Cork!

Graduation weekend in Cork City, Ireland: where do I begin?

Well, first thing’s first. I know I’m an emotional person in general, but I didn’t realize how hard it would be to not actually be physically present at my college graduation. There were many times this past weekend when I found myself deep in thought about the past four years that were – about how THANKFUL I am for the experiences and opportunities I had, for the knowledge and teaching practice that I gained, for my incredible friends and boyfriend who I met, and for my wonderful family who supported me along the way. Cork was really fun, but at the same time, I wish I could have been in Happy Valley partaking in the ordinary graduation protocol with all my best friends. It just wasn’t the same here. Penn State will always be my away from home, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

But enough ranting about PSU…

On Thursday after school, I met up with a girl in the program from Indiana University named Elizabeth. We had a few hour conversation over a few pints at one of the pubs nearby. I really enjoyed getting to know her and talking about our experiences in Ireland. She’s only here for a few more weeks, but hopefully we’ll get to hang out again!

Trish let me play hooky on Friday. I slept till 10 and then attempted some laundry so I would have some clean layers for my weekend away, but to my dismay, it poured rain when everything was “drying” on the clothesline! The dryer is only for emergencies, and since I had to catch my bus in a half hour, I sent Trish a text and she told me not to worry – she would take care of it! So I threw what was dry into my backpack, but it turned out that I would still be cold anyways…surprise, surprise! Note to self: save laundry for a full day’s time when I don’t have plans.

Anyways, I took the bus into Dublin after lunch. I walked around the shops for a few hours, bought myself a fresh Dublin hoodie so I would freeze a little less, and ate dinner at my first Ireland McDonalds. Since I was by myself, I figured no one could judge me for eating there and I was interested in the whole “100% Irish beef” experience just once. I had a quarter-pounder, “chips,” and a Coke all for just 5 Euros. The menu also had onion rings and mozzerella sticks, but I didn’t want to receive the “are you really gonna eat all that” look.

After dinner, I set out to the central bus station to meet up with two girls from Penn State, Jenn and Courtney, who were coming in from Donegal up north. I found the station no problem, and when the girls’ bus arrived, the three of us checked in at Issac’s Hostel. We were in an eight bed mixed dorm, but as it turned out, it was just us three girls and David from Denmark. He was a bit creepy in that he was super interested in our lives, but we figured he was just another friendly tourist. The hostel was really cheap and really nice, although the beds were a bit firm.

Once we had settled into our hostel room, Jenn and Courtney were hungry, so the three of us found a local Thai restaurant to eat at. While the girls had full course meals, Ms. McDonalds over here just had a side of fried rice and a glass of water. It was yummy though! Then we decided to go to the pub across the street, where we met a nice friendly group of Dublin policemen who ended up buying us a handful of drinks, including my first dose of Bulmer’s! Hooray for saving 5 Euros per pint! What we thought was going to be an early night turned into several hours of drinking and conversation, but it was all well worth it!

We woke up at 6:30am on Saturday, got on the wrong tram to the train station before getting on the correct one, and thankfully made it to Heuston station just in the nick of time for an 8am departure to Cork. This is where I learned to always buy train tickets ahead of time online; I saved nearly 80 Euro round trip! I also learned that when the train is scheduled to leave at 8am, it leaves at 8am. Imagine that, America. The train was super comfortable and such a smooth, 2-hour ride. I caught a nap as I was very tired from a short sleep the night before.

Train to Cork

So comfy!

View from the train

Sheep everywhere!

We arrived in Cork around 10:30 and our first priority was to check into our hostels. Jenn and Courtney’s hostel was directly across the street from the train station, whereas mine was about a 20 minute walk down the road. I was told to look for the giant fish landmark atop a church steeple – what a joke of a fish that was! Jenn and Courtney helped me find it…It was called Kinlay House Cork. I was a little creeped out by all the graffiti on the wall and its shady location since I knew I would be staying there alone (Jenn and Courtney’s hostel was completely full when I tried to book a few nights after they did). I knew I would be staying in a 10 bed mixed dorm, but little did I know, I would not be getting any sleep…more on that later.

Stairwell to my hostel in Cork

Hostel hallway ... I was on the top floor

Kinlay House room 305... the pre-roommate pic

View from my hostel room

Once we had checked into our hostels, we set out to meet another girl from PSU named Megan who is living and teaching in Cork. We had a delicious lunch at the English Market…what a sight that was! Then we walked around the city for a few hours, did some shopping and some people watching. While the other girls bought several things, I only bought a Celtic knot ring. I first spotted it in Dublin, and when it was on sale in Cork, I simply had to buy it. #YOLO

English Market entrance

Lunch... grilled chicken sandwich & tomato soup

say hello to my freaky fingers...

