Stout

First may I say, I love stout. (But only in moderation Ma!) And therefore I love Ireland.

Wednesday
Planes, trains and automobiles...follow me here: bus from Paris to Paris Beauvais Airport (where I accidentally smuggled more more liquid than allowed on planes these days! oops! at least I didn't get caught), plane from Beauvais to Dublin, bus from Dublin Airport to Heuston Train Station, train from there to Cork, and there we are...Cork was the first real stop on the Irish leg of Lauren's Great European Adventure.

Straight away at Kinlay House Cork Hostel I met this awesome girl who I got to travel around with for the rest of my days in Cork. To start, since there was only the afternoon left we wandered
around Cork city and stopped into a great pub (that said it would have music although lacked it...that was the only downside) called the Old Oak...after sampling a number of Irish drinks I had my first BabyGuiness...Kahlua with a little Bailey's on top in a shot glass and it looks exactly like it's big brother, but cuter.

Thursday
To Blarney to kiss the Blarney Stone and get the gift of the gab so that I may never lack words again...not that it was a problem before...but just to be sure. The castle was amazing, almost 600 years old. After waiting in the line for about an hour they get you up there and rush you so fast that you can't have anyone take a snap of you and you're force to buy the 10€ one they take of you. BOO! otherwise quite cool.

The rest of the grounds are wonderful really. They have this awesome section called Rock Close where they have a Druid's Circle, the Fairy Glade, Witches Kitchen and more...totally exciting and beautiful. That was definitely a wonderful way to spend the morning.

After that we went to the Blarney Woolen Mill which was actually anticlimactic and unfortunate because it actually wasn't a mill at all, just a large shopping center. Anyhoo I got some awesome wool yarn to knit some scarves later on, that should be good...and to make up for not actually being a woolen mill they had this awesome old guy working on a loom that was pretty cool.

Now for a ridiculous side story. After getting back into Cork we were walking around Shandon where our hostel is and I bumped into this guy from my program from Spain...crazy huh? What are the chances...life is crazy is all. All of us headed out to this awesome pub called the Corner House and threw back a few. Red Beamish is my muse.

Interruption: back to the hostel to fix dinner. What'd Lauren Fix?
I call it..."Show me how you do that trick, the one that makes me scream...just like heaven"
Ingredients:
* 1 chicken breast
* A few strips of bacon
* 1 packet cream of chicken soup
* Swirl pasta
* Water
* Irish cheddar cheese
Instructions:
Put the water and packet of soup on to bring up to a boil...meanwhile heat a little oil in a pan and add the chicken and bacon to cook. Make sure the pasta is cooked through and add it and it's sauce into the pan with yummy bacon bits and chicken to deglaze the pan...add cheese to melt and serve. Ooo ooo just like heaven.

Back to the Corner House Pub and the Pub next door for some evening stouts and local music.

Friday
We were thinking on going to Kinsale, but in the end this is what happened.
* Cork Butter Museum
* 1st Ever Shandon Street Festival: awesome little street party, they had musical performances like a little choir playing the recorder, a young band covering songs from the Kaiser Chiefs, The Troggs,
and Seven Nation Army to name a few, in addition I was trying some
awesome hot chocolate and potato fries from local street vendors. YUM!
* Cork City Gaol ...a creepy men and women's prison that was apparently horrible during its day. that was one hell of a jail.
* Meat: the most insane play ...well maybe... I've ever seen.
Read the blurb if you will...
"A comedy. Sort of...

Are you tender, fragile perhaps? Then be warned...

The tale that follows contains scenes of murder, betrayal, adultery,
bisexuality, castration, fellatio, prostitution, pornography, male,
female and vegetable sodomy and at least six varieties of drug abuse...

...not forgetting psychological torture, epic battle of sexual wits, nudity,
poverty, gambling, corruption, embezzlement, bribery, political
scandal, cannibalism, bigamy, necrophilia, organized crime and group
sex."

...crazy play, didn't I tell you?

And that was that.