Cork

 “Poetry, music, I have loved, and yet
Because of those new dead
That come into my soul and escape
Confusion of the bed,
Or those begotten or unbegotten
Perning in a band,
I bend my body to the spade
Or grope with a dirty hand.

Or those begotten or unbegotten,
For I would not recall
Some that being unbegotten
Are not individual,
But copy some one action,
Moulding it of dust or sand,
I bend my body to the spade
Or grope with a dirty hand.

An old ghost's thoughts are lightning,
To follow is to die;
Poetry and music I have banished,
But the stupidity
Of root, shoot, blossom or clay
Makes no demand.
I bend my body to the spade
Or grope with a dirty hand.”

~The Spirit Medium, William Butler Yeats

The English Market

There’s more to this adventure than just setting in a place. I took the City Link Bus http://www.citylink.ie/ from Galway City to Cork City. An adventure indeed down the west coast to seek out more of my roots. My grandfather side of the family comes from County Cork area. I don’t recall them being great chefs, but a lover for adventures at sea. I love cooking & being wildly creative in the kitchen is just my cup of tea.

The River Lee flows through the center of Ireland’s second largest city. Cheerful locals refer to Cork as the “real capital” of the country. The Irish have been known to take a bad wrap with their culinary delights, but you must remember to get past that stereo typical beliefs of society. There’s some real soul in the food over here. Count Cork is known as the gastronomical capital.  The foodie in me is in heaven. The Irish are blessed to give the world some amazing foods.

Side Street in Cork

I heard from a friend that Cork City happens to be the most woo woo part of Ireland with being hippy dippy, sounds exactly like me indeed. I will be basing myself at the Sheilas Hostel, I was lucky enough to score one with a sauna in it. Oh yes, I’ll be enjoying that for sure. Love a good detox of the cells.  The whole hostelling thing got its roots in Europe & some hostels tend to be downsize posh hotels, don’t worry if your scared to be sharing a door room, privates can be found & some are even family friendly.  It’s a great place to meet up with other liked minded travelers. You never know what you could find out while staying at one. Since it’s only me on this adventure, I skipped the B&B’s cos for about the same price I can do just as well as in a hostel. There’s nothing wrong with them. Just get over your fear of them. Be open, traveling is a great way to show you that!

The cool thing about traveling on my own is that I get to put myself out there, tap in to the energy that is given to me at the moment & just flow with it without resisting. I will admit that I have had some lovely random chats with locals & travelers alike.

I have been giving a few ESL (English as a Second Language) help to non native English speakers as well. It’s fun tho, but I just got the aura of helpfulness that no matter where I go or what I do, that people can just pick it up in me. Going on the tours have been fun too cos I get to meet up with people who have similar interest as I do & chat with them about the world to make it even more enjoyable. It’s nice to find people who know how to use a camera too, when your looking for that perfect photo of yourself at some of Ireland’s most incredible natural wonders!

I am blessed to have caught up with a dear old friend of mine that I haven’t seen since Japan who is originally from the West. It’s nice that on this holiday, I am meeting up with friends that I haven’t seen in ages & meeting family for the first time that it is grand! I had my own personal guided version of my friend’s tour around Cork. It was a grand o time.

Blarney Castle

Early this afternoon we set out to Blarney, where we went to  Blarney Castle‎ & had a walk around. We made it to the top of the castle where I “kiss the Blarney Stone” The stone is at the top of the castle & it is said that one who kisses it is blessed with the gift of eloquence. It was quite the experience cos you have to hang backwards holding onto metal bars with the guide holding you. They even take your photo up there, but I had my friend as my own personal photographer for the occasion. I really wasn’t scare to be honest. I figure that this guy does the deed all day long holding visitors that nothing was going to happen to me. I was very positive during the experience. Afterwards we explored the castle grounds & made our way to the phenomenal Poison Gardens. Just think of all the plants from Harry Potter & you have them all in one area. After the castle experience we made our way over the Blarney Woolen Mills for a wee bit of lunch & shopping. There’s a great café there & the mill store is the biggest in Ireland with everything you could imagine under the sun. There is even an excellent outlet section in the mill with great deals for clothing at unbelievable prices.

I spent the day with a friend & that was very important & good for the soul. Some other stops included walking around the University College of Cork  & it was amazing to see & to hear about. I enjoyed the art gallery there & the church. I also have stumbled upon th The Englilsh Market to soak in the culinary scene. There’s so much goodness to be head there. Also, there’s a lovely vegetarian & vegan café  Quay Co Op, they have brilliant vegan food & gluten free bakery goods! I was in heaven! The Irish can bake gluten free good much better than what I have had in the States, there’s a real art to it over here. Oh, Sin'e (That’s it)  is a great place to see some traditional Irish music & is the oldest pub left in the city of Cork. Overall I have been having a lovely time here in Cork. Spending a day out with a dear friend was priceless for sure. The craic was lovely!