1 post tagged “cork”
I did promise, even if just to myself, that I'd write something about my trip to Ireland. I rushed to get the photos up and I forgot to actually post about my time there.
It was a beautiful vacation. The weather was nice almost the whole time, raining only two times (and then only briefly). Our trip to Cork, while short, was very nice and allowed us to do exactly what we wanted to do. We arrived by bus from the Shannon airport and walked 2 minutes to the hotel where we were able to check in effortlessly. I'd highly recommend the Jury's Inn Cork for those looking for a good, clean, cheap room in town.
We took the bus tour around the city, one of those hop on/hop off double decker affairs. I got some really nice photos from around town and once we did one circuit, we jumped off at the Cork City Gaol, a 19th century prison that's been shut down for almost 100 years, but now operated as a museum. They had some creepy mannequins and their end movie was pretty bad (Cork Gaolers, if you're reading this, I have notes to give you on that), but overall the experience was good.
The highlights of Cork are the beautiful waterways and the shopping along their high street. Lowlights include the Merchant's Quay, a shopping mall with little to no shopping, and the cafe right below where they used to hang people at the gaol. Tacky, man, tacky.
After Cork, we made our way to Bantry. It's a town on the southwest coast of the country and it's a beautiful wee town. We stayed at a nice bed and breakfast called the La Mirage. The owner/operator of the B&B was a lovely woman who gave us a gigantic room (though a wee bathroom) with a beautiful view. The food was fantastic. I'd stay there in a heartbeat. Great value.
We were there for the wedding of Louisa's uncle. Tim and Sandra had a very nice ceremony (from what I saw) and I wish them all the luck in the world.
They live in a newly built house with a grass roof. The roof has little guinea pigs that live on it that eat the grass, keeping it neat. It's adorable and entirely in keeping with their personalities.
It was great to see all of Louisa's family. For the most part, we all got along, and I'm glad there were no major fistfights that I've been made aware of. Most people escaped from the wedding fairly sober with only one or two minor exceptions.
Louisa's brother Matt and his girlfriend Emma were with us during the Bantry leg of our trip. Matt and I have always gotten along well and, though I've only known Emma briefly, she laughs at my jokes, so I've deemed her a good egg. It was good to travel around with both of them. I hope they can come with us whenever we decide to go to Disneyworld again in the future. 'twould be a lot of fun.
The flights both to and from were great and the easiest I've been on so far. I don't know if it's a matter of me getting used to them or if it was the airline, but I wasn't wasted after either trip. I still prefer flying on a bigger plane, though, there's more entertainment options on a big plane flying into London on BA than on this smaller jet with US Airways.
But I'll take away from this trip a deeper appreciation for what Ireland really is because I saw more of it this time than last. It's a gorgeous country with many things to see and do and I'd love to keep going back there until the day I die.
