This one was a tough one to write because even though I am writing about the gift of the gab, I do not have the gab to write about my day in Cork. It was about 3 1/2 years ago, so I am really mad at myself for never journaling about it or writing this post sooner. There are some moments, probably the goofy ones since my friends and I made things quite memorable, that I will be able to tell you from my day in Cork. Here are these memories!
This was the last of my trips I did around Ireland during my time studying abroad before coming home. It was the first weekend of December. I wish I could say it was cold but I definitely danced around the neighborhood to Defying Gravity in shorts at midnight the night before. Gin will do that to you. Anyway, Honoria and I planned this day trip to Cork because it was the last place I still wanted to go to before I left. Lucky for us the Citylink buses have a bus to Cork that is about 2 1/2 hours which is about the same amount of time it takes to get to Dublin. We arrived around noon, which meant it wasn’t a very long day in Cork, but that is ok. I told you what I did the night before, so we were not going to be there any earlier.
We walked around the town a little bit. I am not sure if it was the time of year we were there, but it was not what I expected from Cork. It was not as pretty as I was expecting. To me it felt like it had city vibes more similar to Dublin, but it lacked the attractions cities have. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do other than walk around the city and shop. We did some fun photo opps, been then decided our time was better spent at Blarney Castle, which was the main reason I wanted to come to Cork. It isn’t easy to get to without a car though. You could probably take a bus, but we just opted for a taxi. It was no more than 20 minutes, which wasn’t bad, but taxi prices can be a bit much sometimes. We had an interesting taxi driver.
If you don’t know, the Cork accent is notorious in Ireland. In my experience around Ireland, I would say Dublin is the accent we usually consider the Irish accent as Americans. The west of Ireland has a similar accent, but I feel like their’s is much more mellow. Sometimes when I meet people from Galway I think, “Are you really Irish or secretly American?” Then the north and south have the very strong accents. The north has that singsong type accent that you hear in Derry Girls. The south is not nearly as melodic. You can’t even understand what they are saying. Our taxi driver from Cork kept talking to us and I just looked at Honoria confused the whole time. I had no idea what he was trying to tell us. All I know is he tried to tell us about a prison that we drove by. Eventually I just gave up trying to understand him. I felt bad, but for real, I was so confused the entire time.
Blarney Castle & Gardens were definitely the best part of Cork. You wouldn’t have even been able to tell it was December there if it weren’t for the people wearing heavy jackets and hats. Everything was still so green. We got our tickets which were about 18 euros for students. Then we headed to the castle so that I could kiss the Blarney Stone. The castle was built nearly 600 years ago by the McCarthy clan. It was used by Cormac McCarthy, the King of Munster who received the Blarney Stone as a thank you from Robert the Bruce. Since this time it has been sold to different families and now is open to the public.
The castle visit was actually very well done. There were signs everywhere explaining what each room was and the purpose of certain unique features of the castle were like the murder hole and the toilet. It’s safe to say we enjoyed ourselves in the old castle.
At the top of the castle we reached the blarney stone. I was confused because there was nobody up there. This is where we get to kiss the Blarney Stone right? Why was there no one else. I thought I’d be waiting in line for this big tourist thing. Nope. We walked around and then approached someone who looked like he worked there and he guided us in kissing the stone. I didn’t know how intense it actually was. You are basically being held over the side of the castle upside down to kiss this stone. The workers holds you and help push you towards the stone. I was so freaked out. I am not sure how good I actually got is so I might only have half the power of the gift of the gab. Honoria did much better, but she is also like a foot taller than me. It was fun. We laughed for a bit after that about being man handled a little.
This was the last stop on the walk through the castle, so then we headed out to the gardens which surrounded the castle. We really enjoyed the Poison Garden, which was pretty much made of up of toxic plants used for poison. That and marijuana. The fun part was each plant had a sign explaining what it was, what it was used for, and the symptoms. Only Ireland would you find gardens like these.
There were a lot of fairy elements to the gardens as well, which is fun because it is such a big part of Irish culture. One example was the Yew Trees of the magical Rock Close which was once a druid settlement. At Rock Close there are waterfalls and by them, the Wishing Steps. What are the Wishing Steps? Well, if you can walk up and down all the stairs with your eyes closed, the Blarney Witch will grant you your wish within a year. I am sure I wished to stay in Ireland, which obviously didn’t happen, but I did come back to visit within a year if that counts!
There are many more gardens to explore from the water gardens, which really do feel like being in Irish fairytales, to the carnivorous courtyard, which is only mildly scary. There is so much to the gardens, so I do recommend to anyone visiting to give yourself plenty of time to visit the castle and see all the gardens. That is how we spent the majority of the day. Before heading back to the city we had to check out the gift ship, where we had a great time. I love the Irish and their humor. It had some of the best postcards I have ever seen. I bought multiple, because I couldn’t decide which one to get. In the end I ended up with one about “You’re First Kiss: The Blarney Stone” and one with a bunch of naked butts, which was for a naked photoshoot at the castle in 2008. I also got some nice postcards too. I promise!
By the time we got back to Cork city it was dark. We had a couple more hours to spare before our bus back to Galway, so we spent the rest of the time like a local. We did some shopping, stopping into cute boutiques and a trip to the Euro store where we got our friend the Honey Monster. (I will attach the video of the Honey Monster that we watched on the bus home to the end of this post. Brace yourselves.) We also made a stop for gelato, even though by Irish standards it was a bit cold, but really gelato can be enjoyed at any temperature. It was so good!
The next task was figuring out dinner. We stopped into a pub, but ended up just getting drinks. I got my Jameson and Ginger Ale, which had become my usual in Ireland. We sat on the patio, which was actually kind of fun, and people watched. Before heading back to the bus we got some Boojum to go. I know it is not a very Irish meal for exploring Ireland, but I don’t know how to explain my love for Boojum. It is like Chipotle, but better. I absolutely can not go to back to Ireland without a Boojum stop. I got the biggest burrito of my life. I love their chorizo stuffing the best. I also get pretty much every topping available and hot sauce. Oh its so good! So we got our burritos to go and headed to our bus where we had to say good bye to Cork.
Cork was definitely not my favorite city in Ireland, but I do think some part of that was the time of year I went and the amount of time I had. I think if I had time to visit more of the beautiful surroundings of Cork, I would have had a very different opinion. Nevertheless, it was still a great day trip. I have the gift of the gab, I have to stay in Ireland, and I have the Honey Monster, what more could a girl ask for?
That is a wrap on Cork. Check out my Ireland page for more content from my study abroad and trips back to visit. I am still updating, so be sure to look out for more of my travels around the west of Ireland.
Here is the Honey Monster video! And a picture of our Honey Monster! Enjoy!
The Journal of Wanderlust 