Cuenca
I arrived in Cuenca yesterday evening. It was easy enough to get a cab and get to the Hostel. I had a bit harder of a time getting the room worked out in spanish, but it all worked out just fine. Granted, I had pretty low expectations, but I am thrilled with my hostel choice. It's pretty darn cheap ~12 for my single room with a private bath. The room is, of course, fairly basic, but it's clean and about twice the size of my previous room - aka, there is plenty of space to walk around the bed and includes a bench and small luggage table. It also has a little terrace off of it. My previous room had about an extra foot on one side and barely enough room to have two people stand at the foot of it, along with the small round table. It was tiny - but it was only for two nights.
After checking in last night, I ventured across the street and had some pizza. Nothing was open, being sunday and all & the resaurants that were open, closed early, so I was just happy to find something close. On my way there (all 10 steps), I meet 4 travellers that were stranded outside their hostel, waiting for the hostel owners to come by, so that they could grab their stuff. He was supposed to be there by 7 ("for sure") and didn't end up showing till about 8:30. Unfortunately, the 3 that were leaving that night, had already missed at least one bus, but hopefull made the 9pm out of town.
After they collected their stuff, Tom, the traveller that was sticking around another day, stopped at the pizza place and we had a few drinks and chatted for awhile. It never fails, I always meet somebody within minutes of arriving in a new place.
The Hostel
I'm staying at Hogar Cuencana. The hostel owners are fantastic! Celso and Maggie, have been very helpful and kind. Celso helped me figure out getting to my school this morning, no thanks to the directions they mailed...
They gave me two addresses. One called "Address" and one called "Location". The difference is beyond me... Celso called both numbers on the receipt for me with no luck. There was either no answer, or it was the wrong number, for all of the numbers we (he) called. So... off to find the school. I tried finding the first address, which was close by. when I couldn't find it, I walked to the second, which was 10 or so minutes away. I found the address, which was promising, however... It was actually a theatre group or something of that sort instead. So, I trecked my keister back up to the hostel. Celso tried calling again and called another number we found. Finally! Turns out, the first address did exist, it was just tucked away on the side of a cafe. Celso walked me over to help me find it, which was really awesome of him.
When I got back from the initial place, Celso's wife was really great too she made sure I knew where the kitchen was and made me coffee, showing me how to do it there and where everything was located. She's also going to bring me some coffee from their farm, so that I don't have to drink instant coffee. I had coffee from their farm today & it is so fresh, your eyes pop open just smelling it, it's really amazing, it actually surprises you when you smell it. She also said she'd do laundry for me for free if it's just a little, or very cheap if it's allot. I feel like I've been sort of adopted, I love it.
Exercising Ecuadorians
Ok, not to make fun of them, I really don't mean it that way, but not being ready for it, I was trying hard not to laugh when I first saw this... it made my random hiadeous to find the school that wasn't there, well worth the frustration. I walked across the river and off to find this "school" and at first, just see a guy stretching with his foot up on the railing. perfectly normal, except he was swinging his arms -- a little odd, I thought, but ok, maybe he's just getting circulation going. a few more steps and there is a woman alternating between stretching against the wall and doing a full body shake. Not just any normal shake it off type shake though, it was like she was trying to shake off the heeby jeebies (sp?). But what do I see next? A speed walker coming at me, swinging her arms all the way above and past her head and back down. Then there's a little old man passing me while shaking purposefully from head to hip and stopping every once in awhile to make another jerking motion that I couldn't identify or begin to describe. At this point, I'm highly amused and grinning ear to ear -- and along comes a very masculine looking man... in very tight, almost spandex pants and matching top, with brite blue shoes - walking... almost quickly, but obviously very serious about his work-out. There was nothing wrong, or off, or disabled about any of these people, so I hope it doesn't sound like that. They were very purposefully doing all of these things as part of their workouts... though I can't figure out what any of those exercises were doing much in the way of excercising, but oh well. I don't know if this explanation does it any justice at all... no one thing by itself was goofy enough to remember, but it was the combination of all of it, one after another, that just had me in stitches as I was walking along this morning. The best way I can describe the combination of them, is to refer you back to the show "Friends", if you remember the episode about how Phoebe runs. Anyway, It was definitely a very bright spot in my spanish school location confusion.
