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Published: September 6th 2012
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I went to a fish and chips place right down the road and got some fried cod and fries with salt & vinegar. I was starving so it tasted pretty good. They use white vinegar on fries instead of apple cider like I do, and of course, they call them 'chips' instead of fries. They call chips 'crisps.' Thus, moral of the story, if you order chips here you'll receive fries.
I had yet another gloriously beautiful sunny day to work with; apparently the locals are saying it's been the wettest summer in 50 years, and that I came at the right time. I finally found a nice place to eat my fish and chips after walking around looking for an electrical outlet converter (the one they sold me at Radio Shack back home didn't work, of course). But looking for a converter I met Marcus, this really nice middle-aged man who worked at Deals. He is from Chile but has an Irish accent. He explained to me what I needed and said they had run out of them, and sent me to a store across the street to see if they had them. Thank goodness they had one that
St. John's Church
My view during lunch worked or I wouldn't have been able to take many pictures at all! (I've been taking loads😊 Here the converter was only 2 euro; the US is such a rip off.
Marcus told me to come back and see him, so once I'd bought the converter I went back to Deals to show him and make sure it would work, and he said it would. I trusted him more than I trusted the two guys who sold it to me. Limerick is kind of a shady little place. Marcus shook my hand goodbye and wished me well, adding in a few suggestions of places to go and see while I was in Ireland. I've had many of these encounters with just plain nice people, it's really been fantastic. Though I had one of those people warn me to be careful about who I talk to. I'm not worried though.
After I finished my fish and chips in front of St. John's church in Limerick in the beating sun, met a grandmother with her two granddaughters who pointed me in the direction of St. John's castle and St. Mary's cathedral. I got turned around a bit, got turned around
and doubled backâafter running into a plethora of uniform-clad middle/high school aged students walking about. Navy jackets with red skirts for the girls, all navy uniforms for the boys, and adorned with gold shields and piping. Very boarding school-esque. I was hoping to find Limerick University (I didn't) but I did find St. Mary's cathedral (built in the 1600s) by and by before it closed (and RIGHT before!) There were renovations going on; I heard workmen's voices echoing from below the main level. The stained glass was beautiful, one panel looked brand new, and I guess it might have been. The curved ceilings and the great gold chandeliers were probably my favorite part. And the VERY green grounds were the quinessential garden. There was a lovely quote on the wall that said something like 'one never feels closer to God's heart than when in a garden.'
I then headed for St. John's castle, which was very close, but it was just after closing (5:15 or so), so I couldn't actually go inside. Instead I walked around the outside wall and was surprised by the sparkling view of the river. THe sun was out, of course, and the river was
flowing, so I sat and basked in the sun and gave my aching feet a rest. When I got up and turned back to the alley through which I'd come, I found the whole opening had been closed off by a gate, and I couldn't get back through! That threw me a little, but I knew I could find some other way back, and I did fairly easily, through a parking lot across the way. Limerick is pretty easy to navigate in general, you just have to remember to look left instead of right when crossing the road for the oncoming traffic! Locals breeze through the 'don't walk' signs, but I only feel so brave occasionally yet. All in all, I think I made good use of the day, even though I'd gotten up rather late. I walked so much that I don't think there's much left to see of this city. Onward and upward, as they say!
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another good one
Loved this entry. I can't wait to see the pictures. The Cathedral sounds beautiful, and the kids in uniforms make me long for the blissful days of middle school. The whole day sounds amazing! However, I thought it was a well known fact that chips in Ireland and the UK were fries. Didn't you read Harry Potter, Amy! Haha, I'm just kidding! Looking forward to the next one. Miss you.