Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Who, Me? - A Collection of Randoms
Has someone been lazy about blogging?
Who, me?
Well, we really haven't done much of interest since our Dingle trip. Greg is playing tag rugby at work once a week; I'm holding down the fort; sunny days have given way to more typical, changeable Irish weather.
We've tried out a couple of new restaurants this past week - lunch at Cafe Blue at the Blue Haven Hotel and dinner at the Wharf Tavern at the Trident Hotel. Both were good! We can't eat out all that often, though, due to the $$$...or should I say, €€€. You can find reasonable prices, but reasonable here is still more than you would expect to pay back in the USA for something comparable. I always look for the cheapest couple of items on the menu and pick from those; but, to be honest, I do the same thing back home! :)
I've decided that British television is strange (but I should have already known that, shouldn't I?), especially the commercials. You know the Febreze commercial, where the mom tells her teenaged son that he has to "wash" his room? Well, they have the exact same commercial here, but dubbed over with British accents, which is funny. I also laugh about the words that are pronounced differently. I saw a commercial that said the word "vitamins," but it's pronounced with a short i instead of a long i. Pantene hair products are prononced "Pan-TEN," and Adidas is pronounced "AH-dee-doss" instead of "uh-DEE-duhs." Oh, the small joys of my life.
We've been in to Cork a couple of times. Not this past Sunday, but the Sunday before, we went in to the city and walked around a bit. It has a neat pedestrianized shopping area, and we went into a department store that had amazingly low prices...I guess I expected clothing to be much more expensive here. By some strange chance, we ran into Melanie along with her husband and baby. (Greg is here because Melanie is on maternity leave, so he is covering her job here.) It was fun to meet them, and baby is doing well. We keep running into people Greg knows here, all the time. Strange, isn't it?
We also went into Bandon to the Garda (police) station/immigration bureau and I got my Certificate of Registraton card...so now I'm all official and everything. I've been fingerprinted and am legally permitted to be in the country until September 2. (Don't worry; I will still be coming home around July 1.) Hopefully I'll get to keep my card so it can be a cool souvenir!
This past Friday night we went into Cork to a microbrewery called the Franciscan Well, which has a bit of a Rathskellar vibe (for my Indy friends), but not really. It reminds me of it, though, with a large outdoor seating area with rows of long picnic tables, which is covered by a canvas "roof" or sorts. It was a neat place and we had a fun time. We were there to hang out with a bunch of Greg's co-workers. Let me see how many names I can remember...Tom, Jay (Tom & Jay are both from Indiana), Hugh, Cate, Madeleine, Ruth, Lelia (LEE-lee-a), Sinead (shi-NAYD), Mhairi (pronounced VA-ree, she's Scottish), Tomas, David, and Anne Maria. They were all friendly and a lot of fun to talk to; we had a really great time with them. Greg gets along so well with his co-workers, which is certainly a blessing; I know he is enjoying the work environment.
One of the things we talked about was nationalities and how Europeans are really good at telling what nationality you are just by sight. When we had met Melanie in Cork the previous week, I was complaining that Greg wouldn't let me look at the map because he didn't want to look like tourists. She commented that there are tourists everywhere, and there was a group of Italians coming up to us right now. Sure enough, a group of people passed us and they were all speaking Italian. I mentioned this to the group on Friday night. They commented that Italians are always very well-dressed and stylish. They said that, at university, you can tell who is from America because they all wear North Face jackets and/or backpacks (except they couldn't remember the brand and were saying "East Face? West Face?"). Ruth said that Greg looks German, but that I actually look quite Irish, with my fair skin, greenish eyes, and blonde hair with a reddish tint. !!! Now all I need is to get an Irish accent.
