Ireland Part Two: Cork!

The second city Sarah and I visited in Ireland was Cork City. We traveled there by bus and were lucky to see the beautiful countryside outside our windows. Just like in the movies! We arrived in Cork and headed to our home for the next two nights: Sheila's Hostel. A quaint building with perhaps the most friendly front desk person I've ever come across.

Stained glass window in St. Anne's

As we did in Dublin, Sarah and I decided to walk around the city for our first day. This time though, we did it without a guide. The lovely front desk lady showed us the best way to hit all the major things to see and we were off. Our first stop was a charming Anglican Church, St. Anne's Church Shandon. There, one can ring the famous Shandon Bells. Sarah and I opted not to, as there was already a couple up there ringing them. As we left, it started sprinkling and we started up a large hill to the Cork City Gaol (prison). Because we had just toured a prison, we both decided to just see the prison from the outside and take in the incredible scenery. We proceeded to get lost after attempting to head down the large hill. We were told of a bridge that would take us to our next destination but it probably took us about an hour to find said bridge. And by this time it was pouring rain. We decided to stop at a cafe, hoping that the rain would let up a smidge so we could sightsee a bit more. I had a delicious caramel chai tea latte, however, the rain did not let up. Sadly, we couldn't stay in the adorable, warm cafe all day, so we faced the rain and hurried to a nearby, indoor market. The market was exactly what you'd expect: fresh meat and fish, pastries, and crafts. It was a perfect respite from the rain.

We had a couple other places we wanted to see but, because of the downpour, Sarah and I decided to have a pizza and movie night in our hostel instead. And it was just what we needed! We watched the slightly silly Coyote Ugly and feasted on cheese pizza and chicken fingers. My favorites!

Kissing the Stone!

The next morning, we made the trek to Blarney Castle. It's a six hundred year old castle set in the middle of the most beautiful grounds. It also happens to be the home of the Blarney Stone. You may have heard of kissing the Blarney Stone? Well, people flock to this site to kiss the stone and receive, as the legend tells us, the gift of eloquence. One of the great things about visiting castles, in opinion, is imagining how people lived 600 years ago. I often wonder how what it would be like to be the daughter of a lord or a servant in one of these, huge ancient castles. Sarah and I climbed through the castle, pondering this until we made it to the top. We stopped at the Blarney Stone. Leading up to it there are quite a few little cartoons about the history of the stone and why people visit it but nothing really prepared me for the kissing. As you can see in the picture, I was held by a man as I lied on my back and stretched to reach the stone (you can't tell in the picture, but the stone looks different than the ones surrounding it and you really have to stretch to reach it). It was a slightly terrifying experience! There were bars preventing me from falling to my death but I was scared nonetheless! However, I now have the gift of eloquence, so keep that in mind next time you speak to me!

Another marvelous thing about the Castle are the other things to see on the grounds. One of these being the Poison Gardens. Most of the plants weren't blooming during our visit (it being February and all) but we got to see a marijuana plant and a couple of the plants mentioned in the Harry Potter books/movies: the Mandrake plant and Wolfsbane. Being an avid Harry Potter fan, I thought this was one of the coolest things we saw!

After spending a couple hours at the Castle, we journeyed back to Cork city. We had sightseeing to finish! Luckily the weather was perfect for walking around. The first site we visited was the Red Abbey. From what I had read before traveling, I thought that it was the ruins of an old abbey. And it is, but there is only a wall left, not an entire building, as I had thought. We also visited St. Fin Barr's Cathedral. And it was ginormous! Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we got there.

Sarah and I spent the rest of the day walking around and trying to decide where to eat (an extremely difficult decision!). Then we headed back to the hostel to prepare to voyage to our third and final destination, Limerick.

Blarney Castle