After driving for a while, I was in need of a proper coffee and so I stopped in a town called Dungarvan (although I had no idea of the name of it at the time), and had a really crap coffee, but an excellent slice of Apple Pie. Oh my God, I simply cannot resist temptation! From Dungarvan, I drove onto Cork. In Cork, given it is a bigger town, I needed to find a car park. The plan was to spend most of the day in Cork, then get to Kinsale, and have dinner in Kinsale before going to my B&B in Balinspittle.
This photo taken from Dungarvan:
Cork was just lovely. It had a completely different feel to it than I got from Waterford. I got a bit lost walking around, but I didn't mind. Then I stumbled across a restaurant called Jacques Restaurant, and it was listed in the Top 50 restaurants of Ireland in a tourist magazine I had purchased in Dublin. Given it was open for lunch and I was there, well fuck me if I was going to walk past it! In an attempt to improve my diet, I ordered the Soup of the Day, with 1/2 sandwich. The soup was Cream of Mushroom, and the sandwich was Cheese, Tomato, Lettuce and Pickle. Well blow me down with a feather, if that wasn't one of the BEST sandwiches I have ever eaten. The Soup was fantastic too! Given the food was outstanding, I then ordered an Espresso. Perfect!
I was just in the central part of town and I came across a silver shop and ended up purchasing a pair of earrings. I thought they were a bit expensive, but my beautiful Nonna had given me 50€ to buy something with, and so these were her gift to me (plus some). I will think of her every time I wear them.
I then asked the store owner how to get to the English Market (famous in Cork, it's a food market), and it happened to be just around the corner and I drooled through various spots in that market, not giving into temptation once.
Entrance to the English Market:
I considered going to the Butter Museum, but decided I couldn't really come to Cork and not go to the Blarney Castle. So, I got back in the car and this time turned on the GPS (I had got to Cork without it). And I was simply amazed at what I saw when I got there. I was expecting just the castle and a few ruins, but it was surrounded by beautiful gardens, and turned out one could spend hours and hours there. I didn't have hours though, so I walked up the steep stairs of the Castle, walked past the Blarney Stone (no, I did not kiss that urine infested stone, and if not urine infested, then kissing an inanimate object where hundreds have been before, really does not appeal to me), walked around for about 10 minutes then got back in the car and headed to Kinsale.
As I drove into Kinsale, I literally fell in love with the place. Just gorgeous. But I didn't really have time to explore much, I walked around for a bit before searching for the 'Fishy Fishy' restaurant. I know, completely ridiculous name for a restaurant, but in my research for Ireland, I had listened to a podcast and put this restaurant on my 'must do' list. I found the place easily and got a table. I ordered the Sea Bass on a bed of broccoli with hollandaise sauce, and a glass of wait for it....Fishy Fishy Sauvignon Blanc from the Malborough region of New Zealand. Both were excellent. In fact, I think I class this meal as the best meal of my trip so far. Certainly, besides the toast this morning, today has definitely been the best food day. So so good.
And can I just say, today has been the perfect weather. Just a perfect day.
Feeling satiated, and not really sure how to get to my B&B from Kinsale, and all of a sudden my GPS/iPad maps wasn't playing the game, I thought I better get a move on. I read, and re-read the instructions provided in the 'Discover Ireland' booklet that lists all the B&Bs, and tried my luck in the direction I thought I needed to go in. Well bugger me, if I didn't just literally drive straight there, and via some magnificent scenery to boot. I only stopped once, but that was mainly to get a little red car off my tail. Good instructions and being alert to the road signs and getting a handle on the how to 'read the road signs' all contributed to me getting there, in the end, quite easily.
Driving up to the B&B, I was just so pleased I had taken this route. Just beautiful. I checked in, and the couple hosting are just lovely. Why I fail to remember their names is beyond me, but the wife checked me in and after I was settled, I spent some time outside just looking at the wonderful scenery (the B&B is just on a hill, right on the coast). Then I grabbed the car keys, drove down a bit, parked the car and went for a brisk walk (I had to put my down jacket on). There was a 'crepes' van down at the beach, and if I hadn't had such an excellent meal, I would have ordered crepes. Any way, it is simply one of the most beautiful places in the world.
When I got back to the B&B, I was greeted by the husband, and he started to give me advice on what route to take tomorrow. I went and grabbed a map, went back into the bar, ordered a beer, and he spoke to me for ages about what I should see, and pointed out places on the map. What a lovely lovely man!
I am now sitting in the bar, one Corona down, and when I started writing this I was looking out of a window to some beautiful scenery. It has now turned dark and there is a lighthouse flashing at me, and all of a sudden the bar has filled up, I'm not quite sure where all these people have come from, but I keep hearing car doors slamming. It is 9.12 pm. The crowd looks quite a bit older, and I'm feeling quite a bit older than them and will probably head off to my room shortly.
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And in my room now, I've realised why there were so many people in the pub. There is a meeting at the venue that a whole swag of people are here for. I'm glad they're not all staying here - I want this place to myself for a bit longer.
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