Here's a little travel report of my short break in and around Cork, Ireland.
I've always wanted to visit Ireland, as it seemed to me to be a beautiful country with lovely people and a very interesting culture. Earlier this year, the opportunity finally presented itself. Of course there had been previous opportunities but I didn't just want to go to Dublin and sit in pubs the whole time, so it took until now to go!
Ryanair (my least favourite budget airline...) had a sale on flights, only 1 penny each way, no fees and taxes except for hold luggage. That was a real bargain, and I jumped at the chance! I phoned a friend to join me, booked a funky little hostel, cheap, very cheerful and in a brilliant central location in Cork, and off we went!
We arrived on Tuesday evening, checked in and decided to head out immediately to see a bit of Cork. To celebrate that we were on holiday we found a very nice real Irish pub and drank some wine and guiness (my friend, not me, I didn't have enough courage yet...). We got back to the hostel quite late, but as the bar was still busy we decided to have one more drink (I've had better ideas in the past...).
The next day we had an early start, and we weren't feeling to good! Still, we had plans and we stuck to them! Off we went to Blarney Castle, to kiss the Blarney Stone! It was beautiful castle in a lovely setting. We climbed all the way to the top and then hung backwards over a ledge, high up, to kiss an old brick in an awkward position! I doubt I will grow eloquent, and as I've never had a problem talking much anyway, I doubt I'll see any change!
After the castle, we had a lovely lunch in Blarney before heading back to Cork. We spent the rest of the day exploring Cork which was lovely. As we were really tired, we had a little rest in our room, before heading out for dinner at a lovely little Italian restaurant. After a little after drink, it was back to the hostel for some much needed sleep!
The next day, our plans got muddled up... We were supposed to head to Kinsale to see the Forts there, but as it was out of season, everything was closed... So we ended up going to Cobh instead, where a museum about Irish immigration was open, very interesting. We also had a little wander around the town, and ended up having the biggest lunch ever! Very nice!
Later in the afternoon, we headed back to Cork again for some shopping action... Had to be done! In the evening, some more drinks and a lovely meal at a tapas restaurant. Only a little meal because lunch had been huge!
On Friday, we'd decided to do a day trip to Killarney to see Ross Castle... As it was out of season, this was also shut... We decided to go anyway, another early start! Got the train to Killarney and managed to find our way to the National Park and Muckross House. We had to walk about three miles just to get there! On the way, we somehow managed to pick up a dog who decided to follow us. We thought he'd walk along for a bit and then go back, but he didn't, so we were pet owners for a little while. It was a bit worrying as he kept running into the road and we didn't know where he came from or where to return him from...
When we got to the National Park, two boys started playing with the dog and we decided to leave him with them. Not sure if these boys appreciated it, but this dog didn't seem to belong anywhere and we couldn't take it back to Cork with us... I did feel very bad and I hope the dog is ok, he did have a colar but no information on it... Can't be helped I guess.
The National Park was stunning, Muckross house was ok, and the walk was long but good! After our walk we found another pub for some lunch, and then explored Killarney town for a while. Lovely place, small but nice!
Friday night was our last night, and we got back to Cork around 7 pm. After a little rest, we were planning to have a Mexican meal, but unfortunately we couldn't get a table so we had to find another restaurant... After a slightly mediocre meal, we decided to head back to the same bar we visited on the first evening for some 'farewell Cork' drinks! We had a good time!
Saturday morning, we still had plenty of time to go out for a leisurely breakfast and do some more exploring of Cork, and even some more shopping! Around 1 pm it was time to get to the airport again, and as we got there it had started raining... But we were leaving then so we didn't mind. We were very tired so we slept most of the way back, it made the trip go very quick.
I think we both had a great time! I'm really pleased I finally got to see a bit of Ireland! The people are really lovely, and the country is beautiful! I'm glad we got to travel around a bit, although I might have to go back during the tourist season to mget to see some of these castles.