Creepy puppet band

This guy was painting a HUGE scroll of the Titanic timeline

Cork City centre

Lovely Cork

After much needed showers at our hostels, we headed to Megan’s host house where we met her host mom and an 18-year-old male French student who was living with her as well. The four of us enjoyed a wide variety of wine, crackers, and popcorn for Irish happy hour. It was after 9 by the time we headed out to dinner. Needless to say, I was starving!!!! We met two American girls (from Idaho and Massachusetts who were staying in Jenn and Courtney’s hostel room) for dinner at Milano’s, which is a lovely Italian restaurant in the city centre. I had lasagna and it was amazing!!   

Happy Hour at Megan's host house

Milano's restaurant

Lasagna... nom nom nom

Then we headed out for a night on the town to celebrate a combination of Megan’s birthday, Cinco de Mayo, and our college graduations. I think we went to about four pubs. Some were chill, while others were the get up and dance type. Although it’s nice that there’s no such thing as paying cover in Ireland, the drinks are five times the price so it ends up being more expensive anyways. I drank too much and spent too much money, but it was a really fun night!!!

Cork at night

We met OOOOMPA LOOMPAS!!!!!

Cork City Centre at night

Pub Crawlin'

Jenn, Courtney, and I split the cost of a taxi to get us back to our hostels at 4am. I didn’t want to walk alone, not to mention it was dark and freezing cold! When I got back, all I wanted to do was sleep, but that clearly wasn’t in the cards. Another girl from Lancaster was passed out in the bed above me, but there were six girls from Spain in the other beds who spoke no English whatsoever. I don’t know if they were drunk or just being their usual selves, but they kept me up all night L I think I slept for maybe two hours. My bed also wasn’t very comfortable, but I guess you get what you pay for.

I wasn’t feeling so good on Sunday, but there was no time to waste. We caught a short bus ride from the city centre to the Blarney castle. Words and pictures don’t do this castle justice. It was amazingly beautiful, and my favorite sight so far! I really enjoyed touring the castle and taking pictures of the incredible scenery. Although I feared for my life laying down to kiss the Blarney Stone, I am grateful for the experience! We didn’t really have time to check out all the gardens surrounding the castle, but maybe I’ll get back there someday.

Blarney Castle from a distance

Blarney Castle up close

Inside the Castle

.................

Very steep staircase inside the castle

Blarney Stone here I come!

"Kissing the Blarney Stone"... My face is priceless

View from atop the Castle

The Bench!

We got a little artsy at the end...

Then we had lunch, or should I say a breakfast ciabatta, at a nearby café. Once again, the food was amazing! We spent an hour in Ireland’s largest gift shop where I took note of all the things I wanted to buy, but won’t. Eventually 3pm rolled around. It was 10am back home, otherwise known as graduation time. To celebrate, Jenn, Courtney, Megan, and I made a pub stop for a graduation toast before catching the bus back to Cork. I could feel the tears brewing in my eyes…such a bittersweet moment in time.

Happy Graduation Day!

CHEERS!

Our graduation caps are more stylish than navy tassels

On Sunday night, we decided to just have a chill night at one of the pubs in the city. We were all feeling pretty exhausted and Jenn and Courtney were catching the 6am train the next morning. Jenn and I split fish and chips (nom nom nom), while Courtney and Megan split some wings. We had a few drinks while reflecting on a great weekend in Cork and an incredible four years at Penn State. I returned to my hostel around 10 and was relieved to have a few minutes of peace and quiet as the other girls were out and about. I took a shower and fell asleep right away, only to be woken up by the Spanish girls a few hours later…grr!

What a Sea Breeze!

Our last pub in Cork :(

By the time Monday morning rolled around, I was ready to get back to the Conrans and sleep in my “own” bed. I checked out of my hostel and made my way into the city centre carrying my full backpack that wouldn’t close…#awkward. I made a breakfast stop at some classy hotel, which I later found out I did illegally since I wasn’t a hotel resident. Oh well, good thing Irish people are so friendly and hospitable! The scrambled eggs were questionable, but the sausage, bacon, toast, cereal, yogurt, and bananas were hunger-satisfying. I walked around the city for an hour taking in my last sights before departing on the 12:30 train back to Dublin. I slept the entire ride!

Walking to the train station ... lovely sights

Waiting for my train

 ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

It doesn’t surprise me that I got lost when I got off the train in Dublin. It was my first time taking the train alone, so I didn’t expect to know where I was. However, I didn’t expect to be lost for an hour and a half! I walked through a few dark, creepy, narrow alleys in the pouring rain – alleys that weren’t even on my huge Dublin map! The only people around were beggers, so I didn’t really want to ask for directions. I kept making wrong turn upon wrong turn, but after assuring myself that getting lost is part of the experience, I eventually found my way to O’Connell Street where I caught the bus home. 

Back at the Conrans, I was welcomed with an incredible feast of roast beef, potatoes, and vegetable stir fry. I unpacked in a jiff, took a steaming hot shower, and crawled into bed after a really fun and super exhausting weekend!

This is my last week of teaching as I’m heading to Donegal with the sixth class and Trish next week before traveling for my last three weeks! School is amazing and goodbye tears are inevitable! I can’t believe I’ve been here nearly a month already. Yikes!

I hope all is well back home.

Miss you guys.

Love,

Anna