From London, we took a series of trains and a ferry to get to Ireland. We left London around 7:30 p.m. and didn't arrive in Cork until 9:35 a.m. It was the most restless and uncomfortable night I think I've ever had, but the outcome was the best I could hope for: Ireland!
When we got to Cork we were so excited for the new atmosphere. We couldn't check into our hostel until 2 p.m. so we dropped our bags there and set out to explore the city. I loved Cork because while it was technically a city, it still had a small-town Irish feel. The first thing we did was hit up a cute little farmers market, where we got coffee and the yummiest cinnamon rolls in the world. We sat by the river and ate them in the early morning sunshine. After that, we explored St. Patrick's street which contained many shops and cafes. I have to say, Cork put London to shame as far as shopping went. Cork had store after store of cute clothes. I was just so sad that I was too broke to actually buy anything! But man, were they cute. We also found the English market and discovered all that it had to offer. There was such a wide variety of local goods in the market- the fish were particularly interesting!
After four trains and a ferry, we had arrived!
Beautiful Cork
English Market
I sure wouldn't want that for dinner!
After exploring the town we rested up a bit at our hostel. That night, we went to dinner at a great Irish pub. Unfortunately, I was feeling pretty terrible. By this point I was certain that I had caught whatever plague-like disease the children on the train to Munich must have had. Our dinner looked delicious, but I literally didn't taste it. I couldn't smell, couldn't taste, and couldn't focus because my head ached so bad. It was even starting to hurt to breathe. But, we were in a new place and I didn't want to miss out on a minute of it!
So after dinner we went for a lovely walk on The Banks of the Lee Walkway. It gave us a taste of what we were really in Ireland for: the nature.
Nothing like a good Guinness 'stache
Not feeling so good : (
That night, I barely slept. I tossed and turned all night long, and was continuously woken up by my sore throat and aching lungs. My lungs hurt so bad that it actually made it hard to breathe. I finally caved and vowed to do nothing the entire next day so I could actually get a day of rest, and hopefully get better. I spent the day reading, drinking tea, and counting the minutes until I could take my next dose of cough medicine/ibuprofen/medicated throat lozenges (not to mention cursing that damn family on the train!). But thankfully, after a day of rest, I went to bed feeling a little better. And when I woke up the next day I felt even better again. I could breathe! I was so happy, and even though I was sad to have missed out on new experiences (and getting to see the Blarney Castle) I knew staying in bed all day was worth it. Our hostel was actually quite cozy for a change, so it wasn't a bad place to spend my sick days. So thanks, Cork. Hopefully I'll be back someday to get the full experience!
View of the city from our hostel window
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