First, I'd like to start by explaining that this week is RAG week. It started in the forties as a charity week to "raise a grand," and it still is that, but it's also an occasion where everyone drinks all the time. Not just every night, but all day too. There are bands throughout the city, we saw a fire juggler/eater lasst night on Shop Street, and several f the clubs are having "foam parties," where people basically dance around in foam. We went out last night, and it was pretty crazy on the streets, but it was also a fun atmosphere. The people I was with weren't getting drunk, just having a couple drinks and listening to music - we found a really great traditional music band at the Quays - but everyone else in town seems to want to quaff as much as they can fit into their systems. Corrib Village has also stepped up security, hiring extra people and cracking down on checking CV IDs. Yesterday evening, around dinner time, Mike, Ethan, Kristen, and I were in the living room, Kristen and I on our computers, the boys watching soccer, when someone knocked violently on our door. We thought it was the boys downstairs, so Kristen went to get it. A second later, a very large man strides into our kitchen and looks around seriously at us for a minute as we stare back. "Did a boy in a brown jumper run through here?" Uh... no. He stares around again, then just walks out. It was hardcore. And weird. But anyway, Paris!
I took well over 400 pictures this weekend, because Paris is absolutely gorgeous, and because I think pictures are fun. Still, I managed to whittle them down to about 350 or so, which is what you'll eventually find on shutterfly (only Friday is up now). We were picked up Friday morning at 6am to get to Shannon airport. The beginning of our trip was rather uneventful. Once we got to France, we met up with the API groups from Limerick and Cork (who were just not as cool as us... not even kidding) and headed into the city, about an hour away by bus. The first thing we noticed: we were driving on the right again!! It was the strangest sensation, not knowing if it felt more right or wrong. We got into Paris and to our hotel, the Carlton, which is at the base of Montmartre and two blocks down from the red light district and the Moulin Rouge. Just to contextualize, my soundtrack for the weekend included "Foux De FaFa" by Flight of the Conchords, "Complaint de la Butte" by Rufus Wainwright, "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart" from Anastasia, "Via Con Me" by Paolo Conte (yes, it's Italian. Go watch French Kiss and you'll understand.), and "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.
We settled into our hotel (I was rooming with one of the Cork girls) and had a little while to go eat before getting picked up for our trip to the Louvre. Jess, Jaye, Shaina, and I went to a nearby restaurant, "Au Rendez Vous," and got Croque Monsieur, which is grilled ham and cheese, but it's really more like a grilled hm sandwich with cheese melted on top. It was delicious, in any case. I only know a very little French, but enough to get by, so we were able to be pretty conversant once we all cobbled our French knowledge together. Well, we could order and ask for the check, ask where things were, say we don't understand or don't speak French, etc. We went to the Louvre, and it was breathtaking. Unfortunately, we only had a few hours, so we split up ino groups with tour guides and got the "highlights" version of the Louvre, which included the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo among other things. Apart from all of the incredible art, just the building itself is stunning, as you'll see from all of the ceiling pictures I took. I don't usually like to take pictures in museums, but I tried to capture as much of the feeling of it as I could so you could start to understand if you haven't been there. Trying to get to see the Mona Lisa was crazy, everyone pushing and shoving and crowding and putting their cameras in your way all while you're trying to just see it and keep from being pickpocketed.
