I needed a getaway. Badly. I also wanted to experience Christmas in another town outside Dublin. I was *this close* to booking a night away to Sweden (RT flight was only $100) or Brussels (even less expensive), but then the fares skyrocketed after a couple hours while I searched for accommodations. As this was a last minute getaway, I wasn't surprised. I decided to go to Kinsale, in Southern Ireland. It was fantastic. Go there. Here are some things I blogged about enroute.
Hello from the train!
My first blog entry from my new “bebe” netbook! Weighing in at 2.9 lbs, I plan to make much use of this petite little gem while traveling and exploring as many parts of Ireland and Europe as possible. I can now combine school work and blogging while traveling, whereas this would not be so practical with my 2005 full-size laptop which is a bit, well, obese and slow. (Christy, I'm referring to the same behemoth I had in NOLA - I remember you used to laugh at how heavy it was compared to your featherweight laptop:)
This morning began a little bit delayed, but now I’m onboard headed to Cork for the day, hopefully for the night. After doing my research online last night, comparing bus and train times/fares, I decided it was best to pay a few extra dollars for the train as it would save me 1.5 hours in commute time, thus giving me more time to enjoy Cork and Kinsale.
The plan: 8am train from Dublin Heuston Station to Cork Kent Station. Morning began as planned, waking up at 6:30am, out the door by 7:10, walked to Heuston and arrived at 7:40am, giving me what I thought was plenty of time to buy my ticket to Cork. Well, the 8am train wasn’t in the stars for me today. The fare on the internet was €20. Fare at ticket counter: €66! At current exchange rates, that is approx $30 versus $99. Translation: not wise for student budget. I asked if they could make an exception (!), but of course he said no. Doesn’t hurt to ask, right? I asked if there was wifi, he said yes, but shockingly I could not connect and it would be too late by the time I finished.
Long story short, the train station has a few internet ports where you pay €1 for 10 minutes, and I booked the 10am train to Cork as the 9am was soldout. The 10am train was also only €10, plus €2 online booking fee, and arrives Cork around 12:45.
During my wait, I walked across the Liffey to take a walk and see unexplored parts of Dublin. Not too much to see in this area at this time of day. I did pass by a nice little park across the Liffey from Heuston:
I got back to the station around 9:20 and waited for the platform number to be called. Whew, it was chilly in the waiting area!
We are now almost at Limerick station, which I think is around the halfway point. As I’ve lost 2 hrs in my planned journey, when I arrive in Cork I will only have about 3 hrs of daylight, so I’m thinking of skipping out on Cork town centre in favor of a bus to Kinsale “straight away” as my friends would say. If all goes as planned, I will find a B&B in Kinsale, allowing me to enjoy Kinsale today and tomorrow morning, then do the Cork thing tomorrow afternoon. Crossing fingers! I’ve read a lot about Kinsale, the reported foodie haven and beautiful coastal town; I’m anxious to check it out and not be rushed at doing so.
pretty church in Cork along walk from train station to bus station (15 min walk)
Kinsale Pics:
(In the interest of saving space, I'm posting small size pics - you can click each photo to see full size)
bedroom at White House; bath towel warmers (heaven!); view of town centre from room.
It was a beautiful sunny day, so I took a leisurely walk through town, stopping in various shops. I came across Giles Norman Photography Galleries - this guy is very talented. He specialises in black and white photography, with many photos from Ireland but also some from Paris, New York, Yosemite, Venice and Florence. I'd love to have one of his prints someday. He has a gallery shop in Dublin as well - who knew?
Dinner at Fishy Fishy restaurant, which I had read great reviews about.
Best meal I've had in quite a while!
Seafood chowder with bread. Love the hummus in a clam shell - nice presentation!
"warm chili salad" - delicious, with yummy dried mushrooms on top. Sweet chili sauce was amazing.
Per usual, could have done well with just the soup and bread, but this was great food so I'm glad I tried the salad as well.
The Tap Tavern
Note the US license plates adorning the ceiling beams.
My, what a find in Kinsale! After dinner I walked through town and decided to stop in here for a hot drink. She didn't have hot chocolate (was hoping for hot chocolate with irish cream), so I had a glass of wine instead.
This place should have its photo under "small town pub" in the dictionary. When I walked in, there were 4 people sitting by the fireplace - one of them was the owner, Mary O'Neill. Gossip central! In a mere 10 minutes I think I had caught up with 2 scandalous tales of some Kinsalers. I sat down and wrote notecards and postcards to friend and family - it was quite relaxing and warm by the fire!
The 3rd photo is from the "Kinsale Ghost Tour" - I overheard a couple talking to Mary about this, so I bought a ticket as well. Hadn't planned on doing anything cheesy touristy like this, but it was "good craic". The guys who did the tour (Mary's son Brian and another guy, above) were pretty funny. It got a tad old toward the end, but it was fun and educational. You can read about the pub and the ghost tour here and here.