Lunch
I went to a place called Karma and had a great fixed lunch (apparently they all do that here - it's called merza, which I'll likely adjust later when I find out the right spelling and pronunciation). It was small, but plenty big enough, including a really yummy carrot soup (sounds terrible, I know, but it was awesome) and a small amount of steak strips and onions in some amazing sauce, with rice and a plantain. It also included some yummy fruit drink of some kind. It was, no joke, $2, and amazing.
Spanish School
I got through my beginner placement test scheduled for my morning classess, starting tomorrow morning. So, like a good student, I'm off to do my reviewing I've been assigned to be ready for tomorrow.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Exploring Quito II
Mariscal
Day two in Quito was pretty short, so I explored around Mariscal, the area where I stayed with a girl from Holand named Marajeka, whom I met at the Hostel. Because it was sunday, most things were closed, which I learned is going to be the same everywhere in Ecuador. Also, things may or may not be open on Monday, and probably not very early, because [as one local put it...] people aren't very excited to get back to work after the weekend. :) (Gotta love it.)
Marajeka and I walked down la Calle Amazonas (Amazonas Street) to a big park with a large arc at the entrance. We just walked around the park and through the isle of vendors set up on the perimeter. The park was filled with families and children playing in the sun. They also had a pretty good police presence, to keep things safe and friendly. It's fun to see that no matter what country your from, children are all the same and entertained by their families in the same way. They were rolling around on the grass, riding bikes, throwing balls and just exploring the world from their little perspective.
On the way back, we stopped at an outdoor cafe & bar and had a beer in a really little square area, surrounded by a backdrop of the Andes mountains.
On to Cuenca
I headed for the airport that afternoon for my flight, where oddly, very little was in engish, so that was a little challenging, but somehow I made it onto a big tube with wings that dropped me in Cuenca. :) When flying out of Quito, it was still light, so I was able to get an amazing topical view of the city. The landscape was very much a cross between Ireland and your typical south american look (in the nicer areas). By that, I mean that there were sprawling fields of green in square patches around the perimeter of the city and neighborhoods. The city and neighborhoods themselves, looked so peaceful and beauitifully layed out like spokes almost. The houses all different colors of the "south-american" color palet, if there is one -- made of cement and stone and a stucco-like material, with the rounded, half-moon roof tiles.
Day two in Quito was pretty short, so I explored around Mariscal, the area where I stayed with a girl from Holand named Marajeka, whom I met at the Hostel. Because it was sunday, most things were closed, which I learned is going to be the same everywhere in Ecuador. Also, things may or may not be open on Monday, and probably not very early, because [as one local put it...] people aren't very excited to get back to work after the weekend. :) (Gotta love it.)
Marajeka and I walked down la Calle Amazonas (Amazonas Street) to a big park with a large arc at the entrance. We just walked around the park and through the isle of vendors set up on the perimeter. The park was filled with families and children playing in the sun. They also had a pretty good police presence, to keep things safe and friendly. It's fun to see that no matter what country your from, children are all the same and entertained by their families in the same way. They were rolling around on the grass, riding bikes, throwing balls and just exploring the world from their little perspective.
On the way back, we stopped at an outdoor cafe & bar and had a beer in a really little square area, surrounded by a backdrop of the Andes mountains.
On to Cuenca
I headed for the airport that afternoon for my flight, where oddly, very little was in engish, so that was a little challenging, but somehow I made it onto a big tube with wings that dropped me in Cuenca. :) When flying out of Quito, it was still light, so I was able to get an amazing topical view of the city. The landscape was very much a cross between Ireland and your typical south american look (in the nicer areas). By that, I mean that there were sprawling fields of green in square patches around the perimeter of the city and neighborhoods. The city and neighborhoods themselves, looked so peaceful and beauitifully layed out like spokes almost. The houses all different colors of the "south-american" color palet, if there is one -- made of cement and stone and a stucco-like material, with the rounded, half-moon roof tiles.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Exploring Quito Ecuador
The Hostel
I'm staying at El Caficito Hostel in Quito. It's interesting, but cheap & I suppose good for what you pay. The room is itsy bitsy, but it's only for two nights, so who cares. The showers don't have shower heads, which I feel like may be just a normal thing. Worked out fine though, it actually got the conditioner out of my hair, so I'm good to go. :) The hang out area of the hostel is pretty cool. They've got a cute little bar and restaurant area, that has a great ambiance and feel to it. it's been pretty quiet so far, but they tell me it gets pretty busy - Friday was a bank holiday, so it wasn't as busy.
