Every Monday and Wednesday, I play pick up basketball with a mix of Irish, American, and Asian students. It's always a lot of fun, but on one particular Monday evening, I had no idea what lay ahead. I showed up at the gym late, having just gotten out of a night class. I was happy to see that we had enough bodies to play full court 5 on 5. I stretched and warmed up as the two teams on the floor finished up their game. At the start of the second game I got drafted by one of my bball buds Billy.
We started to play, and a lot of my shots began to fall. Sometimes these freak nights happen, and they're always fun. Billy and I traded off taking jump shots and driving to the basket.
As the game neared its end, I did a spin move on the Irish lad guarding me and had a wide open look at the rim. I jumped straight up and tried to dunk it. It bounced out. I had never dunked from standing directly under the rim before, and I was surprised at how close I came. In the past I've only been able to dunk if I get a 3 step running start....usually on fast breaks.
On our next possession, I sprinted up the sideline and one of my Irish teammates threw a Tom Brady style "hail Mary" to me. I caught it and the only thing standing in between me and the hoop was a short guard from the other team. I decided to go for a dunk and took off from a step inside the key.
The defender looked far below me as I soared toward the rim. I dunked the ball with my left hand more powerfully than I ever have, and as I grabbed onto the rim,
IT RIPPED OFF OF THE BACKBOARD!!!
All of my teammates watching screamed OHHHHHHHH!!!!! As I landed, wood splinters rained down upon me, and after turning around and seeing the broken rim/giant chunk of backboard lying on the floor, I stood in shock.
The game was officially over, and the Irish lads on my team couldn't stop smiling. I slung the rim/backboard remnant over my right shoulder and walked out of the gym. I approached the reception desk and the look on the woman's face was one of mixed shock and confusion. I handed her the rim and explained what happened. She said that it was alright, and I walked home with my team.
As Thanskgiving approached, I found myself wondering if such a holiday could be successfully achieved here abroad in Ireland. As everyone knows, I love to eat. This has resulted in Thanksgiving being one of my favorite holidays.
We decided that the day wouldn't be complete without a classic turkey bowl football game, so and bunch of the guys and I (plus Courtney) sought out a vacant playing field. Our first attempt began when we started playing pass on a muddy patch of grass in the local park. A small, peculiar man popped out of nowhere and told us that we couldn't play there. He was the park security guard and he had been carefully watching us from his camouflaged hut.
We weren't that sad because of the poor quality of the field, so we asked him where else we could play. We were directed to none other than the Cork City Cricket Club's field. It was nice and we were impressed. We even had dug out-like structures for the opposing teams. We divided up into two teams and were lucky enough to receive on the kickoff. The match was played two hand touch style in order to prevent injuries. The teams were fairly balanced, and the game was very close. The first highlight of the game was when Courtney (on my team) snagged an interception and ran it back for about 10 yards. Another exciting play was when I bobbled a reception in the end zone and then dove for it, catching it for a touchdown. One kid on the other team had cleats, so he was constantly flying all over the field. If only my team had cleats! In the end, our squad lost by two touchdowns but it was still "good craic" ("lots of fun" in Irish).
the Turkey Bowl crew
Some of my friends came up with the genius idea of renting out the second floor of a traditional music pub for Thanksgiving day. This would provide a place for all of us turkey-loving Americans to congregate. One hundred people were invited, and the meal was to be conducted pot-luck style. Each person would bring their own dish(es), and everyone would get to try the food on display.
The celebration was scheduled to start at 4 pm. Being a guy, I decided to start cooking at 3:30, and miraculously pulled off a stuffing dish accompanied by a tea kettle full of gravy. We arrived at the pub, An Spailpin Fanach. I think this translates to "The tenuous migrant worker" in Irish.
We walked upstairs and entered a room full of food. Stuffing, gravy, turkey, mashed potatoes, shrimp "prawn" cocktail as they call it here, deserts galore, you name it. I was impressed because I had predicted that not many people would actually bring dishes. Everyone had brought something. The spread was beautiful. The pub set us up with our own bartender. She chilled behind the bar in the main room with all of the beautiful food. There were actually three large rooms on the floor. The second room was elevated, and Courtney and I sat up there at a large, worn, oak table.
Having played football all afternoon, we were starving, so we piled our plates high and dug in. The food was excellent. We enjoyed some of our own Budweiser pints that were leftover from the Turkey Bowl earlier in the day. We had decided that Budweiser was the only way to go on Thanksgiving. It was an enjoyable compliment to the food, and for once I was glad I hadn't chosen stout.
As the meal progressed, various speeches and toasts were made by enthused students consumed by the warm, festive karma of Thanksgiving. The desert tables were by far the most impressive, and I sampled as many things as possible. The best desert was indisputably my friend Julia's chewy chocolate toffee cookies.