After the Louvre, we all split off to do whatever we liked. I think it was about 9 pm at this point, so we wanted to go eat dinner. We walked through the vibrant streets of Paris, past the Opera House, past countless apartment buildings with the charming railings, and ended up at La Pharaon restaurant, where some people got dessert and I got a baguette and Brie - delicious!! We walked the rest of the way home and stopped at the grocery store (MUCH cheaper than in Ireland) for more baguettes and Brie, wine, and cookies and had an excellent night in the hotel. The next day we had a bus tour in the morning and free time for the rest of the day, so more to follow...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Twitter and other Geekiness/Travel
Well, as if Facebook, this blog, email, and my shutterfly site weren't enough for internet time wasting, I have recently joined the Twitter community. If you're unfamiliar, Twitter is basically a "status posting" kind of place, where you tell the world what you're up to throughout the day. It's a great way to stay connected, blah blah REALLY what it's about is following your favorite celebrities and indulging the impulse to have other people know and care about what you're doing. And I have joined! Yes, and, after finding a few friends I know on Twitter and following them (getting updates on their posts), I immediately started looking for celebs. I should insert now something about celebrity, and how it's so sad that we can't leave these people alone, and we shouldn't care so much about what they do. But I won't, because really that's just silly. I found Stephen Fry!! I get updates about what Stephen Fry does throughout his day! Also Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Greg Grunberg (Heroes). Why do I care? I dunno... maybe I'd like to be part of a larger sphere? Maybe I'm hopelessly curious about things that don't concern me? (a lifelong vice...) In any case, there we are. This all came about because I was (of course) stalking a friend of mine on facebook and read that she had been trying to get Stephen Fry to follow HER on Twitter, but had failed. So my new goal is to get Stephen Fry to follow me. Updates to follow.
Continuing on (I hope this all isn't too painful for you), Friday was the LOTR marathon on campus, and I had a great time as expected. My friend Jess met me there, and another girl I know was there, so it wasn't just me alone in a corner, fear not. There was actually a good showing, and other people (not the all-three-movies-so-we-can-get-a-t-shirt crowd) came throughout the day. As the first film started, and I began mouthing along to the opening monologue, I looked around and saw others doing the same... I was not alone! I like watching movies in a large group. The dynamics make it more enjoyable, don't you think? There was an hour break between the films, and they fed us sandwiches between 1 and 2, and pizza between 2 and 3. We watched youtube videos in between as well, which were mostly painful. Many of us were successful in remaining for the complete trilogy, and we should be getting our shirts soon - pictures will follow.
Paris is on Friday! We leave at six am, and get back around midnight on Sunday, so it's a full weekend. Our hotel is in Montmartre, pretty much down the street from the Moulin Rouge from what I could tell from the map and near Sacre Coeur Church. API has booked a bus tour for us on Saturday morning to hit the major tourist points - Champs d'Elysees, Arc de Triomph, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame - and a trip to the Louvre on Saturay evening, but otherwise we have free time to run off as we will and explore the city! I've never been to real Paris before (we won't speak of the hours in Charles de Gaulle...), and I can't wait to explore another part of Europe! Ireland is different from the US in its own ways, and I'm interested to see how things will be in Paris. I've been warned that upon entering a shop you should always greet the staff with "Bonjour!" or risk being shunned by their Parisian wrath. I am now imagining me setting off a string of "bonjour"s throughout the store, workers popping up from behind display cases and clothes rack to reply, resulting in a musical shift to the song from Beauty and the Beast.
This weekend, in a further attempt to not spend money, was spent quietly at home, reading, using the computer, hanging around the apartment. For Valentine's Day Kristen and I made Cadbury cupcakes, which were very tasty, but otherwise the holiday was, as always, not really necessary since I had no paper valentines to pass out to the class. Sunday passed in much the same way, minus the cupcakes, but I decided I needed to get out of the apartment. Next to the village, between us and the river, is a path that leads me to school in one direction and to unknown places in the other... so I went that way. I knew what was there, actually: Menlo Castle and some sports grounds, but I had never been there, so off I trekked. It's a lovely path, with some sort of marshy land at parts on either side. Menlo (or Menlough) Castle was built in 1569 and was inhabited, I believe, up until the beginning of the 20th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1910, and no one has fixed it, so there it stands in its ivy-covered half-burned glory. It's across the river, so another day's exploration will bring me across to scrabble amidst the rocks, if I can. After that I strolled through the woods and along the sports pitches until I came to neighborhoods (and a horse in a small field!) and from thence wound my way back to Corrib Village just as the rain was starting. I'm heading off downtown now to meet Jess, Julie, and Jaye (I'm considering changing my name to "Jora") at La Salsa for some Mexican food and to continue planning our England trip. Yay! We're planning to go on April 3rd, spending two full days in London, a day in Oxford, and a day in Bath before returning home (in time for Mary and Tine to visit me!). I love exploration! More details will follow on the England trip when they become available, and of course stay tuned for my trip to Paris!
