David and I took the ferry to Cork City, Ireland. Cork, you ask? You MUST know Cork!!! It will be the European Capital of Culture in 2005!!! Actually, the reason David and I decided to visit Cork was because my paternal relatives lived in Cork. A brief history of the Collins name...there were 2 main families from which the Collins name is derived: the O'Coileans from Limerick and the O'Cuilleains from Cork. Both families eventually settled in Cork, so I wanted to see it with my own Irish eyes.
So anyway, we arrived in Cork early in the morning, as people were starting to head to work (blissfully not us!) We did the walking tour recommended in the Lonely Planet book, culminating in some freshly baked scones (delicious!) and smoothies in Bishop Lucey Park. Cork has a very small town feel to it; the walking tour alone gave us a very good feel for the city. Plan B once again became necessary when we found out we could not check into our B&B until 14:00!
We decided to have 2nd breakfast (more like brunch) at Quay's Co-op, this awesome vegetarian restaurant in Cork. It is a very spacious restaurant occupying the 2nd and 3rd floors of the store. There, I enjoyed a full Irish (vegetarian) breakfast, and David had some potato cakes and fake sausage. I began enjoying the custom of drinking Irish tea with breakfast, a tradition I extended to most of my other meals in Ireland!
With our backpacks on, we walked down the famous St. Patrick's Street and then Grand Parade, where we discovered Prince Street indoor market. David bought some delicious homemade Cork fudge there. We noticed lots of construction going on around Cork, which David figured out was Cork City getting ready to be the European Capital of Culture next year. We also walked by the Opera House (very modern and small, though probably a necessary element to be deemed a cultural capital), and I spent some time in the Municipal Art Gallery viewing some Irish landscapes by Helnwien. Meanwhile, David sat outside babysitting the backpacks, while enjoying the music of the bagpipe player right around the corner.
Eventually 14:00 came and passed, so we started the scavenger hunt along B&B row to find Crawford House. Lonely Planet misguided us, and we ended up having to call Crawford House to get directions. The proprietors must have been laughing at us, because we were literally just a few yards away. We splurged on our B&B after our month of hostels and camping, and got the room with a jacuzzi (I think that's what kept me going in the Pyrenees!)
After checking in, we headed to St. Anne's Church, which is famous its Shandon Bells. The proprietor bragged about the view at the top of the tower, saying we would be able to see clear to the Statue of Liberty (!) When we got inside we actually got to play the Shandon Bells. David played 'Happy Birthday' and 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina', I played 'You Are My Sunshine', and working in concert we played 'Three Blind Mice'. So all over Cork City they could hear us playing the Shandon Bells...hope it sounded melodic! The view at the top of the tower was impressive; David joked with the proprietor that he could actually see all the way to California!!!
Dinner consisted of veggie options at Ky's Kafe (chosen by David for its great use of the letter 'K'). The place actually closed after we left at around 19:00, which we found difficult to believe because the menu said they were open "Very Late". Since when is 7 pm very late??? One thing New York City has on every other city we have visited thus far on the trip is that nothing closes; it is truly the city that never sleeps.
No comments:
Post a Comment