We eventually all parted ways and went back to our apartments. Courtney, Sky, Leisel, Kelly, Parker, Shannon and I watched Home Alone, a childhood classic, which was on tv. We were all feeling seriously wiped out after eating so much, and I'm pretty sure Courtney slept through the entire movie.
Luke and I planned a trip to Amsterdam from November 19-22. My friend Liam decided to come with me as well. The plan was that we would fly out of Cork together and meet up with Luke at the hostel when we arrived in Amsterdam. Our journey to the Netherlands turned out to be a smooth, beautiful, eye-opening experience.
I think this story might work better if I start off with the end instead of the beginning...
11/22/08
I woke before sunrise on the Saturday of our departure from the Netherlands. I rose from my hostel bed and gathered my things in the dark, quickly packing up what I had brought with me. I woke up Liam, and within minutes we left. We checked out of the hostel and walked through Vondelpark. It was serene and there was a chilly stillness in the air.
As we proceeded on to the tram stop, a light snow began to fall. The air was cold and a light breeze blew fluffy snow flakes past my face as I took in the quiet beauty of the city lights around me in the dark. It was a symbolic, peaceful, somewhat melancholy moment.
The moment was melancholy because it pained me to leave a city that I felt such a strong bond with, and what follows is how this bond was formed.
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11/19/08
Liam and I caught an outbound cab at 5 am in order to get to Cork airport in time for our 6:30 flight. We arrived in time and everything went smoothly. We boarded the plane and unsuccessfully tried to get some shuteye. The upside was that I saw an amazing, neon orange sunrise as we were flying toward Amsterdam. We arrived at Schiphol Airport outside Amsterdam at approximately 8 o'clock. We were seriously sleep deprived and couldn't wait to get to our hostel. We took a cab from the airport to the hostel, which turned to be a 20 minute ride. That, while also taking into consideration the fact that the "cab" was a black benz, resulted in a cab fare totaling something considerably higher than we had been expecting. All we could do was laugh it off, but it turned into one of the ongoing jokes of the trip.
The hostel "Stayokay Vondelpark Amsterdam" was definitely a good choice. It was located outside the hustle and bustle of downtown, so it was in a quiet, safe place. The hostel was right next to the beautiful Vondelpark, a large park dotted with large trees, ponds, and benches.
Liam and I rented a locker, secured our belongings and ventured into the city on foot. The first thing on my mind, as usual, was finding food.
After coming across an awesome Dutch outdoor market, we spotted a little Dutch cafe on the other side of some of the stands. We went inside and sat down, and I found myself staring down at a menu that was written completely in Dutch- expected, yet surprisingly difficult to navigate. I decided on a brie and fresh herb omelete. What was brought to me was one of the highest quality, most picturesque breakfasts ever created. It simply was beautiful on the plate. That was one of the things that struck me- the contrast in dedication to quality of presentation between Dutch and American breakfasts. Our waitress was a gorgeous, blond Dutch girl and she even helped us map out the day's route.
It was a beautiful, fairly mild day outside, so we spent our time wandering the city on foot and takings lots of pictures. We walked all over the east, west, south side and the center of the city. We decided our favorite street was "Herengracht." It was a beautiful street that spanned each side of one of the canals circling the city. The street names that ended with "straat" (street) lead into the city center (centrum), while the street names that ended with "gracht" circled the city center. The realization of this fact was essential in our navigation of Amsterdam's small, compact streets. The thing about Amsterdam that struck me the most was how quiet it was! The most beautiful fact about city life here was that things were busy, they just weren't loud.
I would say an equal number of people choose to ride bikes in Amsterdam as the number of people that choose to drive cars. Each city street was integrated with a bike path. This added the dynamic of watching out for bike riders almost as much as cars when crossing the street and other public areas. All of the bikes were "old school" banana bike style. At night the bikes each had lights on the front and back, so a silent flow of little bike lights could constantly be seen gliding down the city streets. Each bike also had an eerie, deep, hollow-sounding bell that seemed to resonate forever when rung. To make a long story short, the bikes were awesome, and they increased the efficiency of the city tenfold. The possibility of using bikes as a cheap source of transportation allows Amsterdam to compensate a much larger amount of people than cities similar in size. This, in turn, has made the city a cultural center of Europe.
In contrast to Amsterdam's dark past as a leading port in the slave trade, the city's present diversity makes it an interesting, enlightening place. Amsterdam is like the "Venice of the north," and the beauty of its network of canals and quiet, shady, streets is unrivaled by many of the places I've been in my life. It is a city with a truly "European" feel. This feeling contrasted so much with that of Cork that I was undoubtedly somewhere completely new. My fascination with a newfound European charisma caused me to begin to appreciate more and more what I was seeing.
