The Weekend That (Almost Never) Was

Hi everyone!  Its been a busy week for me.  My 3 month Irish anniversary was on Tuesday.  It was a bitter sweet day with it also being the anniversary of September 11th.  It was really weird not to hear anyone talking about it on the news or the radio.  I can definitely say that some days my heart is in America and this was one of those days.  Mercè also came back this week to visit!  Its been so great seeing her.  She is staying with Natàlia and their host family.  Pippa took her first steps this week!  I don't think I've ever been so proud of another person in my life!  I can't upload a video with my current internet connection (those of you I've talked to on the phone know how it is!) but I'm working on it so everyone can see!

Last weekend I went to Cork with Natàlia and Hailey.  We had a bumpy start but once we got on the road we had a great trip!  Natàlia and I met Hailey on Saturday in Dublin at the train station for the 8 am train to Cork.  To be in Dublin in time for the train, Natàlia and I needed to get the 6:25 am bus out of Stamullen.  The two of us were supposed to meet up bright and early at 6 am to walk to the bus station.  I packed up my bag Friday night and went to bed ready to wake up early....

Next thing I know I woke up to my phone ringing.  It was Natàlia... calling me at 6:10!  Needless to say I jumped out of bed, freaked out for 30 seconds, grabbed all my stuff and ran out the door still in my pajamas.  It usually takes 15-20 minutes to walk to the bus and we only had 10 minutes to get there.  We ran all the way to the bus stop and by sheer force of will (and probably some divine intervention) made it just in time for the bus to pull up!  I was able to change out of my pajamas on the train, which isn't the easiest thing to do, and we were off to Cork!

The train to Cork is about a 3 hour ride.  We arrived at 11 am and headed to a Centra to get picnic supplies before we made our way to Fitzgerald Park.  We had a wonderful picnic and even fed some very chatty ducks!

The pond we had lunch next to.

After lunch we hit up the major sights of Cork: we walked around University College Cork's campus and unintentionally stalked a wedding, took in the art work at Crawford Art gallery, and perused the food selection at the famous English Market.  Unfortunately, this is all Cork really had to offer.  Although its Ireland's second largest city, it is WAY smaller than Dublin.  Just when we were about to give up, we decided to visit St. Anne's Church.  My expectations weren't too high because once you've seen one church in Ireland you've kind of seen them all, but this church was AWESOME!  Why you ask?

We got to play the bells!

Playing the wedding march!

Thats right.  I got to play church bells and it was everything I hoped it would be!  We also got to climb the bell tower and the view from the top was pretty spectacular!

The sweet earphones we got to wear so we didn't go deaf when we were standing next to the bells.

The view of Cork City.

 After our tour of the city, we checked into our hostel and took a much needed nap.  Later, we went out for dinner and a pint and then went straight to bed!

Sunday we took the bus to Blarney to visit Blarney Castle and kiss the blarney stone!  Blarney is a cute, but very tiny village, about twenty-five minutes from Cork.  The gardens were amazing and the castle itself was beautiful.  Blarney Castle was built in 1446 which is about 46 years BEFORE Columbus even sailed the ocean blue.  I'm still amazed at how far back Irish history goes compared to ours.

Blarney Castle

Our reward for climbing the 127 steps to the top

Kissing the stone!

For kissing the stone, you receive the gift of gab!  Supposedly, Queen Elizabeth I repeatedly asked the lord of  Blarney Castle, MacCarthy, to swear an oath of loyalty.  MacCarthy always responded with long eloquent speeches, but refused to comply.  The queen was said to grow so frustrated that she responded it was all a lot of blarney and boom! A new word was born into the English language.  The gardens of Blarney also had a lot of magical ties.  From poison gardens to wishing steps to witches' kitchens it was all there for us to explore!

The fern garden.  I've never seen a fern like this!

Leaving the witch a penny.

We had a great weekend and this week has been flying by!  I don't have any big plans for this weekend but Natàlia and I are thinking about going to Killarney and visiting the Ring of Kerry to celebrate her LAST weekend in Ireland.  I can't believe she's already leaving but now I get to visit her and Mercè in Barcelona soon!