This past weekend was one of the best weekends of the semester so far, and it happened right here in Ireland! On Friday and Saturday, Meg and I traveled to Cork in southern Ireland. It was beautiful.
On Friday morning, we had taken an early train and arrived into Cork station around 10 a.m. This gave us plenty of time to check into our bed and breakfast (which was just about the cutest place in the world we could have hoped to stay in). Our B&B was called the Fenroyd House just outside of town, and the owners – Tony and Avril – sat us down as soon as we got there, brewed us a pot of tea/coffee and gave us a map while telling us everything there was to do in Cork and the surrounding areas.
We took them up on one of their recommendations and took the train to an outlying town called Cobh (pronounced Cove) where there is a museum about the Titanic, since it was the last place the ship stopped before heading out to the Atlantic to famously sink. We stood where first class people stood on the deck to watch their loved one’s embark, and we learned about the elegance of Titanic. Truly a great museum.
After that we walked around town and stopped in a Sweet Shop while taking in the breathtaking view. Then it was time to head back to Cork and eat dinner. I had the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten, only to be told later that Cork is the food capital of Ireland. Wow!
Saturday brought a whole different adventure: we went to see/kiss the Blarney Stone! According to Irish stories, the Blarney Stone is supposed to give you “the gift of gab” once you kiss it. We kissed the stone, walked through the Poison Garden and a Fern Forest and headed home. It was a tiring, but extremely satisfying weekend.
It’s good to be back in Dublin, but not for long. We head to Austria next week, we stay tuned!
Until next time!