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Blogs from County Cork, Ireland, Europe - page 42
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Day Three (Killarney-Blarney-Dublin)
Published: December 6th 2006Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney
July 15th 2006
No need to describe the great breakfast. The rest of Irish/English food may not be all that exciting but they certainly give better breakfasts than the Italians and French. James had us on the bus and out of the hotel parking lot before 9:00am. Once again it was a brilliant, sunny day. The temperatures were expected to rise as we went further inland. We were headed to Blarney Castle on the old road through Macroom. Of course, this was probably the only road between the two towns but in any case, I learned after this trip that it was a very historic route. It was along this road that the IRA won their first major victory against the British forces at the Kilmichael Ambush in 1920. A week after "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" where the Brits pretty ... read more
June 3rd 2006
Cork: Sheilas Hostel was OK... sort of run of the mill, although very clean and well appointed. After checking in and buying a parking disc for the car (1.80 Euros for 2 hours, and you're supposed buy a new one every 2 hours which sort of limits where you can go! I just bought 2 and scratched off 2 different time periods on them.) we walked down to the bus station and bought tickets on Bus Eiarran to Blarney. You can take a 3 hour tour but that is restrictive and cost a bit more than the 5.10 Euros round trip ticket on regular bus. We got to Blarney and paid our 8 Euros for admission. Again, a great tour of a cool place. I kissed the Blarney Stone, but Manoli bowed out. You had to ... read more
May 27th 2006
After returning from South East Asis with servere injuries and spending a bit of time in hospital (thanks to the people who visited me) with many day trips in and out of the Mercy, I decided to experience the real culture of this city. Is it the same as Bangkok? Gods sake!!!... read more
May 9th 2006
Well alots hapened since we arrived it seems...ireland is beautiful rainy but so beautiful!! Our first night in Cork we went to a pub called Sine (an actual irish pub) and there were people were playing there guitars , fiddling and singing in the corner and everyone was getting in to it....people were singin along and clapping ..it was awesome..we got a beer and then we were sitting around and we met these guys from Liverpool they were so funny there was 15 of them and they invited us to go around with them so we did it was so much fun...we went to a kareokee bar and all of them sang a liverpool football song...it was great very funny..irish beer is much stonger then canadian beer thats for sure ...we went home to bed (our ... read more
May 7th 2006
Hey everyone So hereme and Kaili are sitting at a computer at the Kilarney House in Cork Irealnd....we had a good flight from Ottawa to London not at all scary like people say it is we arrived at just before 7 am inLondon and were exhausted....so yes of course we had a little nap at the Gatwick airport! Then we caught our second flight at 3 pm to Cork Ireland and here we are! The flight was amazing I could take so many pictures of just the sky it really was beauiful....its what heaven must be like! I don't what people worry about its really not scary at all...I've been in awe ever since we left Kingston! My nap in the Gatwick airport was good I woke up to a security guard laughing with Kaili about ... read more
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April 26th 2006
After a fun yet exhausting two weeks traveling throughout Europe, I got back to the U.K. late Sunday night. We departed for Cork on Thursday, April 6, and thus began our European expedition. I was so excited when we finally landed in Cork. The air smelt of Irish countryside, which had an odd aroma of cow manure, but I loved it. Being Celtic Club Secretary '04, I felt as if I had finally made it to the homeland, and I was immediately enchanted. The next day we went to Blarney to see the castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. The gardens surrounding the castle were gorgeous. Lush and green. The country is really so verdant, it's amazing. I loved it. We had a lot of fun at the castle with pictures and such, a stray dog, ... read more
April 24th 2006
I got a new stamp in my passport today! I was looking at my friend Brad's passport and he's got tonnnnnes of stamps and visas from all over the world in his. I'm so jealous. I'm just going to Europe this year, so I'll get at most 3 stamps. Oh well, it's better than none. Anyways, I'm in Ireland! I already like it a lot. Brad and I hopped off the bus (after 15 hours) and wandered into the Garda (Police Station). We said we were trying to find the tourist information centre and they didn't feel like giving us directions so they just DROVE us there. Isn't that nice? I'm really excited about being here! We're headed west tomorrow and I can't wait! My 12 hours in London yesterday were nice. I got to catch ... read more
End of Cycling Trip, on to the Next
Published: April 18th 2006Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Beara Pen
April 18th 2006
Glengarriff Riding into this small gateway town to the Beara Peninsula I felt like I was in a Northwest logging town. Maybe it was the wide torn up street. Maybe it was the larger then life storefronts. Perhaps it was the American style roadhouse I stayed in, complete with a herd of Harleys in the parking lot. It was definitely the country music played to a drum machine in the pub. Turns out that one man bands playing poor renditions of American favorites with the assistance of a synthesiser or drum machine are quite popular here. Just goes to show that even the Irish can make bad music. There was another tourist in the pub that I could not look at, she was trying so hard not to laugh that it would set me off every ... read more
April 13th 2006
"If I have learned anything from cycling it is to always spit to the side." - Bryan Flint, April 2006 There is an allegory to the statement "Be careful for what you wish for because you just might get it." It is "Be careful what you disparage, for it might just be the thing you need." On Sunday night I stayed at a Hostel connected to the Dzogchen Beara Tibetan Buddhist retreat center on the Beara Peninsula on the Southwest coast of Ireland. On Tuesday I returned and am staying to participate in a Buddhist retreat over Easter Weekend. There are number of reasons for this. First, after eleven days of travel and nine of cycling my body told me to stop. Second, Hostels on the outer West coast of Ireland are a whole other animal ... read more
April 7th 2006
At the end of the last week I had several experiences that demonstrate the reason I came to stay in one place for an extended period of time. The weather improved and I found myself out on the streets of Cappoquin with my camera more often. Counter to my fears, people did not go running for their doorways. Many folks were happy to have their picture taken and a few people who I had passed on the street came up to me. One guy reveled that he had a collection of over 200 pictures from old Cappoquin. He had grown up in the hard life that was the orphanage that now is my guest house residence. On Friday morning I rode out to the Lismore Castle to photograph the large magnolia tree that had reached its ... read more