On our first night in Amsterdam I decided to buy a foot long hot dog on a roll with cheese when I was walking downtown. The guy heated it up for me, I paid, and it was delicious. Later on that same night, I walked into a different store and ordered a "Dutch sausage sandwich." Shortly after, I was handed what looked like a large hot dog on a baguette. I turned to Liam and said "Man this looks like a giant hot dog... I thought I ordered a sausage sandwich." I bit into it, and sure enough, it was a massive hot dog. A Dutch sausage is in fact a hot dog! I decided I was eating way too many hot dogs and didn't eat a single one the rest of the trip.
The best food I ate while in Amsterdam was a warm wafel with melted chocolate and a blob of whipped cream. I bought it at a little wafel stand while walking around one cold afternoon. These little wafel stands were all over the city to provide a warm treat for cold pedestrians.
11/20/08
We woke up and took advantage of the hostel's free breakfast buffet. After having some bread, cheese, cereal, and coffee, we headed off in the direction of the Van Gogh museum. We walked past the Rembrandt Museum and through a very strange park. In the center of the park's barren trees was a massive, twenty foot high sand castle. The sand castle was reminiscent of Tajma Hall and had the most detail I had ever seen in a sand sculpture.
We eventually found the Van Gogh museum, and we were blown away by the collection there. They had over 300 original Van Gogh paintings, and the viewer was able to progress through Van Gogh's life with him as his style and mental state changed over the years.
After the Van Gogh museum, we went straight to the Botanical Gardens. Very cool. My favorite was the butterfly house. Butterflies flew freely all around us, throughout the humid greenhouse as they pollinated flours.
After the gardens, we decided to go warm up in one of Amsterdam's "pubs" and have a pint. The first bar we went to was called Pirates Bar. Loud techno was pumping and lasers were flashing everywhere. Liam and I downed our beers and got out of there as quickly as possible. We missed Cork at times like this.
We decided to not give up just yet, and we went inside a restuarant/bar with a more relaxed feel. We sat down at the bar and ordered a couple of pints of Heineken (you had to specifically say "pint" or they would give it to you in a tiny cup...we found this strange having been so accustomed to Irish culture).
The original Heineken Brewery and headquarters are in Amsterdam and they pretty much run a beer monopoly in the city, so the choices of beer were extremely limited. In each pub you could have Heineken or Amstel Pils. I was surprised at the difference in taste between Heineken here and the American version that I knew so well. Heineken in Amsterdam is stronger and sweeter in taste. It was delicious. I actually liked the Amstel Pils even more. I know Amstel Light is popular in the states, but I never saw it in Amsterdam. The Amstel was similar to the Heineken, being stronger and sweeter in taste than the American version, but it was a bit less hopsy than the Heineken. It was overall smoother on the palate.
After trying Amsterdam's only two beers we got some traditional Chinese food cooked in a genuine wok. We each chose what type of noodles, ingredients, and sauce we wanted and then the chef cooked it up for us.
11/21/08
We woke up on Friday and decided that we wanted to visit the Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt Museum). After some breakfast and a stroll around town, Luke, Liam, and I walked over to the Museumplein (street with a lot of cool museums on it). The Rembrandt Museum featured a lot of old paintings of upperclass lords and political figures, as well as a vast array of fine Dutch metalwork in silver and gold. This type of art really isn't my style- I prefer more abstract, creative pieces, but all in all it was still an enjoyable, educational museum experience.
The highlight of the museum was an exhibit by Damien Hirsch called "For the Love of God." We had to wait in line to walk into a small dark passage. This passage led us into a large room. At the center of the room a skull made completely of diamonds sat in a glass case. The entire room was pitch black except for the glowing skull, lit up by several spot lights directed at it from different angles. The effect was magnificent, for the different angles of light entered the skull and were diffracted by the facets of the diamonds into rainbow prisms of light.
I pondered the meaning of the exhibit, for I was sure that by now most of us were aware of the violent conflicts going on surrounding the diamond trade. This phenomenon can generally be grasped after watching the movie "Blood Diamond." I concluded that, as opposed to the use of diamonds in a luxurious, glorified way, Hirsch used them in a seemingly wasteful way (in covering a skull with as many as he possibly could) in order to instill a desired shock value in the audience. The use of the skull as a symbol of the unspoken undertones in the diamond industry was meant to alert people to what consumerism and advertisements have made them blind to. I could be completely wrong in my assessment of Hirsch's exhibit, but at least it was a successful piece- it made me think.