Continuing on (I hope this all isn't too painful for you), Friday was the LOTR marathon on campus, and I had a great time as expected. My friend Jess met me there, and another girl I know was there, so it wasn't just me alone in a corner, fear not. There was actually a good showing, and other people (not the all-three-movies-so-we-can-get-a-t-shirt crowd) came throughout the day. As the first film started, and I began mouthing along to the opening monologue, I looked around and saw others doing the same... I was not alone! I like watching movies in a large group. The dynamics make it more enjoyable, don't you think? There was an hour break between the films, and they fed us sandwiches between 1 and 2, and pizza between 2 and 3. We watched youtube videos in between as well, which were mostly painful. Many of us were successful in remaining for the complete trilogy, and we should be getting our shirts soon - pictures will follow.
Paris is on Friday! We leave at six am, and get back around midnight on Sunday, so it's a full weekend. Our hotel is in Montmartre, pretty much down the street from the Moulin Rouge from what I could tell from the map and near Sacre Coeur Church. API has booked a bus tour for us on Saturday morning to hit the major tourist points - Champs d'Elysees, Arc de Triomph, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame - and a trip to the Louvre on Saturay evening, but otherwise we have free time to run off as we will and explore the city! I've never been to real Paris before (we won't speak of the hours in Charles de Gaulle...), and I can't wait to explore another part of Europe! Ireland is different from the US in its own ways, and I'm interested to see how things will be in Paris. I've been warned that upon entering a shop you should always greet the staff with "Bonjour!" or risk being shunned by their Parisian wrath. I am now imagining me setting off a string of "bonjour"s throughout the store, workers popping up from behind display cases and clothes rack to reply, resulting in a musical shift to the song from Beauty and the Beast.
This weekend, in a further attempt to not spend money, was spent quietly at home, reading, using the computer, hanging around the apartment. For Valentine's Day Kristen and I made Cadbury cupcakes, which were very tasty, but otherwise the holiday was, as always, not really necessary since I had no paper valentines to pass out to the class. Sunday passed in much the same way, minus the cupcakes, but I decided I needed to get out of the apartment. Next to the village, between us and the river, is a path that leads me to school in one direction and to unknown places in the other... so I went that way. I knew what was there, actually: Menlo Castle and some sports grounds, but I had never been there, so off I trekked. It's a lovely path, with some sort of marshy land at parts on either side. Menlo (or Menlough) Castle was built in 1569 and was inhabited, I believe, up until the beginning of the 20th century. It was destroyed by fire in 1910, and no one has fixed it, so there it stands in its ivy-covered half-burned glory. It's across the river, so another day's exploration will bring me across to scrabble amidst the rocks, if I can. After that I strolled through the woods and along the sports pitches until I came to neighborhoods (and a horse in a small field!) and from thence wound my way back to Corrib Village just as the rain was starting. I'm heading off downtown now to meet Jess, Julie, and Jaye (I'm considering changing my name to "Jora") at La Salsa for some Mexican food and to continue planning our England trip. Yay! We're planning to go on April 3rd, spending two full days in London, a day in Oxford, and a day in Bath before returning home (in time for Mary and Tine to visit me!). I love exploration! More details will follow on the England trip when they become available, and of course stay tuned for my trip to Paris!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Bonus
I forgot to mention that on Monday night, Shaina, Ethan, and I went to a ceili mor (a big dance) with lots of live musicians and fun at the College Bar. Shaina and I joined in the set dancing and "danced a fiery dance" as Richard Harris might say. We had many exuberant fellow dancers, and the dance itself involved lots of hopping about and spinning, so much fun was had by all =)
Also, I have another odd commercial to recount to you: in this one, a small boy tells his Mum that he has to "make a poo," and she indulgently takes him by the hand to lead him, presumably, up to the bathroom, but he recoils and says vehemently that "No! I want to make a poo at (insert friend's name here)'s!" It turns out that friend's mom buys Glade fresheners for their bathroom. Can't beat that logic.
