Another Kervick in Ireland...Watch Out!

Last week Katie came to visit and we had some celebrating to do! Right before she got here she passed her second actuarial exam and was offered a full-time job at the Phoenix, she's a superstar.

I was so excited to introduce her to show her my life here--the country, my new friends, my apartment, and CORK!  We did an overnight trip to Killarney, a small town just Northeast of Cork city.  It's a pretty touristy town, but there's a lot to do so I figured we would have a good time.  We did. 

I really wanted to let Katie have a "traditional" Irish experience. (I've only been here for 2 months, so I really have no idea what the traditional Irish experience is, but I tried my best).

Step One: Early Pints
Katie and I started our night early and went to O'Connors, a tiny, dark, hole-in-the-wall, pub.  It was there that Katie had her first pint of real Irish Guinness (she said it was difficult to get through, but she finished!)

I made the night more "Irish" by wearing a tweed jacket.

Step Two: Traditional Irish Food

We headed over to another pub/restaurant (better lit) and had a hearty Irish meal--Irish Stew and Beef and Guinness Pie. Accompanied by a pint of Murphy's. Can't get much more Irish than that, right?

Step Three: Traditional Irish Music

We then headed to the famous Danny Mann and heard an awesome band from Cork, The Molly Maguires, who played an awesome show.  The music obviously accompanied by more pints.

(Tip: For those of you that travel to Ireland, do NOT request "Danny Boy" to be played anywhere. Though the Molly Maguires handled this with class and played a beautiful mix of Danny Boy/Bridge Over Troubled Water, nothing says "I'm an American who knows very little about Irish music" more than requesting this song.)

The next day Katie and I rode bikes through Killarney National Park and saw Ross Castle.  The park is a must see in Ireland and is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the country.  It was a perfect, sunny autumn day in the Irish countryside...then we saw a dead cat (I won't go into detail).

She's serious about hydration.

Ross Castle.

In addition to our weekend in Killarney, spending the day in Cork City, eating lots of scones and drinking lots of tea, Katie and I also took a trip to Kinsale, the gourmet capital of Ireland.  We "trekked" (I use this word loosely because it was a 45 minute walk, but if you ask Kate, she would say we sprinted 6 kilometers. I admit, I'm a fast walker), up to Charles Fort. It's a 17th century star-shaped fort.  We learned about the history of it, but I honestly don't remember much beside the fact that it was briefly a commune in the seventies!  The views from the fort were incredible.

It was so nice to have Katie here because it was a little piece of home, and it's nice to have someone who really knows you around.  By the end of the week (me sleeping on the couch for 6 nights, Katie staying out later than she's used to) we were TIRED, but it was so worth it.

And In a couple weeks it's time for Dad...

I could live here...

This past weekend my friends and I took a trip to Galway, a favorite city of many tourists, also home to an Irish university popular among many American students.  It's much smaller than Cork, but I the weekend was one of the most enjoyable yet.  Galway was a medieval city and during the middle ages was Ireland's main port for trade with Spanish and France and Christopher Columbus even visited. I was surprised to learn that during the 16th century, though, Galway did not really get along with its Irish neighbors because at the time it was ruled by Anglo-Normans, and at one point there was a bye-law that exclaimed "either O' not Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway without permission."

One of my friends and I spent the next day roaming the little city while the majority of our group traveled to Inishmaan, the largest of the Aran Islands.  We started our day over scones and tea, walked along the river banks and cheered on runners in a marathon, and ended up on a little beach.  We each curled up in the dunes and read our books, and I wrote.  During this time, even though the ocean was right in front of us, and a marathon was taking place right behind us, everything was still quiet and calm.  I couldn't help but think, "I could definitely live here one day."  It's just beautiful and perfect. 

We continued our day with a warm Irish lunch at Riordan's, "The Home of Traditional Irish Food."  We ate in a cozy little upstairs sitting room. I had Shepherd's Pie, that they served with a side of potatoes (yes, more potatoes), cabbage, and carrots.  My friend had traditional Irish stew.  It was delicious.

We continued the day with shopping, more reading, napping, and ice cream for dinner.  It was one of the best days I have had since I've been abroad.  One thing I have to keep reminding myself of is that even though I'm in a different country and want to see as many things as possible, it's important to remember that I need to take the time to relax and just simply take in the fact that I'm in Ireland...part of the experience of living in Ireland is doing just that, and being a normal person, not a tourist all the time!

