Cork City Hostel

... and arrived at http://www.igy-rodneybay.com/
in St Lucia yesterday, one hour under 15 days.

'A Lady' is an Oyster 56 http://www.oystermarine.com/fleet/56/de fault.aspx

My Mum's 90th Birthday party next Saturday, Christmas and New Year then off.

everyone went to blarney, well everyone except alex and i. so we got to explore cork and see the opera house, which we sketched from a cafe with a really weird waiter who insisted on seeing our sketches after we were done, because "he had a moleskine too, at home" okay. cool. then we ventured off around the city and found a church and sat ...

... you name it. The castle was pretty neat, though, and of course we all kissed the Blarney Stone at the top. The kissing experience is kinda weird, though, since it would be really dangerous to do it on your own. You have to lay down on your back, grasp some iron bars behind you, and be pushed/pulled back by a worker in order to reach it. Kind of takes away a bit of the charm, but it's an experience nonetheless. The ...

... town was the last stop of the Titanic before it sank. It was a little rainy on the drive there and we really couldn't agree on whether or not to take the ferry across to get to the town. Finally decided on the ferry because that was the way the GPS wanted us to take.
Cobh was a really cool, cute little town with a magnificent Chucho on the the top of a hill overlooking the bay. We decided to go up to ...

... a line, but it went quick. I did kiss the stone, but mom didn't because she didn't want to get on her back to have to do it. We then went over to the Blarney House and walked the grounds. For lunch, we ate a little Irish tavern in the town right outside the Castle.
Our next stop was the beautiful St Finbarre's Church in Cork. I wanted mom to see some of the amazing European churches and this was great example. At first, we thought it was closed ...

We arrived in Cork around 9PM and head straight for our hostel. We had to climb an intensely steep hill to get there, which was especially difficult with our luggage. We had a relaxing night of... well, nothing at all, really. We established before our Ireland trip ...

... everywhere...tulips are just strating to come up. after the castle, we hopped on a bus and drove to Cobh (pronounced Cove) - the streets of Cork are just as windy and hilly as san francisco...they say the steepest next to san fran. i will be honest with ya....i didn't know anything about Cobh until i was there...it was the last port of call for the titanic, it was the major departure point to thousands of starving irish on their way to the US ...

... where you're headed. Its like this for me, anyway. So here's a collection of artists who are great for listening to when you're on the road, and my favorite travelling songs by them. Dispatch: Mission Here We Go Railway Drive Two Coins Headlights Sufjan Stevens: Jacksonville Decatur, Or A Round of Applause for Your Stepmother! Chicago The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts Priaire Fire That Wanders About Say Yes! To Michigan Iron ...

... you didn't need one, now there is a subway and Yen's chinese takeaway. I spoke to Nora (Kenny) and they had just had a new grandbaby the day I called. She said to call back in a day or two but we decided not to intrude. We worked our way north along the coast until we came to the village of Ballina which was hosting its summer festival. We arrived the day before "Heritage Day" which was a day of demonstrations of traditional Irish trades, etc. It was great fun and it was really ...

... more than anything to find the Butter Museum. Yup, you read that right. It's a butter museum. How can you not go to a butter museum? It's like that time in Paris (I never get sick of that) when we just had to do the sewer tours. And nope, it's not like a tour of some rebels using the tunnels back in the ages, it's a tour of the sewers. Or that time in Paris when we just "had to" find that Sex Museum. Although, you gotta admit, just seeing that chair was ...