At the far end of our tables at the Franciscan Well was a group of multi-national guys (I can't remember what countries they were from, some were Irish but there were also others) who had an iPhone or iTouch or something out and were looking up the lyrics to various national anthems and singing them. They started singing the U.S. national anthem and, when they found out there were four Americans in our group, they coerced us into singing it for them. :)
Saturday was a rainy day and we stayed home and had a very low-key day. We did venture out to go to the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick-maker. Okay, so we didn't go to a candlestick-maker, but I had to add that in there! I joked about that while we were out and Greg did not understand my nursery rhyme reference. *sigh* But when we Skyped with his mom that night and I said that we went to the butcher and the baker, she immediately said something about the candlestick-maker, so that made me feel better. :) We bought some very fresh-looking meat (Greg commented that it was very purple, right off the cow) at the butcher and a loaf of fresh bread and a tart at the bakery.
Sunday was kinda rainy-kinda not rainy. After church, we went in to Cork to the Mahon Point shopping center and considered watching a movie, but then decided to drive out to nearby Midleton to see the Old Midleton Distillery, which is a restored 18th century whiskey distillery. We decided that the tour was too pricey, but we were able to wander around inside the main building and watch a detailed virtual tour. It's actually a very pretty complex - we took a few pictures to prove that we were there even though we didn't spring for the tour; I'll share some in a separate post (just because it's a pain to add pictures in the middle of a bunch of text).
Sunday turned into a gorgeous day by later in the afternoon, and we took a lovely walk along the Scilly Walk, stopping at the Bulman for a quick break before returning. I didn't take the camera along, but wished that I had - the water was gorgeous that day, and there were tons of sailboats out.
I also had my first driving "lesson" on Sunday. Perhaps the less said about that, the better. ;) I'll probably write a separate post about that little adventure later this week.
We've had a very nice electrician named Stephen out to our place a couple of times. Last night he was here for an hour and a half replacing about a jillion lightbulbs that were out or missing entirely (including some that made him climb so high on the ladder that I had to leave the room because it was too scary), installing a couple of new outlets, fixing some lamps that didn't work, and securing our intercom to the wall because it kept falling off.
The whole town is preparing for the Kinsale Sevens, which is the highlight of the year in Kinsale. http://www.kinsalesevens.com/ Of course, we'll miss it since we'll be in London. Who planned that, anyway? But I'd rather be in London than watch a bunch of rugby. Maybe it will be a good thing to be out of town this weekend; I'm sure it will be crowded!
So there you have a quick rundown of what we've been up to since I last posted. Start looking forward to next week, when I should have a Plethora of Posts and Pictures after our long weekend in LONDON! Everyone we talk to here raves about how great London is and how much they love it, so we're hoping for a memorable experience there!
Who, me?
Well, we really haven't done much of interest since our Dingle trip. Greg is playing tag rugby at work once a week; I'm holding down the fort; sunny days have given way to more typical, changeable Irish weather.
We've tried out a couple of new restaurants this past week - lunch at Cafe Blue at the Blue Haven Hotel and dinner at the Wharf Tavern at the Trident Hotel. Both were good! We can't eat out all that often, though, due to the $$$...or should I say, €€€. You can find reasonable prices, but reasonable here is still more than you would expect to pay back in the USA for something comparable. I always look for the cheapest couple of items on the menu and pick from those; but, to be honest, I do the same thing back home! :)
I've decided that British television is strange (but I should have already known that, shouldn't I?), especially the commercials. You know the Febreze commercial, where the mom tells her teenaged son that he has to "wash" his room? Well, they have the exact same commercial here, but dubbed over with British accents, which is funny. I also laugh about the words that are pronounced differently. I saw a commercial that said the word "vitamins," but it's pronounced with a short i instead of a long i. Pantene hair products are prononced "Pan-TEN," and Adidas is pronounced "AH-dee-doss" instead of "uh-DEE-duhs." Oh, the small joys of my life.
We've been in to Cork a couple of times. Not this past Sunday, but the Sunday before, we went in to the city and walked around a bit. It has a neat pedestrianized shopping area, and we went into a department store that had amazingly low prices...I guess I expected clothing to be much more expensive here. By some strange chance, we ran into Melanie along with her husband and baby. (Greg is here because Melanie is on maternity leave, so he is covering her job here.) It was fun to meet them, and baby is doing well. We keep running into people Greg knows here, all the time. Strange, isn't it?
