Blogs from Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland, Europe - page 2

Day 4 Well,quite the exciting day today! We started by going to the Blarney Castle to kiss the ol Blarney Stone. And we were all successful. Very cool gardens on the grounds too. We then went to the welcoming area and lo (thats "low" in Irish)and behold there was a bar, and they had "stout challenge" (they give you 3 different stouts and you try to figure out which was which), and the five of us who participated got them all correct! Amazing. Then the real adventure began. We went to Bandon, the city where Janet's family came from. We went to their heritage center and met a man who helped us find the family farm. We were just going to ride by, but the Cummins family was so excited to see the relatives from America ... read more

August 10 Kinsale Harbor Cruise Today the weather was so perfect I knew this was the day I had been waiting for to catch the harbor cruise. I walked down the hill and arrived at exactly 2PM while they were loading for the cruise. Because the weather was so perfect it was a phenomenal cruise. Everything was like a picture postcard. And there were some nice people sitting next to me and we had a nice chat as we cruised. After the cruise I walked up the hill to the benches on the Mall and enjoyed the best view of Kinsale Harbor and the hills beyond. After a couple of hours of just enjoying the view and the fresh air and perfect weather I eased across town on Rampart Rd and to Main Street where I ... read more

August 8 – Kinsale – Compass Hill I caught a taxi from the hostel to “The Mall” which is a road above the green that connects with the Compass Hill walk. As I was going to walk around Compass Hill I knew that would be enough and so just caught a cab to the alms houses intending to walk up the hill from there. The cab cost €6 and was well worth it as while I like taking a walk, climbing steep streets and steps is another matter. In any case the weather was fair with a bit of clouds and haze but not too bad. I hiked around the hill and it was quite a pleasant hike although only the first half had a view and the rest had the view blocked by property owner ... read more

August 5 Sunday – Kinsale I walked down to the harbor to watch the events for today. The tide had went out and was still out to such a degree that all there was, was mud where the previous day’s events had been held. I went to the other end of the harbor where today’s events were being held. There were various sailboat races being held. I watched them a bit and then started up the hill to the Compass Hill trail but it started raining. So I just eased back into town and listened to one of the performers in Market square a bit, then I walked up the hill a bit and checked out the St Multose church. It was built in 1190 by the Normans on the site of a previous 6th century ... read more

August 2 Thursday – Kinsale Took it easy today and caught up on my blog up till the time I left Cork. Quite a bit of work but actually for a cold and windy and later on rainy day it keeps one busy. The weather looks good for this weekend in Kinsale for the regatta. I have been updating blogs most of the day and now at 10:30 Pm it is raining on the roof of the patio and I am listening to that as well as George has brought out his guitar and I am having my own private music session. The hostel is almost empty except for one other guest who has gone to bed. The rain as well as the threat of rain is keeping people away. But I believe rain or no ... read more