I chatted with the owner at the bar last night for a few hours. I didn't know he was the owner at first, but he told me after I told him I was a management consultant. Yes, shop talk, but somehow different, we talked alot about his issues he's working through with his business and some ideas to make the changes he wants to make. We also talked alot about the struggles he's gone through so far, so it was very interesting. He also owns the Hostel of the same name in Cuenca, and will be there in a few weeks, so I may catch up again. It'll be nice to know a soul there. :)
I tried a new drink called Canelazo, a hot drink with sugar cane alcohol and water boiled with cinnamin, with an added lemon slice. it was yummy, but gets a little sweet after two (my bad).
Centro Historico (Old Town)
This was a cool area to walk around and check out. First, I headed to Itchimbia, which is situated at the East end of Centro Historica. I took a bus most of the way there and then trotted up up up, a slightly skletchy street called Yaguachi. All turned out well though, and the park was worth the trek. At the top, is a park with some stone "statues" (the significance of which I will have to look up), some large pioctures of ecuador history (people, buildings, etc...), the Centro Cultural Itchimbia (which you couldn't enter, but could see some cool wood carvings through the all glass walls. The best thing though, was the view of the city. it was truly an amazing view, of the hills packed with houses, a few statues, and just in general, an amazing view of the landscape and surrounding Andes Mountains. I then trekked back down past where the bus dropped me and into the center.
I walked through a cool park called La Alameda. It was pretty funny, there was a man-made (I think) river and island in the middle, where people were riding paddle boats and row boats. I snapped a few pics, but my favorite has to be the row boat "Titanic", on a collision course with another row boat. after a near miss (in slow-motion), the Titanic nearly ran into the wall on the side. It was pretty entertaining to watch. But don't worry, nobody was hurt or dunked in the making of this story.
I walked on to La Plaza de Grande, which was a bus stop and somewhat steep cobblestone street with lots of shops. Along the way, I bought a cute little sasche purse for $2! and a coin purse for $1.15 (woot!). I kept walking to Santo Domingo, a church with a statue out front of Mariscol Sucre (the namesake for the area I'm staying in). I then went to La Ronda... La Ronda was super cute. it's this sorta long, curved/windy street, that is all cobblestone and is lines with super cute building, with restaurants, a few shoppes, and various other things. at either end, is an arch-shaped bridge, which made for great pictures. In the middle, where the main street crosses (which is actually closed to traffic), you can get a pretty amazing picture of El Panecillo, a juge statue of Madonn, with wings open over the city of Quito. I guess they really like her music here. Kidding of course, it's the Virgin Mary, from the bible, but representing the Woman of the Apocolypse, from revelations.
I then walked back towards La Plaza Grande and up to the Palacia Municipal, where the president of Ecuador works and La Palacia Presidencia, where he lives. Right in front of La Palacia Presidencia, was a huge park and museum. the park was beautiful and had a huge statue in the middle. This whole area was really amazing. I happen to be there just as it was starting to get dark, so all the lights on the sides of the sides of the buildings lit up, which was really beautiful. A few of the buildings had many flags along the sides of them, which looked really cool.
Then I hopped in a cab and headed back to the hostel, speaking spanish with the driver as best I could, which was really fun. :) Now you're current... we'll see what's next.
I'm staying at El Caficito Hostel in Quito. It's interesting, but cheap & I suppose good for what you pay. The room is itsy bitsy, but it's only for two nights, so who cares. The showers don't have shower heads, which I feel like may be just a normal thing. Worked out fine though, it actually got the conditioner out of my hair, so I'm good to go. :) The hang out area of the hostel is pretty cool. They've got a cute little bar and restaurant area, that has a great ambiance and feel to it. it's been pretty quiet so far, but they tell me it gets pretty busy - Friday was a bank holiday, so it wasn't as busy.
I chatted with the owner at the bar last night for a few hours. I didn't know he was the owner at first, but he told me after I told him I was a management consultant. Yes, shop talk, but somehow different, we talked alot about his issues he's working through with his business and some ideas to make the changes he wants to make. We also talked alot about the struggles he's gone through so far, so it was very interesting. He also owns the Hostel of the same name in Cuenca, and will be there in a few weeks, so I may catch up again. It'll be nice to know a soul there. :)
I tried a new drink called Canelazo, a hot drink with sugar cane alcohol and water boiled with cinnamin, with an added lemon slice. it was yummy, but gets a little sweet after two (my bad).