Also, I have another odd commercial to recount to you: in this one, a small boy tells his Mum that he has to "make a poo," and she indulgently takes him by the hand to lead him, presumably, up to the bathroom, but he recoils and says vehemently that "No! I want to make a poo at (insert friend's name here)'s!" It turns out that friend's mom buys Glade fresheners for their bathroom. Can't beat that logic.
Cork continued... finally
Sorry for the delay - again, not trying to assume that reading my blog fills up a fun portion of your day - but I have finally returned to finish the saga of Cork. So, we left the little girls behind (judging by their sweatsuits and eye makeup, they were getting ready for/had just come from a cheerleading or dance squad thing), and they, of course, laughed again. By this time we had heard from Shaina and Anne, who were now waiting for their train back on Fota. To wait for them, we decided to hike up to the incredible Cathedral that dominates the skyline of the town. I hope you've seen my pictures (yes, they're all up now), because it was a beautiful beautiful place. Of course, just getting there was a workout. In order to get there, we had to trek a giant hill, using leg muscles we didn't even know we had, wishing for a handrail or, better yet, an escalator system. TOTALLY worth it, because the Cathedral (St. Colman's) was stunning, and the sun came out whilst we stood atop the holy plateau, shimmering over the sea and nearby islands. I took lots of pictures, but you'll forgive me when you understand that we hadn't seen the sun in days - hence the "basking" pictures. Sidenote: I do hope you read the captions on the pictures... they're very edifying. Since a cryptic sign on the front doors falsely led us around to the side, we took a few minutes to simply soak in the vitamin D.
We eventually figured out the sign's instructions (By "please use side doors," it was referring, not to doors on the side of the building, but to the doors flanking the central one. Have I mentioned we hadn't seen the sun in days?) and entered the church, which fairly took one's breath away. I'll direct you to the pictures here, but remember as always that the pictures can never quite capture it. We eventually descended back to Cobh proper, and, after a brief meeting with Shaina and Anne in which they decided to eat and we decided to go to a nearby park, we went again to bask. The park was lovely itself, right on the water with a wonderful huge gazebo and benches, and a statue of a man's torso in a boat, holding a paper (well, metal of course, but you understand) boat in his hands, looking out over the water. He's called "The Navigator," and I was very fond of him. The sun was holding strong, so we remained on the benches there for a while, listening to the wide range of accents and languages being spoken around us by the families strolling through. Swarms of young boys about 10 or 11 (hoodlums, we termed them affectionately) ran through the park, climbing atop my Navigator friend - children here tend to run in large packs far more frequently than they do at home.
After meeting up again with the others, and a bit more wandering, we took the train back past our hut at the Fota station where we had waited in the rain, back past the bridge that had reflected so fetchingly in the river, back to Cork. Some more wandering commenced, some pizza was eaten, and we were lured into the pub a few doors down from our hostel by its sign promising us coffee with Baileys. MMM, delicious. Shaina had her first alcoholic beverage ever (a Guinness), and we all relaxed on the squashy couch near the heater/fireplace thing. The night was actually still young at this point, but we returned to the hostel to spend some quality time in the common room. The highlight of the evening there, I somewhat hesitate to recount, was a series of epic games of "Timberrr" played by Julie and Jaye. Timberrr is the same as Jenga, only more fun because the box told us about the "beautiful hardwood pieces" we would be building with... in reality my old Lincoln Logs were more elegant, but that's neither here nor there.
The next morning we departed early for Blarney. The day remained cold and cloudy, but castles usually look even cooler on a melancholy day, don't you feel? Blarney sits atop a rocky base, which is full of niches, caves, and other fun things. There's a dungeon that you can go a little way through, until your backpacks can fit no further and you're sick to death of water dripping on you. We ascended the narrowest staircase you can imagine, pretty much hauling ourselves up by the rope that hung down through the center of the spiral. When we reached the top floor but one, where the kitchen was, Julie almost had to abandon her backpack because it would no longer fit up the staircase. After much cajoling, she forced her way up, and we reached the turreted roof. The merry men who dangle you upside down over a hole in the floor a long long way from the ground were ready to receive us. One of them, the younger, wore a Yankee hat, so I was reassured. Still, the kissing of the stone went off without a hitch - I was the first to go, and it was easier than expected, and also not scary. The view from the top of the castle (once one was standing, of course) was lovely, stretching away until the mist took the edges of it. When we had finished, we descended the "Down" staircase, which was much more spacious than the "Up," and came out into the park. Once again, we had split earlier into two groups by virtue of the pace at which we wanted to go, etc., so the Js and I moved off to explore the wachtower while Anne and Shaina were still somewhere in the castle. After trying (very unsuccessfully) to climb her way along a series of small niches on the wall of the inside of the tower, Julie settled for climbing the outside. We then explored the "prettyish kind of wilderness" on the side of the castle, which included a super-fun Badger Cave that you could stoop through for quite a ways back into the hill, although Jaye almost lost a foot in the mud. Once we had finished, we went on into the village for some lunch while Shaina and Anne continued their nature rambles. They joined us a bit later in a wonderful cafe before we bussed back to Cork, and thence home to Galway (with a small bag of mini Cadbury eggs each, I might add).
