it's a low low road you've gotta roll down before you find your way my friend

i ended up in Cork on the 3rd. i was on my way to see and stay with my friends Rita and Paul! so after thursday evening's class i took my bike to the bus station, and hopped a bus down south. i stayed Thursday night in the Bru Hostel which came recommended from Rita. Bru as the name suggests is not only a hostel, but a pub as well. i arrived around 9pm and after checking in and getting a pint of White Gypsy(really yummy), i left to check out Cork City.it was a rainy Thursday night and things were pretty slow around town, but i walked around until i heard music. the first place i tried was called The Bodhrán, and it was nice enough but there was an older crowd there that night, and the band was just playing Eric Clapton covers or songs that i knew from back home. i had a Murphy's and moved on. i wandered around a bit more in the rain and just as i started to get discouraged, not to mention very wet, i heard music again. this time i walked into Charlie's. this pub was right up my alley and best of all there was a a trad session taking place.

these guys were awesome! Something that i found really cool, and very fun to watch was how new people would show up and wave to the band, then get a pint, and then pull out their flutes, or fiddles and join in. or how those already playing would just tap out when they felt like it, or when they saw a friend walk in, or that their glass was empty.

the next morning i woke up ready for a bike adventure, but first i had to check out Rita's other recommendation, The Old English Market. i loved this place. there was everything and anything that you could want to eat there, and it all looked good. the best looking meats, fish, and poultry; fruit and veggie vendors, artisan bread, cheesemongers, pastries, eggs, chocolate, gourmet sandwiches, olives and hummus stands, and on and on and on...... . knowing there was a potluck that night at Rita and Paul's i got to shop around for some stuff to bring. i got a tea and browsed the counters. in the end i picked a loaf of sun dried tomato and feta bread, and a super delicious chorizo sausage.

after the market i had to figure out a way to fit my puffy jacket, a wool sweater, change of clothes, book, notebook, laptop, laptop charger, camera cord, large loaf of bread, sausage, and i'm sure three of four more things i can't remember at this point, into my tiny little backpack. (yes i was biking with a backpack)

this is what it looked like.

anyways.

after the market i started biking south.

i don't really know what to write about here.

the pictures do a pretty good job showing you what was going on.

very beautiful, very misty, very visually stimulating.

need i say more?

on OSI maps of Ireland they mark all the cairns, and standing stones, or megalithic tombs, and at one point i tried to climb up through a sheep field to a mountain top to find a stone circle.

my attempt was instantly thwarted by a huge bog.

so instead i looked at my map to see where there where other such attractions along my route.

i found a standing stone in the town of Belgooly.

i went into a pub to get directions, but that really didn't end up helping out very much. i tried to use my map to get a better set of instruction (since there's just a dot on the map, and not a set of detailed directions), but the locals were having none of it. they gave me so many different points to look for that i soon lost track.

i've learned that Irish people don't give directions the way that i'm use to. later that weekend Rita was telling me about directions she was once given that ended in "and then turn right when you see the white horse", she responded, "well what if the horse isn't there?", "oh it'll be there".

i took a good chunk of time out of my day to take the detour and to see the stone, so after a bit of confusion and map reading skills, i found the GAA pitch, and searched around until i found the stone.

and boy am i glad i went through all of that.

not long after Belgooly i rolled into Kinsale.

this so far was one of the coolest towns i've gotten to see.

i didn't spend a whole lot of time here, but i'm told that it's been a foodie mecca of Ireland for quite some time, something to make a note of i would say.

(Kinsale)

that night i arrived at Rita and Paul's completely spent.

i had stayed up late, gotten up early, and then biked all day, but there was more. my day ended with lots of great food, a bunch of great people, and champagne by the ocean.

on Saturday we went adventuring!

Rita, and my new friends Alice, Sandra, and Valentina, went to one of the better surf spots in the area. we didn't go surfing, seeing that the wind was blowing so hard that i literally almost fell over a number of times, so hard that at times sea foam was falling like snow from being kicked into the air by the wind.

we explored the coast from Garretstown all the way down to Castlefreke if you care to look it up. below are some narrated pictures.

the wild and windy sea

Sandra, Rita, and Valentina

the sea foam on the bluff above the water.

trespassing at Castlefreke

Castlefreke in the mist

action shot: almost getting blown off my feet

this is picture is taken while standing right outside Rita and Paul's kitchen window. they said that they stand in their kitchen in the morning and decide if the waves are worth surfing while they drink their coffee. pretty amazing location if you ask me.

thank you both so much for letting me crash. i hope i'll be able to repay the favor sometime soon!

that's all for this blog

be happy!

Andy