Centro Historico (Old Town)
This was a cool area to walk around and check out. First, I headed to Itchimbia, which is situated at the East end of Centro Historica. I took a bus most of the way there and then trotted up up up, a slightly skletchy street called Yaguachi. All turned out well though, and the park was worth the trek. At the top, is a park with some stone "statues" (the significance of which I will have to look up), some large pioctures of ecuador history (people, buildings, etc...), the Centro Cultural Itchimbia (which you couldn't enter, but could see some cool wood carvings through the all glass walls. The best thing though, was the view of the city. it was truly an amazing view, of the hills packed with houses, a few statues, and just in general, an amazing view of the landscape and surrounding Andes Mountains. I then trekked back down past where the bus dropped me and into the center.
I walked through a cool park called La Alameda. It was pretty funny, there was a man-made (I think) river and island in the middle, where people were riding paddle boats and row boats. I snapped a few pics, but my favorite has to be the row boat "Titanic", on a collision course with another row boat. after a near miss (in slow-motion), the Titanic nearly ran into the wall on the side. It was pretty entertaining to watch. But don't worry, nobody was hurt or dunked in the making of this story.
I walked on to La Plaza de Grande, which was a bus stop and somewhat steep cobblestone street with lots of shops. Along the way, I bought a cute little sasche purse for $2! and a coin purse for $1.15 (woot!). I kept walking to Santo Domingo, a church with a statue out front of Mariscol Sucre (the namesake for the area I'm staying in). I then went to La Ronda... La Ronda was super cute. it's this sorta long, curved/windy street, that is all cobblestone and is lines with super cute building, with restaurants, a few shoppes, and various other things. at either end, is an arch-shaped bridge, which made for great pictures. In the middle, where the main street crosses (which is actually closed to traffic), you can get a pretty amazing picture of El Panecillo, a juge statue of Madonn, with wings open over the city of Quito. I guess they really like her music here. Kidding of course, it's the Virgin Mary, from the bible, but representing the Woman of the Apocolypse, from revelations.
I then walked back towards La Plaza Grande and up to the Palacia Municipal, where the president of Ecuador works and La Palacia Presidencia, where he lives. Right in front of La Palacia Presidencia, was a huge park and museum. the park was beautiful and had a huge statue in the middle. This whole area was really amazing. I happen to be there just as it was starting to get dark, so all the lights on the sides of the sides of the buildings lit up, which was really beautiful. A few of the buildings had many flags along the sides of them, which looked really cool.
Then I hopped in a cab and headed back to the hostel, speaking spanish with the driver as best I could, which was really fun. :) Now you're current... we'll see what's next.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Quito Ecuador
I made it to Quito, safe and sound. I actually feel pretty good, after 20 hrs of travel. I already met another traveller on te way in and am about to go have drinks with her. Her name is Lauren, and she is from (big shock) Australia. :)
The cab ride getting here was pretty cool. between his very little English & my un poco Espaniol, we actually had a conversation. It was really fun. I love figuring out conversations in spanish. It was a great start that gives me much hope on how much spanish I'm going to come home speaking, and I'm VERY excited to learn it. :D
Quick check-in and I'm off for a few drinks.
Hasta luego amigos! (see how I did that?) haha :)
The cab ride getting here was pretty cool. between his very little English & my un poco Espaniol, we actually had a conversation. It was really fun. I love figuring out conversations in spanish. It was a great start that gives me much hope on how much spanish I'm going to come home speaking, and I'm VERY excited to learn it. :D
Quick check-in and I'm off for a few drinks.
Hasta luego amigos! (see how I did that?) haha :)
Ireland South Loop Cont...
Limerick/ Bunratty/ Shannon
After leaving dingle, we headed to limerick, with plans to check it out. We were really surprised... we didn't see anything cute, special, or remotely interesting about limerick. So we took a bit of a drive around to confirm it and headed for bunratty and Shannon. Bunratty was really tiny, but cute. It basically exists because of the bunratty castle. The only other things in the town are a hotel, restaurant, and cool looking bar. We didn't stay because it was getting late and we wanted to head to Shannon and find a place to stay. If I go again though, I'll do the dinner at the bunratty castle. Its supposed to be a traditional medieval dinner with a huge chicken leg and all. Shannon was a surprise too. We somehow got it stuck in our heads that it was supposed to be this super cute little town, because we'd heard of it many times. But oops, apparently its just a town that people fly into to rent a car and move on. So, needless to say, we kept driving on to Ennis.