Last weekend I stayed in Galway in an attempt to save money for our trip to Paris next weekend, but Shaina, Kristen, and I went into town to check out the outdoor market, which is very cute and full of fun and delicious things (I got a chocolate-and almond pocket, which means it was all wrapped up in bread with liberal amounts of powdered sugar dusted over). We also did a little shopping (I got some much-needed jeans for the excellent price of 9 Euro, and jeans here fit me better! Huzzah!) and in our travels I THINK I saw the woman who plays Sarah, a character on Ros na Run, which is the Irish-language soap that my Irish class in Pittsburgh (as well as many other people, of course) watches. It was really exciting, but I didn't talk to her. Still, one of these days I plan to go to the village where they film the show (rather nearby) and see if I can get anywhere near the set to check it out. Tomorrow I am fully releasing, unashamedly, my geeky nature and attending an 11-11 Lord of the Rings marathon on campus as a part of Muscailt, a week-long arts/theatre/music festival. Scorn if you like, but I remain undaunted.
We eventually figured out the sign's instructions (By "please use side doors," it was referring, not to doors on the side of the building, but to the doors flanking the central one. Have I mentioned we hadn't seen the sun in days?) and entered the church, which fairly took one's breath away. I'll direct you to the pictures here, but remember as always that the pictures can never quite capture it. We eventually descended back to Cobh proper, and, after a brief meeting with Shaina and Anne in which they decided to eat and we decided to go to a nearby park, we went again to bask. The park was lovely itself, right on the water with a wonderful huge gazebo and benches, and a statue of a man's torso in a boat, holding a paper (well, metal of course, but you understand) boat in his hands, looking out over the water. He's called "The Navigator," and I was very fond of him. The sun was holding strong, so we remained on the benches there for a while, listening to the wide range of accents and languages being spoken around us by the families strolling through. Swarms of young boys about 10 or 11 (hoodlums, we termed them affectionately) ran through the park, climbing atop my Navigator friend - children here tend to run in large packs far more frequently than they do at home.
After meeting up again with the others, and a bit more wandering, we took the train back past our hut at the Fota station where we had waited in the rain, back past the bridge that had reflected so fetchingly in the river, back to Cork. Some more wandering commenced, some pizza was eaten, and we were lured into the pub a few doors down from our hostel by its sign promising us coffee with Baileys. MMM, delicious. Shaina had her first alcoholic beverage ever (a Guinness), and we all relaxed on the squashy couch near the heater/fireplace thing. The night was actually still young at this point, but we returned to the hostel to spend some quality time in the common room. The highlight of the evening there, I somewhat hesitate to recount, was a series of epic games of "Timberrr" played by Julie and Jaye. Timberrr is the same as Jenga, only more fun because the box told us about the "beautiful hardwood pieces" we would be building with... in reality my old Lincoln Logs were more elegant, but that's neither here nor there.
