An Overdue Update

Sunset over Cork

Hello all!

It has been far too long since I have done this and I have a lot to say so I'll just get right into it!

My birthday was two weeks ago and what a birthday it was! A big group of us went to the Franciscan Well, a pub across the street and a favorite of mine to start off the evening. Much to my surprise, a cake was brought out saying happy birthday from my family! My wonderful mother, in classic Carol Wolfe style, had arranged to have a cake made and delivered to the pub as a surprise for my birthday. We went to a few more pubs before the night was over and had a really great time!

Thanks Family!

Last weekend our group went on a day trip to Kinsale and to Blarney. Kinsale was a great little town but unfortunately we found ourselves there in the morning and in the middle of the off season as far as tourism goes and not much was open. We had some fantastic Fish and Chips at a little restaurant and walked around the town.

The harbor in Kinsale

After a short while, we boarded the bus and headed to Blarney to see the Blarney Castle and to kiss the Blarney Stone. Touristy, though it was, it was a really cool place! The grounds of the castle and the area around it is just beautiful and there was a lot to see. We climbed our way to the top of the castle up a dark narrow spiral staircase to the top where the rather unremarkable Blarney Stone is located. The stone is just a stone laid in the side of the castle that makes up one of its exterior walls. I had heard stories of the locals going up to pee onto the stone that all of the tourists kiss so I was a bit relieved to see that they had a bottle of disinfectant sitting next to the stone. It was probably just put there to put our minds to rest but either way, I was there and I was going to kiss that rock, urine stained or not. After laying on my back, grabbing onto the hand rails and being helped over the edge by the employees, I kissed the stone and was apparently given the "gift of gab"...eloquence and all that good stuff.

Blarney Castle

This weekend most of our group went on a trip through the university to the Ring of Kerry. The trip took us to county Kerry where we explored all there was to see. We went to castles, forts, museums, the beach... the works. Though the weather was not cooperating (windy, rainy, no real surprise), the most amazing thing was just to be able to see the natural beauty of this place. One of the highlights was Killarney national park. I know I have said it before but the amount of green is stunning. We drove through the park and hiked through a world of green and out to a waterfall.

We got back last night and went to a pub that was playing the Super Bowl. Because of the time difference the game started at 11:30pm here. All of the pubs have to close down at 2am but this one locked its doors at 2am so no one would be seen by the police entering or exiting and we were able to watch the entire game! The interesting thing is that they do not play any of the commercials here and just have a few old football players that no one has heard of to talk during the breaks. When the game was over we were ushered out the side door into the ally and the Garda (police) were none the wiser!

I hope to get back to posting regularly!