We also went into Bandon to the Garda (police) station/immigration bureau and I got my Certificate of Registraton card...so now I'm all official and everything. I've been fingerprinted and am legally permitted to be in the country until September 2. (Don't worry; I will still be coming home around July 1.) Hopefully I'll get to keep my card so it can be a cool souvenir!
This past Friday night we went into Cork to a microbrewery called the Franciscan Well, which has a bit of a Rathskellar vibe (for my Indy friends), but not really. It reminds me of it, though, with a large outdoor seating area with rows of long picnic tables, which is covered by a canvas "roof" or sorts. It was a neat place and we had a fun time. We were there to hang out with a bunch of Greg's co-workers. Let me see how many names I can remember...Tom, Jay (Tom & Jay are both from Indiana), Hugh, Cate, Madeleine, Ruth, Lelia (LEE-lee-a), Sinead (shi-NAYD), Mhairi (pronounced VA-ree, she's Scottish), Tomas, David, and Anne Maria. They were all friendly and a lot of fun to talk to; we had a really great time with them. Greg gets along so well with his co-workers, which is certainly a blessing; I know he is enjoying the work environment.
One of the things we talked about was nationalities and how Europeans are really good at telling what nationality you are just by sight. When we had met Melanie in Cork the previous week, I was complaining that Greg wouldn't let me look at the map because he didn't want to look like tourists. She commented that there are tourists everywhere, and there was a group of Italians coming up to us right now. Sure enough, a group of people passed us and they were all speaking Italian. I mentioned this to the group on Friday night. They commented that Italians are always very well-dressed and stylish. They said that, at university, you can tell who is from America because they all wear North Face jackets and/or backpacks (except they couldn't remember the brand and were saying "East Face? West Face?"). Ruth said that Greg looks German, but that I actually look quite Irish, with my fair skin, greenish eyes, and blonde hair with a reddish tint. !!! Now all I need is to get an Irish accent.
At the far end of our tables at the Franciscan Well was a group of multi-national guys (I can't remember what countries they were from, some were Irish but there were also others) who had an iPhone or iTouch or something out and were looking up the lyrics to various national anthems and singing them. They started singing the U.S. national anthem and, when they found out there were four Americans in our group, they coerced us into singing it for them. :)
Saturday was a rainy day and we stayed home and had a very low-key day. We did venture out to go to the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick-maker. Okay, so we didn't go to a candlestick-maker, but I had to add that in there! I joked about that while we were out and Greg did not understand my nursery rhyme reference. *sigh* But when we Skyped with his mom that night and I said that we went to the butcher and the baker, she immediately said something about the candlestick-maker, so that made me feel better. :) We bought some very fresh-looking meat (Greg commented that it was very purple, right off the cow) at the butcher and a loaf of fresh bread and a tart at the bakery.
Sunday was kinda rainy-kinda not rainy. After church, we went in to Cork to the Mahon Point shopping center and considered watching a movie, but then decided to drive out to nearby Midleton to see the Old Midleton Distillery, which is a restored 18th century whiskey distillery. We decided that the tour was too pricey, but we were able to wander around inside the main building and watch a detailed virtual tour. It's actually a very pretty complex - we took a few pictures to prove that we were there even though we didn't spring for the tour; I'll share some in a separate post (just because it's a pain to add pictures in the middle of a bunch of text).
Sunday turned into a gorgeous day by later in the afternoon, and we took a lovely walk along the Scilly Walk, stopping at the Bulman for a quick break before returning. I didn't take the camera along, but wished that I had - the water was gorgeous that day, and there were tons of sailboats out.
I also had my first driving "lesson" on Sunday. Perhaps the less said about that, the better. ;) I'll probably write a separate post about that little adventure later this week.
We've had a very nice electrician named Stephen out to our place a couple of times. Last night he was here for an hour and a half replacing about a jillion lightbulbs that were out or missing entirely (including some that made him climb so high on the ladder that I had to leave the room because it was too scary), installing a couple of new outlets, fixing some lamps that didn't work, and securing our intercom to the wall because it kept falling off.
