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Published: November 19th 2008
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We landed in Dublin and found our luck with excellent weather (other than New York), had come to an end. Our time in Ireland and the UK was spent largely getting wet in constant drizzle - an overcast day at best.
We had one day in Dublin to allow us to rest before hitting the road for County Cork. Whilst there, we went to Phoenix Park - the largest enclosed park in Europe. Much like Central Park in New York on a less grand scale. We also went for dinner at Ireland’s oldest pub, the Brazen Head. There has been an inn here since the 12th century! We both had a Guinness each and some Irish stew. The real Guinness tastes a lot nicer than the sub-licensed stuff made back home in Australia.
Aside from that, we weren’t too impressed with Dublin. It’s pretty crowded and drab looking. We drove straight out of town the next morning. We stopped at a couple of small towns on the way and experienced the famed hedged roads of this part of the world as well as the Irish hospitality as everyone is very friendly here. We stopped at a B&B in a
small village and used this as a base to explore the rest of County Cork. We managed to get another “Small World” story under our belt as we were sharing the place with a couple from southern Canberra who were on their way around the world from the other direction - we met up halfway!
First thing we did was check out some of Matt’s family history. His great-great-grandfather had a jewelry store in Mallow, about an hour north of Cork. He emigrated to Australia with his son not long after hanging a Union Jack in the front window of his store - not a popular move in the Ireland of the mid-1800s, and his store was subsequently boycotted. He was also an early member of what became the Salvation Army, so Matt was quite interested to track down this element of family history. We managed to find the store after some more trouble with getting directions and people not knowing what street they lived in. We also found Mallow Castle where Matt’s g-g-grandfather used to be a groundskeeper. We could understand why they’d want to emigrate from here. It was terribly wet and yucky here and the river
Irish roads
Our little Nissan Note on a little Irish road. would regularly flood.
We then drove on the Cliffs of Mohir. These are some beautiful (albeit very cold) cliffs on the North Atlantic Ocean. This was all very well until Emmy discovered that they were in fact THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!! (for those few who have no idea of what the Cliffs of Insanity are, shame on you… you will no longer be acknowledged by Emma until you watch the Princess Bride and understand). Matt was excited about finding the best mocha ever at a nearby village (note to Hsien - gotta go there!)
The next day we drove to Blarney Castle. This was really interesting as you get up close and personal with the castle and have access to all of the rooms. We of course kissed the Blarney Stone. Kissing the Blarney Stone is supposed to bless you with the gift of eloquence. Emma didn’t notice a difference. Matt started quoting Charles Dickens - so he experienced no difference either.
We then drove into Cork City and found the church where Matt’s g-g-grandfather was married. It was quite a hike up the hill from Cork City, and it started pouring rain at the top! Don’t
Blarney Castle
What's the difference between blarney and baloney? know if the photos turned out too well.
With the rain, we decided to cut short our time in Cork and head for the airport to fly to London. We’ll pick things up there and find out about Matt’s 30th birthday present.
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