Ennis
Ennis was really cute, more of the quintessential Irish town. It was so pretty and just cool looking. The streets were really tiny and most of them cobblestone. The whole little town just wrapped around in a crazy little maze. We learned that nobody apparently eats late there. By the time we got into town and checked in, most food was closed. But, we found a little Chinese place, which I thought was pretty good.
Cliffs of Moher We stopped at the Cliffs of Moher on the way to Galway. They were really pretty, really large cliffs along the coast.
After leaving dingle, we headed to limerick, with plans to check it out. We were really surprised... we didn't see anything cute, special, or remotely interesting about limerick. So we took a bit of a drive around to confirm it and headed for bunratty and Shannon. Bunratty was really tiny, but cute. It basically exists because of the bunratty castle. The only other things in the town are a hotel, restaurant, and cool looking bar. We didn't stay because it was getting late and we wanted to head to Shannon and find a place to stay. If I go again though, I'll do the dinner at the bunratty castle. Its supposed to be a traditional medieval dinner with a huge chicken leg and all. Shannon was a surprise too. We somehow got it stuck in our heads that it was supposed to be this super cute little town, because we'd heard of it many times. But oops, apparently its just a town that people fly into to rent a car and move on. So, needless to say, we kept driving on to Ennis.
Ennis
Ennis was really cute, more of the quintessential Irish town. It was so pretty and just cool looking. The streets were really tiny and most of them cobblestone. The whole little town just wrapped around in a crazy little maze. We learned that nobody apparently eats late there. By the time we got into town and checked in, most food was closed. But, we found a little Chinese place, which I thought was pretty good.
Cliffs of Moher We stopped at the Cliffs of Moher on the way to Galway. They were really pretty, really large cliffs along the coast.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Ireland South loop
OK, oddly enough its been difficult to find a place to stay that actually has in room wifi and we've gotten in so late, that there wasn't another option to blog. So, here's some catch up info on the trip...
Erin and I got into Ireland on Friday. Long flight, blah blah blah, of course. Once we both landed, we picked up the rental car and headed for cork, stopping in Cashel for dinner. Cashel was a cute little town, typical for Ireland. They all look very similar to some extent, with close connected shops and bars and restaurants and bars and hotels and... oh right, bars... Its funny, its sort of like a strip mall. But each and every shop has its own very Irish looking motif with italic letters (well, Gaelic). Hmmmm, I think as I've described that, I may have to start lobbying for us to do that to all strip malls in the US. It takes a simple set of store fronts and makes it picture worthy instead of like an ugly strip mall.
We learned not so quickly that driving in Ireland takes about twice as long as Google thinks it does. We rolled into Cork around 11pm and were happy to find a b&b that answered the door and had a place for us to stay.
Cork
Cork was realty cute. We walked around and checked out the town and a few shops. We tried to go to the Murphy's brewery, but unfortunately, they were closed because Monday was a bank holiday. I have a bone to pick with that. OK, I get it, plan ahead if you need cash from a bank, cause they have holidays. But to close a brewery because of it that just doesn't sit right with me. :-) so after a bit more walking around and grabbing a fresh squeezed apple juice from a street market, we headed off to blarney stone.
The Blarney Stone
We had great timing with Blarney stone, the line wasn't to terrible when we got there, but was really long by the time we left, with more people pooring in as we headed for the car. Once you get past the gift shop and into the castle, you start climbing to the top of the castle to get to the stone. The steps climb through a very tight spiral stair case with very narrow stone steps and a rope attached straight up the middle of the spiral to give you a hand hold. You climb past all the different rooms in the castle... bedrooms, kitchen, etc... I can't imagine trying to carry any stuff from room to room back when people lived here. Its so narrow that I was glad I didn't have so much as a day pack on my back and the steps aren't really wide enough to get a full sized foot on them (mine barely fit). Its just crazy to think that this was totally normal and even luxurious once upon a time. I'm thinking no queen beds or overstuffed couches. :-) I can't imagine how long and what difficulty it took to build the castle in the first place, out of stone, with no industrial tools.