The whole town is preparing for the Kinsale Sevens, which is the highlight of the year in Kinsale. http://www.kinsalesevens.com/ Of course, we'll miss it since we'll be in London. Who planned that, anyway? But I'd rather be in London than watch a bunch of rugby. Maybe it will be a good thing to be out of town this weekend; I'm sure it will be crowded!
So there you have a quick rundown of what we've been up to since I last posted. Start looking forward to next week, when I should have a Plethora of Posts and Pictures after our long weekend in LONDON! Everyone we talk to here raves about how great London is and how much they love it, so we're hoping for a memorable experience there!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Slea Head Drive
On Saturday, we woke up to yet another sunny morning and headed northwest to the Dingle Peninsula, a striking place of rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, and dusky mountains, with views that just get better around any corner. As we drove out of County Cork and into County Kerry, the landscape changed dramatically as the mountains rose before us and the sun was blocked out by a dense haze. We had one incident on the way where, going over a narrow bridge, we met a car who was not staying on their side of the road and clipped our side view mirror! Luckily, Greg was able to pop the mirror back into place with no lasting harm 
done, and it was not an indication of what type of day we would have.
Our first stop was at Inch Strand, a lovely three mile long beach, where we stopped for awhile to wait for the sun to burn through the fog so that we would enjoy better views throughout our tour. From the beach, we continued into the town of Dingle (An Daingean is the official Gaelic name, although the locals have not embraced it and still call it Dingle), a charming town that is also the capital of the Gaeltacht, the official Irish-speaking region of the country. Dingle is the beginning and ending point of the thirty mile Slea Head Drive, a winding loop of the peninsula with many scenic outlooks. The road actually was not bad at all, despite what you may think from the warning sign in an earlier post (of a car driving off a cliff into the water!), and there were plenty of scenic outlooks where you could pull over and enjoy a lingering photo opportunity. Our favorite part of the drive was probably Coumeenoole Strand, a lovely little beach in a cove surrounded by towering cliffs. Returning to Dingle, we stopped for ice cream cones at Murphy's and then headed up into the mountains to Conor Pass, the highest mountain pass in Ireland where, on a clear day, you enjoy breathtaking views of the peninsula. As I may have mentioned before, Ireland had a hard winter and has had an extraordinarily dry spring, so I'm sure Dingle is usually even more beautiful when it is green everywhere. Even without its trademark green, the country here is still absolutely lovely. We concluded our day by returning to Inch Beach, where many people were now enjoying the lovely day. Greg was excited to be able to drive down a beach for the first time; the sand is packed hard and people just drive down the beach and park for the day. We took a long walk up and down the shoreline before beginning our return home.
Our tour of the peninsula really did not take too long, and was a wonderful day trip from Kinsale. We were still absolutely exhausted by the time we reached home, but full of memories - and photographs - of a gorgeous day in a gorgeous place. We are certain that we will return to Dingle in the summer and are already looking forward to it.
Now sit back and enjoy some of the pictures from our day at Dingle!
done, and it was not an indication of what type of day we would have.Our first stop was at Inch Strand, a lovely three mile long beach, where we stopped for awhile to wait for the sun to burn through the fog so that we would enjoy better views throughout our tour. From the beach, we continued into the town of Dingle (An Daingean is the official Gaelic name, although the locals have not embraced it and still call it Dingle), a charming town that is also the capital of the Gaeltacht, the official Irish-speaking region of the country. Dingle is the beginning and ending point of the thirty mile Slea Head Drive, a winding loop of the peninsula with many scenic outlooks. The road actually was not bad at all, despite what you may think from the warning sign in an earlier post (of a car driving off a cliff into the water!), and there were plenty of scenic outlooks where you could pull over and enjoy a lingering photo opportunity. Our favorite part of the drive was probably Coumeenoole Strand, a lovely little beach in a cove surrounded by towering cliffs. Returning to Dingle, we stopped for ice cream cones at Murphy's and then headed up into the mountains to Conor Pass, the highest mountain pass in Ireland where, on a clear day, you enjoy breathtaking views of the peninsula. As I may have mentioned before, Ireland had a hard winter and has had an extraordinarily dry spring, so I'm sure Dingle is usually even more beautiful when it is green everywhere. Even without its trademark green, the country here is still absolutely lovely. We concluded our day by returning to Inch Beach, where many people were now enjoying the lovely day. Greg was excited to be able to drive down a beach for the first time; the sand is packed hard and people just drive down the beach and park for the day. We took a long walk up and down the shoreline before beginning our return home.