The next morning we departed early for Blarney. The day remained cold and cloudy, but castles usually look even cooler on a melancholy day, don't you feel? Blarney sits atop a rocky base, which is full of niches, caves, and other fun things. There's a dungeon that you can go a little way through, until your backpacks can fit no further and you're sick to death of water dripping on you. We ascended the narrowest staircase you can imagine, pretty much hauling ourselves up by the rope that hung down through the center of the spiral. When we reached the top floor but one, where the kitchen was, Julie almost had to abandon her backpack because it would no longer fit up the staircase. After much cajoling, she forced her way up, and we reached the turreted roof. The merry men who dangle you upside down over a hole in the floor a long long way from the ground were ready to receive us. One of them, the younger, wore a Yankee hat, so I was reassured. Still, the kissing of the stone went off without a hitch - I was the first to go, and it was easier than expected, and also not scary. The view from the top of the castle (once one was standing, of course) was lovely, stretching away until the mist took the edges of it. When we had finished, we descended the "Down" staircase, which was much more spacious than the "Up," and came out into the park. Once again, we had split earlier into two groups by virtue of the pace at which we wanted to go, etc., so the Js and I moved off to explore the wachtower while Anne and Shaina were still somewhere in the castle. After trying (very unsuccessfully) to climb her way along a series of small niches on the wall of the inside of the tower, Julie settled for climbing the outside. We then explored the "prettyish kind of wilderness" on the side of the castle, which included a super-fun Badger Cave that you could stoop through for quite a ways back into the hill, although Jaye almost lost a foot in the mud. Once we had finished, we went on into the village for some lunch while Shaina and Anne continued their nature rambles. They joined us a bit later in a wonderful cafe before we bussed back to Cork, and thence home to Galway (with a small bag of mini Cadbury eggs each, I might add).
Last weekend I stayed in Galway in an attempt to save money for our trip to Paris next weekend, but Shaina, Kristen, and I went into town to check out the outdoor market, which is very cute and full of fun and delicious things (I got a chocolate-and almond pocket, which means it was all wrapped up in bread with liberal amounts of powdered sugar dusted over). We also did a little shopping (I got some much-needed jeans for the excellent price of 9 Euro, and jeans here fit me better! Huzzah!) and in our travels I THINK I saw the woman who plays Sarah, a character on Ros na Run, which is the Irish-language soap that my Irish class in Pittsburgh (as well as many other people, of course) watches. It was really exciting, but I didn't talk to her. Still, one of these days I plan to go to the village where they film the show (rather nearby) and see if I can get anywhere near the set to check it out. Tomorrow I am fully releasing, unashamedly, my geeky nature and attending an 11-11 Lord of the Rings marathon on campus as a part of Muscailt, a week-long arts/theatre/music festival. Scorn if you like, but I remain undaunted.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Cork and its environs
Cork sucks. No, not really, but that was our mantra for the second half of the weekend. Everything we went to was gorgeous and fun and wonderful, but we just didn't mesh with Cork city. Maybe it was too big after the coziness of Galway, maybe it was the swarms of obnoxious teenagers that were EVERYWHERE, maybe it was the lack of an interesting nightlife for college-age kids... whatever it was, we found ourselves homesick... for Galway. But we still had a wonderful time, so I'll leave behind the doom section of my tale and move on to happier descriptions. We got into Cork at about 8:30 Friday night and quickly found our hostel, the Bru, which was conveniently located a block from the bus station and only a couple blocks from the city center. Shaina, Anne, and I were in one room (a 4-person), and Jaye and Julie were in another (a six-person). Ideally, of course, we would have all been together, but Jaye and Julie only decided to join us last minute, after we had booked our room. Anyway, we shared a room with a mysterious New Zealand girl who we only saw once or twice because she worked from 6pm to 3am or something crazy like that. She was pretty much moved in because she was living there for 6 months. Now, this hostel was not an awful place, but I could NOT live there for six months. Ever. Julie and Jaye shared a room with four boys, two from Italy, one from Australia, and another guy. The Australian had a tendency to walk around in his boxer briefs a lot, apparently.
We were starving by this point, so we set out to do some foraging. There were many restaurants on our street, but most were either closed or too swanky for our budgets. We ended up at Subway, which honestly hit the spot. Fortified, we set out to explore the town, which apparently becomes abandoned by 9 o'clock. Still, the very large main roads are connected by smaller routes that have pubs and clubs along them. We were just the wrong age for Cork. Where we later saw crowds of teenagers, at night there were crowds of 30- to 40-year-olds. I have no problem with this age group, of course, but it just makes for a different dynamic. Galway is full of college kids, which might make some of you run away screaming, but for us it's perfect. We eventually found a low-key pub to hang out in for a bit, then we headed back to the hostel. Of course, after wandering around, we were now lost and spent a good bit of time REwandering the streets before we eventually found our way back.