-Mollie

Ireland Loves Arthur Guinness!

Guinness Mustaches!

A beautiful pint.

Arthur Guinness, born in 1725, was bequeathed 100 pounds by his godfather in 1752.  This 100 pounds is arguably the most influential 100 pounds ever to be part of Irish history. With his sum, Guinness invested the money and started a brewery in Leixlip, just outside Dublin, and the rest is history.  Now, Arthur's day is celebrated around the world in order to honor the Guinness legacy. Arthur's Day was definitely one of my favorite nights out in Cork so far!  The festivities started around 5pm.  At 5:59 everyone in the pubs across the country stopped in order to cheers to Arthur.  My night included a free pint of Guinness and free food (not much can make me happier), and lots of live music and dancing! It was a great celebration of one of the most important men in Irish history!

London

So, I've been failing at keeping up with my blog, but I'm going to do a couple posts to try to bring everyone up to speed in my crazy, Irish life.

Two weekends ago I traveled to London.  I wanted to love London, I really did, but my first impression was being stuck in traffic for half an hour trying to get from the airport to the hostel.  It was just busy and crowded.  Cork is crowded but not like that!  

We walked through Piccadilly Circus that first night and I was absolutely amazed by the architecture.  The streets were lined with beautiful, huge, white buildings --I had never seen anything like it before.   But, as I was trying to take in the beautiful nighttime lights and architecture, my friends and I were literally bombarded by night club promoters trying to get us into their clubs.  It was annoying and overwhelming.  We ended up at a small pub, it was cozy, but the beer choice was awful. When Foster's is the best beer on tap you know something's wrong. I'm already spoiled by my Murphy's and Guinness.  

Our first night in London. Typical with the double-decker bus.

Though I wasn't the biggest fan of London, I was excited to be able to go to some of the most well-known tourist spots ever.  I saw Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, the tower of London, Buckingham Palace (They charge like 20 pounds for you to see Kate's dress, that should be illegal).   

Me doing the tourist thing in front of Big Ben.

A couple highlights from the trip:

1. A picnic on the lawn of Hampton Court Palace.  The palace, home to royal families since the 18th century, was amazing, unbelievable really.  The whole thing was just so rich and the gardens were so lush, I was having such a hard time trying to believe that people had actually lived in a place like that. There was a chapel built right into one of the wings of the palace that was absolutely incredible, I almost cried a little.  But back to my picnic:  on the grounds of a palace in which royalty has lived, eaten from the nicest china and silver, slept in the most luxurious fabrics, received the most expensive gifts, I sat with my friends and a loaf of white bread (stolen from the hostel that morning), and a 99p jar of peanut butter.  I laughed at the irony, and felt like I was sticking it to the rich man a little as I enjoyed my lunch.

 2. The Crown Jewels at the Tower of London

I don't consider myself a jewelry lover by any means, and honestly, I could care less about diamonds and gold.  But the display of the Crown Jewels made my girly, feminine side come out and I was in awe.  The diamonds and jewels that were on display had me drooling.  There's something about a 546 carat diamond that makes me excited.  

Though I enjoyed my time in London, I could never live there.  It was way too big and too touristy and everything seemed fake.  That's the thing about Cork and Ireland in general, it's more real, and down-to-earth.  I love it even more after London.

-Moll

A step back in time...

My Irish Folklore and Ethnography class traveled to Inisheer (Inis Oirr), the smallest of the three Aran Islands on Thursday.  After arriving late at the single hostel, we went to the public house next door for a night full of sing along's. It was traditional Irish craic.  The nurse who traveled with our class was at the pub and heard someone say my name and remarked, "Mollie? I know a song about a Molly."  She sang it for me and it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.  My classmates and I watched and listened with awe.  Here's a link to the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ul-3mspEFg&feature=related.

We had the next day wholly to ourselves so we could explore the island however we wanted.  Naturally, I woke up early and caught the last bits of fog burning off, and laid out on a cliff and read and wrote.  There was a point when I thought, if I were ever going to see a selkie, this is the place I'll see it.

where the selkies must live.