Our tour of the peninsula really did not take too long, and was a wonderful day trip from Kinsale. We were still absolutely exhausted by the time we reached home, but full of memories - and photographs - of a gorgeous day in a gorgeous place. We are certain that we will return to Dingle in the summer and are already looking forward to it.
Now sit back and enjoy some of the pictures from our day at Dingle!
The Dingle Peninsula (to be continued...)
Did you guess where we went on Saturday? No, we did not drive off the side of a cliff! We were at the beautiful Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. Stay tuned for another picture-filled post!Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Scilly Walk
Yesterday afternoon I went on a very vigorous wa
lk in the countryside: the east shore of Kinsale Harbor, Lower Road and Scilly Walk, Summer Cove, Charles Fort, Ringacurra, High Road, and Breakheart Hill. My walking guide said it was a two hour walk of about four miles, but it felt like about ten miles, especially when I was way out in the country and felt like surely my guidebook was wrong and I must be lost. But I found my way, and it was a perfectly lovely walk (though completely exhausting!) on a beautiful, sunny Thursday. I particularly enjoyed sitting on the grass at Charles Fort, sunning myself and looking out over the water, taking in the spectacular views. Here are a few of my photos from the walk:
lk in the countryside: the east shore of Kinsale Harbor, Lower Road and Scilly Walk, Summer Cove, Charles Fort, Ringacurra, High Road, and Breakheart Hill. My walking guide said it was a two hour walk of about four miles, but it felt like about ten miles, especially when I was way out in the country and felt like surely my guidebook was wrong and I must be lost. But I found my way, and it was a perfectly lovely walk (though completely exhausting!) on a beautiful, sunny Thursday. I particularly enjoyed sitting on the grass at Charles Fort, sunning myself and looking out over the water, taking in the spectacular views. Here are a few of my photos from the walk:Thursday, April 15, 2010
Around the Town - Tuesday, April 13
Kinsale Harbor
the farmers' market in Kinsale - held each Tuesday
a Kinsale street at night
sitting by the coal fire at The Folkhouse - a lot of atmosphere, a friendly bartender, and we were the only ones in the place! Book Club
Timeline:
On Sunday I was invited to attend a book club meeting on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night at 5 p.m. I checked the book out from the Kinsale Public Library with my brand-spanking-new library card.
I read until midnight, taking a break for dinner and to go out for a walk and to hang out at The Folkhouse (see next post) together for awhile.
I got up at 7:15 am Wednesday to finish the book.
At 9:15 am, Carolyn came to take me to the book club.
Did I finish the book? Oh yes, I did!
What was the book? Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.
Was it good? Very!
What was it about? It was written during the German occupation of France in World War II. There are two parts to the book, the first following several people/families as they flee Paris during the German invasion, the second chronicling the lives of the inhabitants of a French town (with some of the characters from the first part of the book intertwined) while their town is occupied by German soldiers. The story isn't finished - there were supposed to be several more parts to the story and it was all going to wrap up together. Unfortunately, the author ended up dying in a concentration camp and was never able to finish her work, so you just have to guess where she was ultimately going with it. That said, even unfinished, it was a great read. It's a very realistic and compelling tale of everyday human lives and human character when thrust into an atmosphere of panicked evacuation or peaceful foreign occupation. I would recommend it. And it's not a book I would have picked up on my own (you know how I love Dickens and regency literature like Jane Austen), so I am glad that I was prompted to read it for this book club.
