Cork City

I'd say that I'm now completely settled in. During the past week I have gotten to know Cork City quite well. We make daily trips into the city after class and explore. It is a very busy city and is actually quite large (tied as Ireland's second largest city after Dublin). Downtown is very cool. All of the buildings are painted different pastel colors and the River Lee runs through the city so there are lots of bridges. All of the alley ways are packed with little shops and stores. It reminds me a lot of Diagon Alley (Harry Potter). It also feels a bit like parts of Cambridge, but different. I've mastered using all of the available public transportation- mostly buses- and I can easily find my way around.











(downtown near Oliver Plunkett Street)
(Click on the image to make it larger)

Last Friday my Irish Archaeology class went on a field trip around rural Cork and West Cork to visit some ancient archaeological sites. We saw the site of an ancient ring fort, a small castle, a fortified mansion in ruins, and Drombeg Stone Circle (Cork's very own "Stonehendge"). For lunch we at a little pub called Mick Finn's in Colkiney. The food was awesome...grilled ham and cheese panninis and chips (fries). The Irish really love ham, lamb, beef and sausage. They're all very popular menu items.









(an old fortified mansion in ruins in rural West Cork)

I checked out the campus gym and was blown away. It serves not only as UCCs gym but pretty much all of Cork City's fitness center. This place was beautiful....at least a 10 million euro facility. It reminded me of Ben Stiller's trendy, modern, gym in Dodgeball. Entry is fingerprint activated. James Bond style. All of the guys there are massive Irish "strongest men in the world" types on roids. I usually just work out with the soccer kids. They're good lads.

My cooking has seen constant improvement since I have to make all of my own meals here. I've become a sautee master and have really started to branch out of my comfort zone. It's a lot of fun and sometimes I cook for hungry friends which are all too common. Despite my recent success in the culinary department my favorite meal to cook is still breakfast.