The Luck of the Irish!

My travel companions: Katie, Olive, Kelli, myself, and Hannah at our Hostel

My study abroad program allows one travel weekend where we are can go anywhere we want. I went to the beautiful countryside of Ireland. We grabbed a 3:45 am taxi to catch a 6:20 am flight. Boy, that was early! We flew in and stayed at a Hostel in Cork, a little city in the Southwestern part of Ireland.

On our first day, we took a bus to the small harbour town of Kinsale. Kinsale is mostly important because it was the site of a 1601 battle between the Spanish (plus some Irish Clans) and the English. It was also off the coast of Kinsale that the battleship Luisitania was torpedoed and sparked the United States joining WWI. However, it really is just a cute small fishing village. We spent most of our time walking around the harbour, watching the sea otters, and listening to the beautiful sounds of clinking sea shell chimes, ropes hitting the sail poles, and the whistling wind. It was a beautiful symphony.

Charles Fort

We ended up at the English Fort, Charles Fort. We walked around this fort for a while learning about life as a Soldier and just enjoying the ruins. We caught a bit of lunch in the town and then headed back to Cork for the evening. (Yes, we did lots of Irish Jigs as we walked around)

When we got back to Cork, we took a much needed nap and then headed off to the town for a bit of Irish nightlife. We grabbed some delicious Fish and Chips from the Fish Hatch and ate our dinner by the river. After this, we headed to a pub called Charlies. We sat in the Pub sipping Lemonades and Waters, listening to live Traditional Irish Music, tapping our feet, and having some good "girl talk" about kissing and falling in love. It was actually quite fun. I love the combination of fiddle and Irish flute!

Our second day in Ireland was breathtaking to say the least. We grabbed a bus to Killarney, where we rented bikes for the day and rode all around Killarney National Park. If any of you have seen "P.S. I love You" this is the place where the main guy originally meets his wife. I have not been on a bike in years, so you can imagine how shaky I was at first. I will admit that my buttocks is still super sore and that I did fall of the bike at least once during the trip.

There is something freeing and adventurous about feeling the wind on your face as you bike down the hill. The best part is when we'd come around the corner and the lush green trees opened up to display a lake or a hidden ruinous abbey. We stopped at the Muckross Abbey and walked around its skeletal remains for a bit

The Abbey

Muckross House

Our view from Lunch

We sat on benches near the Victorian Muckross House sharing our previously purchased sweets, bread, ham, and cheese. Then we headed back on our bikes toward Torc Waterfall. The waterfall was gorgeous with its white cascades contrasting to the green moss. Whenever I think of Ireland, I will always think of the color GREEN! (Moss, grass, trees, meadows, ferns, shamrocks, etc.) There is something about waterfalls that seems very healing - as if they wash away pain and heartache with the fast falling water.

As we rode away from the waterfall, we passed two Irish guys and a gal. We stopped and chatted with them for a bit and they taught us a game called "hurling." It is similar to Lacrosse, Irish people are so FRIENDLY! They say "hello" when you pass them, the help you with directions before you even ask, and they take a general interest in where you are from. After the waterfall, we headed off to the "Meeting of the Waters" and took a little dip in the lake.

Lucky for us, when we returned our bikes to the town centre, there was a summer Music festival going on. We walked around enjoying the street performers. My favourite ones were these two girls dressed up as Irish dancing fish. I'm not sure why that entertained me so much. We arrived back in Cork, sore and hungry. We grabbed a pizza and returned back to our Hostel for the most epic game of Jenga ever!

Ireland was an amazing adventure that I will never forget!

BRITISH WORD OF THE POST - "Starkers" = to be naked