Blarney and Eurovision

Cork's hostel had a quirky little shower. You stand in a tiny stall, press a button, and hope for the best. The first batch of water that comes out is cold. So, it's best to wait until the second batch of water before getting inside the stall. The water comes out in 30 second segments, and so you have to press, rinse, lather, press, rinse, lather, et cetera.

Another thing that gets a complaint: bus schedules. Actually, it's not bus schedules that annoy me, but my inability to understand them. For example, we thought that the bus to Killarney was the 252 leaving at 9am this morning. So, we rushed on over to the bus station before we even ate breakfast. Then, we found out that we were actually supposed to take the #40 to Tralee, leaving at 10:30. Argh. I learned my lesson and when I got to Killarney's bus station, I asked the guy at the information booth for specifics about when/where to get on the bus to Ennis tomorrow. He gave me a printed schedule and highlighted the times, so hopefully we'll get it right.

But before we get to Killarney, I must talk about the Blarney Stone!

Cork is a great city. We had about 45 minutes to wander around before catching the bus to Blarney, and we stumbled upon a parade for girls' football (soccer) leagues. It was great! Also, there is a super fabulous market called "Olde English Market"--it's an indoor market with any kind of food you could want, fresh fruits, veggies, meats, cheeses, et cetera. I've posted photos in FB.

We caught the bus to Blarney next. The castle is on the most beautiful and fragrant grounds--flowers, trees, meadows, streams, et cetera. The castle is a tall, stone, crumbling structure. You have to hike up tiny winding stone steps (100 steps), clutching a rope. It's a tight fit. At the top of the castle is a view of surrounding countryside. It is a long way down! Just three flights, but it feels further when you are on top of a crumbly structure, protected only by iron rails. I stood in line to kiss the Blarney Stone. Here's what you have to do: you sit down on a mat, with your back to the wall, and there is a gap in between where you sit and the wall, making it kind of scary. You have to kind of do a backbend to kiss the wall (fish pose for yoga folks). A nice man holds you while you are doing this, so you don't fall through the gap. (There are iron rails between the wall and the stone walk-way, so if you fell, you'd just get a concussion, not a broken neck.)

After kissing the stone, we went down a different set of stone steps, these with a rail. Along the way, you could poke your head in different rooms--gloomy stone chambers. The second storey floor is no longer there, but it used to be the dining room; the bottom floor is the family room, with big fire places on either end. My favorite was a tiny chamber with a hole in the floor over the castle entrance, called the "murder room," where people could toss boiling water on the heads of enemies as they entered the castle.

The castle gardens were called the "poison gardens," and have all sorts of plants with dangerous qualities, plants like hellebore and poison ivy.

Blarney House was next on our trek. It is a private residence. They only show the house 40 days out of the year, and income from Blarney Castle/House tours helps maintain the upkeep. The guide was very knowledgeable. He took us through the bottom floor's library, sitting room, and dining room. My favorite parts: in the library were copies of first editions, including Jane Eyre! In the sitting room was a view of the lawn and a pasture, where two beautiful horses were grazing. The guide also pointed out cool stuff, like the difference between Victorian-era Waterford Crystal chandeliers and modern ones (the old ones have a higher lead content and better capture the light). There was a table in the hallway with a mirror on the bottom half that women used to use to check their hems before leaving. Et cetera. Upstairs, there were several bedrooms on display. Overall, the house has some really lovely things in it, but it doesn't feel too much like a museum because it is a private residence, and the family always lives there. They even had a television, though it was hidden behind an ornately painted screen.

When we left, the guide told John and I that if we liked gardens, we should check out the home's private garden--the gate was unlocked. It, too, was beautiful.

There are several hiking trails on the grounds, but we decided to go back to the town to eat lunch and catch the bus back to Cork, which is what we did. We ate at a pub (toasted cheese and chips for me).

Our evening in Cork consisted of a late dinner, then hanging out at a bar where everyone was watching something called Eurovision. First, the dinner: We ate at Quay's Co-op, which is now my favorite restaurant in Ireland. All veggie food! And it's over a whole foods grocery store. I had paella, potatoes, and a green salad. Second, Eurovision: I have never heard of this, but it seems like a big deal. The bar was packed for the event, which was shown on a big-screen television. Eurovision is a singing competition for singers all across Europe. Votes are done by country, but people in Ireland, for example, can't vote for the Irish singer. Ireland has done really well in the contest in the past, but they only made second-to-last place this year. Germany won. It was a great show! One act, from Belarus, sprouted butterfly wings at one point, and another act, from Spain, had quirky back up dancers that acted like clowns.

So, that concluded our day in Cork!