Whew. It’s late and I don’t want to forget anything but today was a day of serious driving. We woke up and packed up our Dublin Co. house. I made coffee for breakfast and some quick oats I had bought at the store the night before (on my evening stroll). Jared wanted to see the pyramids of Dalkey so we went to the park in DalKey. I’m the navigator - he’s the driver. Today, he called me shrill when I was trying to navigate. Uh oh. He is not one to take directions. Later in the day I was trying to navigate him into a spot in COrk and I kept telling him to STOP! and he kept on going and going. Lucky for us, he didn’t hit the car in front of him but when he got out a guy standing outside his barber shop did tell Jared, “When she says stop, stop!” because he too was worried Jared would slam right into the car in front. Besides that snafu, Jared has hit a few curbs (easy to do driving on the wrong side of the road) and today someone hit HIM in Cork. We’ve been so worried that we’d mess up - but someone lightly hit our car. What can you do? It could have happened anywhere.
Back to Dublin County - we went to the park in Dalkey and past the park and drove around the amazinf mansions and looked at their incredible water views. Woah. I took some good photos because we were lucky enough to have bright blue skies.
We then went to the park proper. Mom stayed at the lovely little (warm) cafe at the bottom of the hill while Jared and I walked up to the viewpoint (and to where the obelisk and pyramids were). The view was spectacular but it was so windy I was worried that Jared wouldn’t be able to walk it. His walking sticks are so light that they kept blowing in the wind every time he lifted one up to take a step. My glasses blew straight off my face (so I put sunnies over them to keep them on!). I’m glad we did the walk but it was one of the windiest places I“ve ever been (including before/after hurricanes). [KILLINEY HILL PARK]
After the park we drove for what seemed like forever to Kilkenny - a lovely little medieval town on the way to Cork. We had munch at Matt the Millers where I had a stout and fish and chips. I am now officially sick of fish and chips, although the cod has been lovely. We looked at the castle from the outside and drove out through the town.
Driving to Cork was harder than expected - perhaps made harder by the fact that we drove into the city during evening rush hour. The traffic was mad (and this is where a woman hit Jared’s car). We finally hooked up with Michael, the owner of our AirBnB. A charming and chatty guy, he showed us into his garage and into our accommodations for the night. The apartment is perhaps the most expensive per night we booked but it is very modern and quite nice. It is right in the heart of town, across from the Cork Opera House. Everything is within walking distance, and we have a balcony overlooking the town and the river. Michael gave us some suggestions for things to see and places to eat. More food! I realized the only real veggies I’ve had since I got here are potatoes - I need a change!
For dinner we walked 400 feet to the local pub, Galligher’s (I believe it was called) where I had the West Cork whiskey and a bubble (? I can’t remember the odd name but it was a potatoe pie with Jerusalem artichokes and kale). We had two desserts while playing cards and listening to local musicians. The musicians packed the house and if I had to guess I’d say they were from the local college. For my mother’s benefit, I’ll record the desserts: PB&J (a type of peanut butter cheesecake worth a raspberry curd on top) and a brownie with chocolate sauce.
After dinner we returned home where Jared and I had to do a bit of work (while watching “Working Moms” in the background).
Tomorrow I’ll get up early and explore Cork before we’re off to Kenmare!