The Blarney Stone is at the top of the castle, on the roof, where I assume guards were posted with bow and arrow to keep out the riphraph (sp?). The blareny stone was coveted by the king because it supposedly brought good luck or something to that affect. Because of this, they constantly guarded it from would be thieves. To keep it safe, the king had it built in to the side of the castle. Its situated on the inside of the outer stone railing wall, at the very bottom, about a foot below the level of the deck. To give a place for water to drain, I assume, there is about a foot gap between the deck and the outside wall, so its pretty interesting getting in there to kiss the stone. To kiss it, you lay down on your back and hold on to the railings on the wall, then scoot way the heck back and lean down to kiss it upside down. I think its scarier when your short, I leaned back so far that only my legs and ars were still on the deck. Though the scariest part was probably the gamble of how many people kiss the stone in between cleanings. I choose not to think about it. :-)
Back in the car and off to Killarney...
Killarney
We met up with Erin's friend Kevin and his wife and kids. Then we headed into Killarney to their friend's b&b to drop our stuff. After chatting for a bit and trying to decipher English and Irish English, we headed to town with Kevin. W e hung out at a bar called Corkery's and had a few Smithwicks (great beer) and were fairly entertained by the avid soccer fans and a local or two that kevin knew. Oh, and cute bartenders. :-)
Killarney livened up quite a bit at night. There was a rally race near by this weekend and it was a long weekend, so the town was filled with a crazy mess of people and rally cars. Unfortunately, I think everybody was 17 (the drinking age). After corkery's, we stopped for some dinner and then headed to a very Irish bar, the name of which I don't remember. It was off the track of the teens, so it was filled with lots of Irish folks... there was a handful of people playing various instruments at will in the booths, and others just hanging out, having a good time and a few beers. It was a great Irish atmosphere and fun to just hang out, chat and have a few drinks. We closed the place down and snuck out the side entrance, since it was past the actual closing time for bars. Though even with that, there was still a full bar when we left. I guess bar closing time for locals is more of a time to make sure you get in by. :-)
Dingle
Dingle was awesome. The town is this tiny little port town with a few super cute shops and restaurants that are great to take a quick walk by and stop for lunch. After a quick refuel, we drove the loop and checked out all the cliffs, farms and ocean scenery. It was an absolutely beautifal drive and a death defying driving experience. Getting used to driving on the left, in a manual car was pretty fun, but add some wild cliffs and windy narrow roads along with a bunch of crazy tourists & its a recipe for disaster. Luckily, there was no disaster, but the roads require allot more description. There were actually a few roads that actually had enough space for two cars to pass each other without sharing mirrors, but very few. Most of the roads were so tiny, you were hugging the side and had an inch or two to spare on either side. There were a few where it was a small miracle that we made it by. Some of the streets were so tiny that there was no possible way to get two cars by. We got lucky on those and didn't have to reverse out of the way at all, but holy crap. They definitely had a sense of humor though, a few of the roads that weren't wide enough for two, unless you're on a motorcycle, had a center line painted down the middle. This left about 3 feet for each lane. You could see the car in front would be over the center line by at least two feet and have just a few inches on the bushes side. We actually saw a few folks driving campers on the road, which was nuts. Oh, and I forgot to mention... most of the road had a speed limit of 80 or 100k, which is about 45 or 60, respective MPH. NUTS!!!
My favorite add slogan so far...
What happens in huggies, stays in huggies.
Erin and I got into Ireland on Friday. Long flight, blah blah blah, of course. Once we both landed, we picked up the rental car and headed for cork, stopping in Cashel for dinner. Cashel was a cute little town, typical for Ireland. They all look very similar to some extent, with close connected shops and bars and restaurants and bars and hotels and... oh right, bars... Its funny, its sort of like a strip mall. But each and every shop has its own very Irish looking motif with italic letters (well, Gaelic). Hmmmm, I think as I've described that, I may have to start lobbying for us to do that to all strip malls in the US. It takes a simple set of store fronts and makes it picture worthy instead of like an ugly strip mall.
We learned not so quickly that driving in Ireland takes about twice as long as Google thinks it does. We rolled into Cork around 11pm and were happy to find a b&b that answered the door and had a place for us to stay.
Cork
Cork was realty cute. We walked around and checked out the town and a few shops. We tried to go to the Murphy's brewery, but unfortunately, they were closed because Monday was a bank holiday. I have a bone to pick with that. OK, I get it, plan ahead if you need cash from a bank, cause they have holidays. But to close a brewery because of it that just doesn't sit right with me. :-) so after a bit more walking around and grabbing a fresh squeezed apple juice from a street market, we headed off to blarney stone.