Who was at the book club meeting? Myself, Carolyn (who is from Indiana), two other American ladies whose husbands are currently working here (one is from Greenwood, Indiana; I assume the other is from Indiana as well but I'm not sure), an Irish woman who grew up in England to Irish parents, a South African woman, and another American woman who is from California but has lived all around Europe with her job. Later on (after the book club part), another woman stopped by to chat who is Australian. It was quite an eclectic, international-feeling group of women.
What did we do? (well, obviously...) The discussion was fun, spirited, and insightful as everyone talked about the book (and unrelated subjects!) over scones and tea. You know how it is with book clubs...you are bound to get off on tangents and spend very little time talking directly about the book, but it is such a good time! The other ladies were very friendly and welcoming and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday Drive
On Sunday morning, we attended service at the Methodist Church, just a short walk away. Afterwards, we joined Tom (Greg's supervisor), Carolyn, and their three daughters for scones at the cafe at The Bank House. It was such a gorgeous day that we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to go on a long Sunday drive along the south coast of County Cork.
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Our drive concluded at the town of Baltimore, where 100+ citizens were kidnapped by Algerian pirates in 1631 and carried off as slaves. Baltimore enjoys a beautiful harbor, and with the lovely weather, there was a truly festive atmosphere as all the locals congregated in the outdoor seating at a string of restaurants overlooking the water..jpg)
Heading west from Kinsale, we enjoyed beautiful views as we drove along the coast. While some roads were alarming at times (narrow roads bordered by tall hedges, only wide enough for one vehicle, never knowing if another car may be coming around the next bend), the drive was very pleasant. We enjoyed viewing the countryside, the sea, and the cows and sheep grazing on the hillsides. (Oh yes, there are many cows here.)
Our first stop was at Timoleague Abbey, a Franciscan friary originally dated to the 13th century which now lies in ruins. The Book of Lismore was written here in 1480. The friary was burned down by Cromwellian soldiers in 1642. Over the years, the ruined friary has been extensively used as a cemetary. It certainly had a strange loveliness, with crows circling the tower and the beautiful arches and windows still intact and allowing gorgeous water views.
From Timoleague, we drove to the town of Clonakilty and took a walk through that charming and vibrantly colored town, then drove on to see the Drombeg stone circle. Dating back to 150 BC, a circle of 17 stones stands in a field with a gorgeous backdrop of hills and the sea. At the winter solstice, the setting sun shines directly on the flat altar stone.
Our drive concluded at the town of Baltimore, where 100+ citizens were kidnapped by Algerian pirates in 1631 and carried off as slaves. Baltimore enjoys a beautiful harbor, and with the lovely weather, there was a truly festive atmosphere as all the locals congregated in the outdoor seating at a string of restaurants overlooking the water.By the end of the afternoon, we were tired and hungry and we got a bit lost trying to use the GPS to get back home, but a hearty dinner at Hurley's in the town of Ballinspittle made us both feel better and rounded out a memorable Sunday drive.
Kinsale Sunshine
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The sun has been shining each day since I arrived in Ireland on Saturday afternoon. There has not been a cloud in the sky, not a hint of rain, which is unusual for this area. This beautiful country is made even lovelier by the sunshine and nice weather. While I'm not walking around in short sleeves and sandals like some of the locals are (55 degrees is not THAT warm, at least where I come from), the sunshine feels wonderful and has made for a very pleasant introduction to this country. It was a happy reunion for Greg and me at the Cork airport, following by my first exposure to the countryside and my much-anticipated first glimpse of the town of Kinsale. I was certainly not disappointed. The vistas are breathtaking, the town is charming, and our apartment is in the perfect location. Situated right in front of the marina (the picture of me above was actually taken from our master bedroom window) and close walking distance to everything in town, I know that I will enjoy staying here; it will be ideal when guests visit us, too! Exploring the town and enjoying dinner and a televised rugby match (I had no idea what was going on, but the locals were pretty excited!) at The White Lady rounded out a beautiful first day.
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