Wow... two weeks here have already flown by; my time here in Cork is going to feel like a dream soon. I am trying to take full advantage of every day I have in this magical, green land. First on my adventure list was a day trip to Blarney Castle. Olivia's friends who are studying in Dublin came to Cork for a weekend visit and they had the wonderful idea to bike to Blarney Castle. Albeit the journey was quite hilly and took over 2 hours one way, the views of County Cork's countryside while biking were incredible and would've easily been missed had we taken the traditional bus or taxi to the castle. Once arriving at the castle, I realized how much there is to do besides simply kissing the stone! I could have spent hours there exploring the trails and the small town where the castle is nestled. Since time was limited because we had to get our rental bikes back to the shop, we only had time to visit the stone which is located at the top of the castle and one trail but it was well worth it. After walking through the castle and kissing the stone, we ventured to the Fern Trail and the greenery reminded me of my time in Brazil. It was beautiful with a small waterfall in the middle of the walk. I definitely could have spent more time walking around the property and I can't wait to come back with my other roommate to explore more. Blarney is situated in a cute village so we meandered through the town for a little. The chocolate shop there is adorable and filled with many goodies. Since the town is so small it didn't take too long to go around but it was well worth a trip to see. The thought of having to bike another 2 hours back to Cork made me want to cry but since the last of the journey was all downhill it was not too terrible and the scenery was well worth it. There are many places to stop on the route between Blarney and Cork which is where I snapped this pic of my adorable roommate, Liv, on her blue bike (as I said earlier the view was unforgettable). After dropping our bikes off at the rental store, we posed in front of the graffiti claiming we had just biked the longest street in Ireland! This weekend's adventures aren't over yet: tomorrow we visit the harbor town of Dingle and drive around the Wild Atlantic Way with Irish Experience Tours.
0 Comments
Through USAC, I had the opportunity to take two field trips. One was a day trip to three sites: Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle, and Holy Cross Abbey which is the one I am writing about in this post. The other would be a whole weekend adventure to the Ring of Kerry in February! Our first stop after getting on the bus was to see the Rock of Cashel. Unfortunately a majority of this place was under construction as they are trying to revive the buildings without altering their appearance at all. This was my first trip where the weather was poor and it was SO cold and rainy. Being my ill-prepared self as usual, I forgot to wear my rain jacket that has a hood so for the majority of the day I was walking around with my scarf wrapped around my head lol. After leaving the rock, we traveled on to Cahir Castle in County Tiperrary. We were taken on a tour and learned the history of the castle and since it was so intact still we were able to see the great hall where dinners/dances were held and even a majority of where the defenses were kept to protect the castle from invasion. When the tour ended and we had explored a little we walked across the street to eat lunch at a cute cafe where I had a delicious tuna sandwich and cappuccino (I love my tea but I'm so happy the Irish are starting to understand the importance of coffee :) Our last stop of the day was Holy Cross Abbey which houses some of the remains of the True Cross & is where the monastery gets its name. The True Cross along with another cross were stolen and only recently found so they are kept under mass security but they are still visible when you visit! I grew up Catholic so being able to see a relic in person was a pretty cool experience. The outside of the monastery reminded me of the outside of Hogwarts (big Harry Potter fan!!!) The volunteer who was showing us around the monastery and telling us its history actually rang the 13th century church bells for us to hear! It was a long day but the day trip allowed me to see parts of Ireland I would not have visited on my own which is always a bonus for me!
Never have I ever fallen in love with a town as fast as I did with Kinsale... This harbor town will forever hold a special in my heart and I am already dreaming of the day I can visit it again. So far everything about Ireland has been incredible and my time here is already flying by (which is a really sad thought) but time seemed to slow the day we spent at Kinsale exploring the town. I love Cork but the harbor towns nearby have become some of my favorite spots to return to just for an afternoon of reading (& eating massive, delicious sandwiches-pictured above!!). This was also my first time using public transport (public transport is used ALL over Europe by everyone) but the buses in Ireland are so nice and even have free Wi-Fi. Our first decision was to walk around and see the town itself before getting lunch and walking to one of the two nearby forts. The town is so cute and brightly colored as portrayed below. One of my particular favorite parts of the town was all the cute little cafes and bookstores. Ask anyone who knows me and they know I always have my nose in a book and finding bookstores where I travel is one of my absolute favorite things to do and Kinsale did not fail me on the abundance of bookstores and cafes where I can sit and read. The two forts are named Charles and James Forts and they are on opposite sides of the town as they worked together to protect the Kinsale Harbor. We chose to visit the Charles Fort because it is more intact than James and the walk along the coast to reach it was supposedly beautiful. Accidentally we ended up walking along the houses instead of the coast on the way to the fort but the street we walked on is nicknamed "Millionaire Mile" so the houses weren't too sore of a sight (lol). Once we got to the fort, we immediately started exploring after paying the entrance fee (gotta love student discounts). They posted a lot of signs around the fort so you have a chance to learn more about its history while walking around. We arrived at the PERFECT time as the sun was beginning to set. Naturally Liv and I wanted to walk down to the harbor of the fort and although the grass was soaking wet and muddy from the rain earlier that week it was totally worth it because the view was spectacular. Sadly, we had to end our time and walk back to Kinsale in order to catch the last bus back to Cork. Liv and I managed to find the walk ("Scilly Walk" as the locals call it) and WOW were we happy we waited that long to walk back. The sunset behind the clouds set against the town and the water was absolutely magical to see. The picture below can speak for itself. I could've stayed there forever just staring at that view; it truly felt surreal. We walked so much this day trip but it was just a taste of how many miles I would cover during my upcoming adventures.
Wow, I can't believe I am finally here. There is so much buildup to studying abroad that I thought the day would never actually arrive. The country and Cork, itself, is incredibly beautiful and I am already in love with being here. Getting here was quite the adventure with missed connections and changing airports three times but I eventually made it (albeit with my luggage). Being completely honest, at first after having such horrific travels for the past 2 days when I finally arrived at my apartment I questioned why I thought studying abroad for five months was even a good idea (that quickly changed to pure delight and now I never want to leave). I learned though that traveling isn't always as fun as it seems but it's okay to have bad days and the next day is always a new start. Orientation flew by and that just reminds me that my five months here will go by so quickly it will all feel like a dream. University College Cork's architecture is immaculate. I feel like I am at Hogwarts and not at UCC sometimes. My favorite building is the quad building which is pictured below. After orientation, I needed to go grocery shopping since I had absolutely nothing to eat. All the markets/grocery stores are in downtown Cork which is only about a 20 minute walk from my apartment. The city is breathtaking. I love how easy it is to navigate and Irish people are truly the nicest people I have ever met. They go out of their way to help you and it's so refreshing to be around genuinely kind people. The architecture is beautiful; there's a mix of old gothic style with modern, brightly colored buildings and somehow the city blends them perfectly. There's so much to see and do in the city and I love being able to walk everywhere! Even though I just arrived, weekend travel planning had already begun and first on my list are the towns of Dingle and Kinsale. |
AuthorThe rambling thoughts of a millennial's adventures abroad Archives
May 2017
Categories |