As I made my way around the island and continued to take pictures I could not help but thinking about how silly it seemed, because pictures truly cannot capture the spirit of the island. It truly is simple living.  The island's total full-time population is only 300 people and it did not receive electricity until 1972!  Though I have already noticed that the people in Ireland are generally more friendly, the people of Inis Oirr were even nicer.  Everyone said hello to me, and a woman even stopped her car to invite me to a concert that was taking place that night.  Life definitely moved slower and it was quiet.  It is very rare to have a moment when the sounds of cars on a freeway or machinery are humming in the background, but there were truly moments when the ocean was the only noise I could hear.  I could hear cows mooing and horses neighing and that made the Island more beautiful. Though I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, at one point I was moved to tears because of the vast, beautiful landscape that laid ahead of me, and the fact that I was the only human in sight.  This is a feeling that so few of us are able to experience regularly, this purity and beauty, that it was overwhelming.  

After taking a nap on the seashore, I continued to circumvent the Island.  I came across a shipwreck that I later learned was "The Plassey" which was wrecked  on the island in 1960.

Inis Oirr is also home to the ruins of O'Briens castle which was erected in the 14th century and was later taken over by the O'Flaherty's in 1582.

The most amazing part of the island was the extent to which it was covered with stone walls.  The importance of land in early Ireland forced farmers to partition the land scrupulously.  The island now looks like a huge maze of small patches of land.  It was the craziest thing because I could be walking a good 15 minutes through these different plots with nothing but grass and rocks in them, and then discover one small plot with a horse or cows in them, in the middle of nowhere.  At one point I veered from the marked path and began climbing over the different walls, but for fear of being attacked by a horse I got back on the trail. Right now, I am most interested in Irish architecture.  We've learned about the building of homes in my class, and thatch roofs already blow my mind, but these stone walls are outrageous! I can't begin to fathom how these walls have withstood the elements for hundreds of years.  They are built without mortar or cement, only by placing rocks upon one another.  Another reason for the many walls was that the land was so rocky that it was almost impossible to farm.  Therefore, farmers removed the rocks and began piling them on eachother.  It truly is breathtaking but mind-boggling at the same time. 

I'm pretty sure this is the beginning of a new wall.

Like I said, the beauty of the island can't be captured by photos or even words.  I would love to spend an extended period of time on the island.  It was the perfect place to write.  It was meditative and quiet, and it made me proud to be Irish.  I would suggest traveling to Inis Oirr to anyone who is looking to feel Ireland in a way that can't be felt in any other part of the country.

-Mollie

Last stop for the Titanic: Cobh!

Last week a few friends and I took a ferry over to Cobh (pronounced "Cove" and translated from Irish to literally mean just that).  Though it is a tiny seaport town, it has a lot of historical significance which makes it a popular tourist spot.  So popular, in fact, that many of the shops accept US Dollars.  We arrived at the Heritage Center that houses an historical display about the 2.5 million emigrants from the port since 1849.  Annie Moore,   left from Cobh with her two younger brothers, and was the first ever immigrant to be registered at Ellis Island the day it opened, January 1st, 1892.  It's an overwhelming feeling to be in the location where millions of people left their lives in a country that I chose to spend a semester in, in order to start new lives of their own.

Statue of Annie Moore and her younger brothers.

After eating a banana and Nutella crepe from the farmer's market, we walked to the tourist center to catch a "Titanic Tour." The only people on the tour were myself and the four other American's I went to Cobh with and our tour guide was Phil--an old Irish man who had lived in Cobh for his whole life.  Though we were under the impression the tour would focus on the impact the Titanic on the small town, but it ended up being an extensive walking tour of the whole city! It was perfect because Phil gave us an incredible insider's view of everything, from the beautiful town hall that was taken over by a Chinese family and is now currently a Chinese restaurant (Phil was not happy) to the traumatic events that the residents of Cobh have been through.

Not only was Cobh the last port of call of the Titanic before it sank (I saw the area where first-class and working class passengers were split up and led onto the ship), but Cobh was also the last port of call for the Lusitania before it was sunk off the coast of Kinsale by a German U-Boat in 1915.  1198 passengers died, and 700 were rescued.  Victims of the attack were brought back to Cobh and bodies were lined up in piles along the main street.   The small town has been a marker for many important historical events.

Overlooking the town.

Phil also brought us to St. Colman's Cathedral, another beautiful church in the country.  It's presence on the top of the hill dominated the town.   I loved Phil so much.  He was obviously an important man in the town because nearly every person we passed said hello to him.  It reminded me of what it would be like if my grandpa gave tours of Windsor Locks.  Phil and I also bonded about my Irish heritage.  He was excited my name was Mollie ("a good Irish name!) and then when I told him my last name he immediately said "must be from the Kilkenny area."  He was spot on.