L to R: The Lord Kingsale pub; Crackpots Restaurant & Wine Bar; Blue Haven Hotel bar
With an hour to spare before the ghost tour, I went back to my warm hotel room to relax. Upon arriving back at the Tap for the 7.30 ghost tour, I quickly noted that this tour group was packed with hyperactive little ones. Yeah, no. I rebooked for the 9.30 tour, took a relaxing walk through town and ended up at Crackpots to enjoy a glass of red wine. I chatted with the owner and the woman next to me, who was the owner's stepmother. Both very nice women, very friendly. I also learned that the stepmother's son is Giles Norman, the photographer whose gallery I stopped into earlier that day!
After the ghost tour, I walked down to The Lord Kingsale for a glass of wine and live music. Was also treated to live belching by the guy next to me - charming. After that, I checked out Blue Haven, which I had read great reviews about. By then it was getting rather cold out, so I warmed up with a hot whiskey, chatted with some locals and enjoyed the band (above), which was very good.
I slept like a baby, woke up early and quickly dismissed the idea of a morning jog. I decided to be a slug in bed for another hour, then went downstairs for breakfast, which was plentiful to say the least! Juice, yogurt, cereal, granola, muffins, plus your choice of coffee or tea to go with whatever menu selection you ordered. I ordered the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, which was very yummy and nice and light.
I relaxed a bit more, then took advantage of the hotel wifi (and my new bebe) to book my return train ticket home, having learned my lesson about online prices versus in-person prices. The return ticket to Dublin was only €10!
Desmond Castle, built in the 1500s; interesting double "no left turn" signs, commented on during the ghost tour. "You can't turn left here, and you certainly can't do it twice." I guess it was funnier at the time...
Desmond Castle also houses the International Museum of Wine and was once a french prison. I had read about this place in a great book of Irish travel essays (which is also how I learned of Kinsale in the first place). Sadly, it was closed this week. Check out www.winegeese.ie for interesting info on the wine trade in Kinsale dating back to the 1400s.
pretty view from my very rainy walk up to the Carmelite Friary.
On the way back to the bus stop, I stopped into Kinsale Crystal, which had some of the nicest crystal I've seen - many with beautiful deep cut designs. Kinsale is a great little town. Click here for a bit of its history. It's also a Fair Trade town, giving it another gold star. If you're planning a visit to Ireland, put this place toward the top of your list.
I'd love to visit Kinsale again, as I'd like to check out James Fort, Charles Fort and the beautiful Sandycove. There's also a regatta in the summer which I imagine is pretty cool. Anyone want to join me in another visit?
6 hours in Cork city centre
I had been to Cork once before in 2006, but didn't really feel like I had really "seen" the city, as our time there was very brief. This trip was brief as well, but I did a bit of exploring. I had one main item on my to-visit list for this day: The English Market, another place I had read about recently in the travel essay book I mentioned above. Other than that, I just wanted to have a relaxing day and walk around.
The English Market was cool. I think the book made it out to be more than it really is, but it was an experience. They had a fabulous selection of international cheeses, including of course, tons of fresh Irish goat cheese, all different types. One station had very tempting looking olives, peppers and other italian food. Below are some of the more interesting photos.
Collar joints, anyone?
mmm, mmm. A vegetarian's delight. (but wait, it gets better...)
Choices, choices.
Kangaroo steaks
Wild Boar
Venison Haunch (seriously?)
Goose Fat
Duck Legs
eew.
How does one begin to choose from these delicious delicacies? Ugh. Even if I ate meat, I'm not so sure any of these would make it to my kitchen, let alone to my plate. To each their own. Have you ever tried any of these items?
Holy huge eggs. Wowsers.
So that was my English Market experience. I then explored some vintage clothing shops adjacent to the Market (very cool stuff there), bought some fire roasted hazelnuts from a street vendor (meh), admired the Christmas street lights (each street was different), walked through a dodgy Christmas market (some people must be on crack to think people would actually buy their cheap crap) and chatted with a local vendor who thought she had created the world's greatest commodity - smoked brie. However, she disclosed to me that she buys the el-cheapo large brie triangle that everyone knows you can get at Dunne's for €1 - and it's something like 30% brie, 70% "cheese product" ... but hey, it makes her happy and if she sells her cheese and paninis, fair play to her.
With 2 hours to spare before the train, I treated myself to steamed mussels and a glass of mulled wine at the Cornstore. Food was great, service a bit slow to the point where I began to worry about rushing to make my train (I made it).
Goodbye Kinsale and Cork. You were exactly what the doctor ordered - a quiet relaxing time alone and away from everything. Thank you!
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