The Blarney Stone
We had great timing with Blarney stone, the line wasn't to terrible when we got there, but was really long by the time we left, with more people pooring in as we headed for the car. Once you get past the gift shop and into the castle, you start climbing to the top of the castle to get to the stone. The steps climb through a very tight spiral stair case with very narrow stone steps and a rope attached straight up the middle of the spiral to give you a hand hold. You climb past all the different rooms in the castle... bedrooms, kitchen, etc... I can't imagine trying to carry any stuff from room to room back when people lived here. Its so narrow that I was glad I didn't have so much as a day pack on my back and the steps aren't really wide enough to get a full sized foot on them (mine barely fit). Its just crazy to think that this was totally normal and even luxurious once upon a time. I'm thinking no queen beds or overstuffed couches. :-) I can't imagine how long and what difficulty it took to build the castle in the first place, out of stone, with no industrial tools.
The Blarney Stone is at the top of the castle, on the roof, where I assume guards were posted with bow and arrow to keep out the riphraph (sp?). The blareny stone was coveted by the king because it supposedly brought good luck or something to that affect. Because of this, they constantly guarded it from would be thieves. To keep it safe, the king had it built in to the side of the castle. Its situated on the inside of the outer stone railing wall, at the very bottom, about a foot below the level of the deck. To give a place for water to drain, I assume, there is about a foot gap between the deck and the outside wall, so its pretty interesting getting in there to kiss the stone. To kiss it, you lay down on your back and hold on to the railings on the wall, then scoot way the heck back and lean down to kiss it upside down. I think its scarier when your short, I leaned back so far that only my legs and ars were still on the deck. Though the scariest part was probably the gamble of how many people kiss the stone in between cleanings. I choose not to think about it. :-)
Back in the car and off to Killarney...
Killarney
We met up with Erin's friend Kevin and his wife and kids. Then we headed into Killarney to their friend's b&b to drop our stuff. After chatting for a bit and trying to decipher English and Irish English, we headed to town with Kevin. W e hung out at a bar called Corkery's and had a few Smithwicks (great beer) and were fairly entertained by the avid soccer fans and a local or two that kevin knew. Oh, and cute bartenders. :-)
Killarney livened up quite a bit at night. There was a rally race near by this weekend and it was a long weekend, so the town was filled with a crazy mess of people and rally cars. Unfortunately, I think everybody was 17 (the drinking age). After corkery's, we stopped for some dinner and then headed to a very Irish bar, the name of which I don't remember. It was off the track of the teens, so it was filled with lots of Irish folks... there was a handful of people playing various instruments at will in the booths, and others just hanging out, having a good time and a few beers. It was a great Irish atmosphere and fun to just hang out, chat and have a few drinks. We closed the place down and snuck out the side entrance, since it was past the actual closing time for bars. Though even with that, there was still a full bar when we left. I guess bar closing time for locals is more of a time to make sure you get in by. :-)
Dingle
Dingle was awesome. The town is this tiny little port town with a few super cute shops and restaurants that are great to take a quick walk by and stop for lunch. After a quick refuel, we drove the loop and checked out all the cliffs, farms and ocean scenery. It was an absolutely beautifal drive and a death defying driving experience. Getting used to driving on the left, in a manual car was pretty fun, but add some wild cliffs and windy narrow roads along with a bunch of crazy tourists & its a recipe for disaster. Luckily, there was no disaster, but the roads require allot more description. There were actually a few roads that actually had enough space for two cars to pass each other without sharing mirrors, but very few. Most of the roads were so tiny, you were hugging the side and had an inch or two to spare on either side. There were a few where it was a small miracle that we made it by. Some of the streets were so tiny that there was no possible way to get two cars by. We got lucky on those and didn't have to reverse out of the way at all, but holy crap. They definitely had a sense of humor though, a few of the roads that weren't wide enough for two, unless you're on a motorcycle, had a center line painted down the middle. This left about 3 feet for each lane. You could see the car in front would be over the center line by at least two feet and have just a few inches on the bushes side. We actually saw a few folks driving campers on the road, which was nuts. Oh, and I forgot to mention... most of the road had a speed limit of 80 or 100k, which is about 45 or 60, respective MPH. NUTS!!!
My favorite add slogan so far...
What happens in huggies, stays in huggies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)