The tour ended in a pub with a complimentary pint or sparkling lemonade (that's what Phil called Sprite!!) Spending the day in Cobh with a genuine Irish man who was incredibly proud of his small town was truly unforgettable.

Deck of Card street named because like a deck of cards, if one house toppled,, all the others would follow!

Phil!

-Mollie

"Macroom-The town that never reared a fool."

Though I've barely had the chance to appreciate the many charms of Cork City, I've been wanting to see the Irish countryside.  So, this morning I took an hour long bus ride on narrow, old, classic, country roads to the small town of Macroom.  At one point on the journey I was absolutely certain we were going to collide head-on with a truck. I should mention that I was the only passenger on the whole bus, so when I gasped the driver must have known it was me. Somehow we made it.  One of the things I am realizing I am really interested in is how in Ireland  many of the man-made structures are equally as beautiful as the natural beauty of the landscape.  Usually, people worry about buildings and structures taking away from the natural beauty of the space, so it's amazing to me that even out in the rolling green hills of the Irish countryside the farmhouses, barns, even the walls in front of residential homes, are some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Anyway, I had never heard of Macroom--that's why I chose to go there.  It's halfway between Cork and Killarney (a popular tourist area) that often gets overlooked.  The castle was also a draw.

After finishing up my tea and scone in a little cafe, I headed over to the castle, or, what remains of it.  Macroom was actually the birthplace of William Penn's father, so Penn spent much time in his life on the castle grounds.

As I'm sure you can imagine the castle was beautiful.  But, there really wasn't much of it left.  Only a main tower, the entrance archways, and some of the walls remained.  I am still amazed at how a) any structure could have been built, and b) how much it has taken to weather something like that to what it is today. 

After climbing the ruins, I walked the grounds of the castle which extend parallel to the River Sullane.  At one point I thought to myself "I feel like Alice in Wonderland" and I swear, I looked over and saw a little bunny hopping into the bushes.  It was a beautiful walk...so beautiful that I actually kept walking right onto the tenth hole of a golf course without noticing! Thank goodness for a little old man and his dog Lou because they got me back on track. 

The River Sullane.

Lou.

Enchanted tree in Wonderland.

Cork City: Places you can't miss! The English Market

I've decided to do some posts periodically about some of the greatest places to go while in Cork.  I've  been here for less than a week, but this list is already getting long.

I'll start with my favorite place so far: The English Market.

Cork's English Market is a covered market that has existed since 1786.  The market hosts over 100 stands ranging from meat, fish, dairy, bread, pastries, fruits and veggies, and almost anything else you can think of.  My roommates and I make a daily trip to the market to buy dinner to cook for the night.  Also, the market has its own cafe! It's always bustling but it has an amazing old-time feel to it.  I could stay in there all day just watching the intriguing characters it draws each day!

My roommates and I have already become friends with the sweet old man in the labcoat in the picture below. I can barely understand him but his Irish brogue always makes me smile when I'm buying my fruits and vegetables!

-Mollie

Day one in my new city!

I arrived in Cork on Wednesday afternoon but considering jetlag and all the settling in business, Thursday was my real first day in the city!  Cork is busy by day, and even busier by night.  The city is home to the most pubs of all the cities in the country.  But that's a different story.

My roommates and I (a Bowdoin student from NYC and a fellow Connectican who studies at Boston College) ventured to the University.  We are living in an apartment in the heart of the city, so the campus is about a 25 minute walk.  The campus is breathtaking.  It reeks of pure history and tradition.  I don't think I will have any problem with spending my days working in the beautiful old buildings or out on the perfectly edged quad (if we're lucky enough for the sun to shine)! The picture above is of the famous three-sided quadrangle.

After touring campus we headed back to our apartment and found ourselves pleasantly lost.  I use the word lost loosely because I've yet to feel truly lost, between oddly positioned street signs, all the maps I've gathered, and the friendly Irish people, there's always a way to get to where you are going.  We ended up exploring an amazing part of the city situated on top of a hill with gated homes on one side of the street, and row houses on the other.  The variation in homes was surprising and interesting.  My favorite building so far is this abandoned house on the side of the hill.

The Irish people are wonderful so far.  Everyone is so much nicer and friendly than in America. I can already tell that the country as a whole is much more laid back.  Maybe it's because everything is so beautiful.

-Mollie