Next morning we planned to take the train to nearby Cobh and Fota Island nature preserve. Fota Island is a really cool place where you can just ramble through the woods or pay to get into the other side, where they have animals. First we rambled through the mud and nature, having a grand old time bushwhacking and exploring. Shaina and Anne wanted to go to the animal place, but Julie, Jaye, and I didn't really feel like paying, so we caught the next train and headed down to Cobh, and the other two were going to meet us there later. Cobh (pronounced "cove") is absolutely stunning. It's set right against the water and built all up this big hill. The houses are multicolored to the extreme, and there are lots of fun shops and restaurants and things. The Titanic stopped at Cobh before heading out, so they have a Titanic museum and lots of memorabilia around, and they also have a statue for the Lusitania. After exploring a bit, we went to get some lunch in a little restaurant decorated with a fascinating mix of African decor, Christmas baubles, and Titanic stuff. The tablecloths had pictures of various kinds of chocolate. Still, we got burgers, and they were delicious. Two younger girls came in after us, and they were locals. They spent some time glancing over at us and whispering about us... "Are they Polish?" Before finally figuring out we were Americans, the discovery of which drove them into uproarious laughter. They eventually broke the ice: "What brings you to Cobh?" We told them how we were students in Galway, visiting Cork, wanted to see the village, so pretty, etc. "... but why Cobh?" We said it was so pretty and such a cool town, and they rolled their eyes. They also had trouble understanding why we were in Ireland for college in the first place. Then they tried to bum fags from us.
Class time... to be continued
We were starving by this point, so we set out to do some foraging. There were many restaurants on our street, but most were either closed or too swanky for our budgets. We ended up at Subway, which honestly hit the spot. Fortified, we set out to explore the town, which apparently becomes abandoned by 9 o'clock. Still, the very large main roads are connected by smaller routes that have pubs and clubs along them. We were just the wrong age for Cork. Where we later saw crowds of teenagers, at night there were crowds of 30- to 40-year-olds. I have no problem with this age group, of course, but it just makes for a different dynamic. Galway is full of college kids, which might make some of you run away screaming, but for us it's perfect. We eventually found a low-key pub to hang out in for a bit, then we headed back to the hostel. Of course, after wandering around, we were now lost and spent a good bit of time REwandering the streets before we eventually found our way back.
Next morning we planned to take the train to nearby Cobh and Fota Island nature preserve. Fota Island is a really cool place where you can just ramble through the woods or pay to get into the other side, where they have animals. First we rambled through the mud and nature, having a grand old time bushwhacking and exploring. Shaina and Anne wanted to go to the animal place, but Julie, Jaye, and I didn't really feel like paying, so we caught the next train and headed down to Cobh, and the other two were going to meet us there later. Cobh (pronounced "cove") is absolutely stunning. It's set right against the water and built all up this big hill. The houses are multicolored to the extreme, and there are lots of fun shops and restaurants and things. The Titanic stopped at Cobh before heading out, so they have a Titanic museum and lots of memorabilia around, and they also have a statue for the Lusitania. After exploring a bit, we went to get some lunch in a little restaurant decorated with a fascinating mix of African decor, Christmas baubles, and Titanic stuff. The tablecloths had pictures of various kinds of chocolate. Still, we got burgers, and they were delicious. Two younger girls came in after us, and they were locals. They spent some time glancing over at us and whispering about us... "Are they Polish?" Before finally figuring out we were Americans, the discovery of which drove them into uproarious laughter. They eventually broke the ice: "What brings you to Cobh?" We told them how we were students in Galway, visiting Cork, wanted to see the village, so pretty, etc. "... but why Cobh?" We said it was so pretty and such a cool town, and they rolled their eyes. They also had trouble understanding why we were in Ireland for college in the first place. Then they tried to bum fags from us.
Class time... to be continued
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