travel music mix.
When we arrived in Cork, it was rainy and we were tired and ready to hustle off to our Hostel and put our stuff down. The guys decided to travel to a jail fortress in Cork while the ladies felt like we wanted to walk around the city of Cork. We walked and checked out the local bookstores and got mochas at a coffee shop.
Than we met the others (Nia, Sarah, and Adam. Those who chose to come to Cork on a later bus) and tried to find a place for dinner. We did but we all had to eat seperately at tables of four. I had a delicious halumi sandwhich. Than we decided to meet up with one of Lexi’s friends in Cork at a Pub. We stayed there for a while (I tried Jack Daniels for the first time, very nice). Lexi’s friend than got us into a dance club for free which was fun except for the fact the DJ was so bad that it would have been easier to dance to music from sesame street. We left when the club closed and headed back to the hostel room that was taken over completely by NYUers. It was like a huge slumber party.
The next day we headed to Blarney, to see the castle and kiss the Blarney stone. According to legend kissing the Blarney stone is supposed to bring the kisser eloquence. considering my career path I need all the eloquence i can get so made sure to give the stone a smooch. This was not as easy as it sounds considering the process to kiss the stone is to climb the very high, very narrow castle and hang over the edge area of the castle and kiss the stone that is a few inches over the edge while an old man holds onto you so you don’t slip and fall. For a person with a fear of heights, this was no picnic.
After that we went to the garden around the Blarney castle, and walked around. It was the most beautiful place I have been to yet. it was all moss covered trees, bright green grass, hidden waterfalls and flowers. And my camera broke. So I will have to steal other people’s photos so you can see the beauty of it all. It was like my five year old imagination come to life. I felt like a fairy or a leprechaun would pop out of a bush at any moment. I didn’t want to leave. But I did.
After that we headed back to Cork and got lunch, at an amazing little restaurant called Puccino’s where I tried the local delicacy of Ireland, a breakfast treat called “Black Pudding” which is a fried patty of grain and animal blood. It wasn’t horrible but I wouldn’t order it on a regular basis.
After that the girls decided to check out the shopping (Cork is famous for it) and take a little break. The guys decided to visit the local zoo. It was fun even though I couldn’t afford anything. Than people slowly started to leave back for Dublin until just Lexi and I were left for another night in Cork.
We went in search of some traditional Irish cuisine but the only thing in our price range was a cheap Indian restaurant. In the restaurant Lexi realized that her new top she was trying out was too revealing so I offered her my tank top since I had a sweater on anyways. We snuck into the skeezy little bathroom that was tiny and started the swap. Mid-swap, there was a knock on the door and Lexi and I, without thinking answered in unison “One minute please!”. The man who knocked promptly scolded us because “only one person allowed in the bathroom at a time”. So Lexi and I finished the swap. I was so confused that I didn’t really know what to do until Lexi said
“Carmen. Run. Just run.”
Me: “OK!”
So we ran out of the restaurant and down the street. We stopped for a breather in front of a drug store and to my surprise I noticed a man dressed in a very creepy bunny outfit. I promptly told Lexi to stop and look but by the time she looked up he was hidden. We stood for a period of time and waited for the bunny man. Until finally over the tops of the shelveswe saw two long ears and than in an instant the bunny man was coming towards us. unsure of what to do Lexi said
“Carmen. Run.”
Me: “OK!”
So we ran until we reached a lovely pub, and got a Guiness. We chatted and hit on the bartender and had as the Irish say “A grand old time”.
The next day we decided to go to Cobh which is a quaint little town on the sea shore. we walked around and tried to go to a museum but they were either closed or too expensive. So we went into the local (and beautiful) church and witnessed a baptism. Than we watched the sailboats and had tea and a huge slice of meringue cake, it was delicious and a good price. Than we headed back to Dublin on the 5 hour journey home. it was a great time. Today has been mainly sleeping the trip off.
and dying my hair, but because my camera is broken I am unable to take any new pictures to show all of you. maybe later. Hope you enjoyed the video and pictures i could save. Bedtime, I’m sleepy.
