While Cork may be the second largest city, it is by far the ugliest, grayest, saddest, rudest, and to be honest, dirtiest city that I have see abroad. Despite the following reaction when I got off the bus, I somehow managed to have an enjoyable weekend.
One of the kids in my program named Anthony had a friend in Cork, or was it a loose acquaintance, let's just assume somebody he met on Craigslist, who offered us her apartment for Saturday night. Disregarding a background check or even a facebook confirmation that they were actually friends, a group of us jumped on board and headed to Cork, the vast unknown.
We boarded a CityLink Bus in Galway at around 8:30 and arrived in Cork just before noon. We were met with rain and cold and a housing situation that was far from confirmed. Our host, Allie, met us near the bus station and took us to her apartment to drop off our bags and inspect the floor that we would be sleeping on.
Our first stop in this eutopian paradise of Cork City Ireland was the English Market. This is one of the biggest attractions in Cork, and advertised as one of the "Best markets in all of Europe." It was a decent sized market with more raw meat and fish than potentially anywhere else in Eurpoe, I'll concede that fact. However, the cooked food selection failed in comparison to the sensory and emotional overload that IS the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Different League. Nonetheless, I had a delicious apple and chicken sausage with onions and peppers. I started warming up to Cork.
After lunch, the other 5 Villanovans went to the Blarney Castle, about twenty minutes from the city. Since I had recently gone with my family and Erin plans to visit with her Mom in May, we decided to take a train to the Fota Wildlife Park. That happened. This place had great reviews and was essentially a zoo, but with no actual cages. You can think of it like walking thorough a wild safari, except the animals are all fenced off. You can walk right up to some of the animals though, which was definitely very cool.
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| Penguins |
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| Up in this Kangaroos grill |
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| These? These are meerkats |
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| Cheetah, wait until you hear about the CHEETAH RUN |
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| Wait where are the animals. This is stupid. |
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| If you need a caption for this picture, it's a lost cause |
But after we ventured over towards the main entrance the action started picking up. There were bigger animals and zebras and red pandas and we made it just in time to catch the Cheetah Run, arguably the most thrilling thing that has ever happened or will happen at a zoo. Ever. If a small child falls into a lion pit and befriends the beasts, escaping without a scratch, the cheetah run would still be more exciting.
At 3:00 every day, a zookeeper ties dead rabbits to the bottom of a zip-line. Yes. He then controls the zipline to whip around an enclosed cheetah area where 4 REAL cheetahs run full speed in pursuit of the dangling meat, eventually ripping it down with their claws or jaws and eating right before your eyes. Now I can't honestly say that I saw a cheetah running this fast, but they came pretty close. Scooter could have died.
After a train ride back to Cork, we went to another famous stop in Cork called O'Conaill's chocolate shop. This place makes all their own chocolate and is well known for their hot chocolate. This hot chocolate.
We grabbed a light dinner, 4 pieces of sushi each, and met up with everyone back at the apartment. We hung out in our hosts apartment and then hit the town. Our night out in Cork was one of the most fun and absurd I've had abroad thus far. What Cork lacks in charm or sunlight or any signs of a sanitation department, it certainly makes up for in a decent nightlife.
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| Vod. Aftermath of an evening in Cork. |
After a brief stint in Cork it was already Sunday and time to head back to Galway. We grabbed lunch at a place called the WoolShed Baa & Grill. This was the closest thing I've seen to an Applebee's in Ireland, and nothing was more perfect. We shared a monster app platter which cured any demons anybody had from the night before.
We got back to Galway late on Sunday night, and it's been a regular week of class thus far. I am taking the next few weeks to get ahead on some work, as I plan to be travelling a lot in the next month or so.
St. Patrick's Day is on Sunday. I have never really gotten too excited about St.Patty's Day, but I'm positive I will have my best one ever on Sunday. Apparently 80,000 or so people come to Galway for the Parade. "I'm feeling...I'm feeling like I wanna rage. Right Now."
Anyway, I'm excited to watch the final Big East Tournament and March Madness can't come fast enough. I have been doing a bit of research in my spare time so I have some sleepers ready. Watch out Ellen Russo.
Most importantly: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY BETH! I'm sure you'll read this is a few weeks when the hangover subsides.
You'll hear from me after London next weekend, or possibly St. Patty's Day. Enjoy day dranking at the QUARTZ, bitches!
This is my favorite DMB song at the moment. I've started listening to them more. Big Boy, Matt Mahoney: Let's see a concert this summer.
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