Cork uncorked!

Kalen and I needed a break from Dublin. We really needed a break from Dublin. So we packed our bags and took off (metaphorically...we took the bus) for an inexpensive weekend getaway to County Cork, which is on the southern coast of Ireland. It was a rough non-stop 4 hour bus ride (with no washrooms) to Cork but we made it alright. We stayed in Cork City at a place called Sheila's Hostel which we forgot to take a picture of (oops!) but I can assure was nice enough, considering it was very very cheap. I have to admit that I had never stayed in a hostel before, and it was a little like being at camp. More fun than camp though. One thing that Sheila's forgets to mention on their website is that it's on a hill. A very steep hill. Nearly vertical. This was not welcome news at 10:30 at night after sitting on a bus for 4 hours. But we did it! Hooray! We found out the next day that nearly all of Cork is on a hill. It was less than thrilling. I must say, I wasn't really taken with Cork City. It was very industrialized, not particularly clean, and seemed pretty rough. I have to admit that there are actually worse places than Dublin City. However, the rest of County Cork is quite lovely. Blarney is pretty much my favourite place ever. But I'm jumping ahead. There's a LOT of pictures to go into this post, and even more to go up on facebook (eventually).

Cork City is much prettier at night when all its flaws are hidden. This is what we saw as we got off the bus.



Not a river, unfortunately, but a quay. But you can't really tell at night so it's all good.

The next day, we set out to do some exploring around the city in the morning before heading to Blarney for the afternoon. This pretty church was just around the corner from the hostel.



We made our way over to the other side of city centre to check out St. Finbarre's Cathedral.

We saw some of the city along the way:





This is the Beamish Crawford Brewery. It is apparently known for its "eye-blinding architectural awfulness".



...Yeah, it's pretty bad (and this picture is just a tiny piece of the brewery). However, Beamish is really really awesome beer and if you ever get the chance to try it, I would highly reccomend it. For serious.

We made it to St. Finbarre's. Apparently, they're in the process of restoring the spires, so all my pictures are kinda ruined by the scaffolding. 'Tis a shame. :( Still, it was a mighty impressive church, and you get the general idea.





The front door. Do we burst into flames this time?



Nope! Hooray!







This pulpit (HA! I know the word now! Go me!) is made made almost entirely of red marble.



As are the walls. O.O



Pretty ornate for a protestant church.



The ceiling.



Love that shade of green.



That's a lot of different colours of marble.



David's Door



Cool cannon ball from the Middle Ages.



Could use a good dusting though.



Back outside, we walked around to the other side of the church.







The church (like many things in Cork) is up on a hill, so we got a view of the city. That weather vain with the fish was a very good landmark so we didn't get lost.



Then we ate lunch here. It was fantastically delicious. I heart vegetarian/vegan/organic restaurants. I would even go so far as to say that this one is slightly better than Mondragon in Winnipeg, and that's saying a lot because I love Mondragon.



Phew, this is a very long post. I've decided that it would be a good idea to break this up into 3 posts. So stay tuned! Coming up tomorrow...Blarney!