Following our visit to the Rijksmuseum, we spent the better part of the day hanging out downtown and meeting people. One particularly interesting guy that we met was a Croatian named Milan. He told us all about living in Croatia. He also asked if we were here in Amsterdam "to get girls" and we said no, which surprised him. One thing that I noticed while in Amsterdam was the stark contrast in opinions that we had as opposed to Europeans surrounding prostitution. Liam, Luke, and I all saw it as a very strange thing that we in no way wanted to take part in. Many Europeans that I encountered, on the other hand, saw it as no big deal. It simply was part of life. It was really hard for me to grasp this concept.
Later that night we decided that while we were in Amsterdam we had to walk through the Red Light District. It's a surprisingly small part of the city, and it's not easy to find.
As we walked past the windows lit with neon red lights, I experienced a feeling of disconnected sadness. I felt bad for the girls. Some were absolutely gorgeous, and some were younger than myself. People outside of the places we walked by tried to get us to come inside. The Red Light District became increasingly sketchy as we walked through it. Lots of junkies and homeless people asked us for money. We were definitely on our guard, and for good reason. The fact that Liam and I were both 6'4'' definitely gave us a nice buffer of security. Walking through the Red Light District was an eye opening experience, and it's an important place to visit in order to get a more complete sense of Amsterdam. One can better understand a city when he or she sees not only its beauty, but also its dark side. The bottom line is that prostitution is present in every city, Amsterdam just makes it visible to the public.
After our crazy walk through the Red Light District, we walked back to the hostel. Liam went to bed and Luke and I played pool with a couple of funny guys that had just flown in from LA. We had a couple of pints of Heineken and shot the breeze for a while. Luke and I played a final round of pool. I then said my goodbyes because I was flying out early in the morning, and hit the sack.
Last weekend the Cork Jazz Festival took place, bringing a massive influx of visitors to the city. My friend Sky and I decided that although the tickets were expensive, we absolutely had to see the Chick Corea & John McLaughlin All Star Band play. John and Chick were the original founders of the legendary (possibly first) fusion band Return to Forever. Both John and Chick also played with Miles Davis. Chick Corea & John McLaughlin were the star act of the Jazz Festival, and tickets sold out. Luckily, Sky and I had bought ours a month earlier :). They were playing at the Opera House, Cork's nicest venue.
We showed up at 8:00 pm absolutely pumped to see Chick & John play. Another perk was the fact that we had secured balcony seats, so we had the best view in the house. We had a few pints of Guinness (the sponsor of the Jazz Fest) before the music started. I have to say that now that I live in Ireland I have an appreciation for stout that I had never anticipated.
The opening band was a very traditional group called the Cindy Blackman Quartet. The group was from NYC, and they were headed by Cindy Blackman, a super-funky chick drummer with a massive fro. She was accompanied by a stand-up acoustic bass, tenor sax, and keys/piano player. I was blown away by Cindy's skill on the drumset. She was hands down the best female drummer I've ever seen. She had the jazz beats down to a science, and would leave them frequently to explore eccentric jazz solos on the toms and cymbals. The guy playing the keys was incredible as well. He played one piece on the traditional piano that was extremely beautiful, probably my favorite piece they played. They finished with a loud applause from the audience. It was a great way to start the evening and it got all of us in jazz mode.
There was a short break while the bands changed over, and we decided to have some coffee since it was going to be a late night. We journeyed back to our seats after a while and got ready to see what we had come for. After a while Chick & John walked out, met by enthusiastic appluase, and did a cool little experimental, spacey improv piece together that they made up right on the spot. The rest of the band came out once Chick & John finished jamming together. This was the line-up:
The group opened up with a screaming tune that put us all in shock. McLaughlin's tone was unbelieveable. He hardly used any effects while he played, just a little bit of overdrive. That's the sign of a truly good guitar player- he didn't need cool sounds to sound cool! I couldn't tell what type of guitar he was playing but I'm sure it was something he designed himself. One of the coolest things he kept doing, aside from heart-stopping, lighting fast jazz guitar solos flying all over the fretboard, was that he kept plucking these really high harmonics and then cutting them off by slamming down the whammy bar. It was impressive.
Chick was something else. In addition to the incredible drummer, Colaiuta, Chick provided the foundation for every groove, and he found plenty of room to solo and show us his skill with his spacey synth style. On one song he played a long intro on a traditional piano and then McBride came in using a stand up acoustic bass and a BOW. I had never seen a bass player use a bow before. It sounded awesome. The groove evolved from a very smooth feel to a super funky jam. It was one of their best tunes they played that night.
Let me take a minute to tell you a little bit about Christian McBride, because he was so amazing that I would have paid 50 Euro just to see him play alone. Throughout the night he switched back and forth between a custom, fretless electric bass (extremely badass), and his stand up acoustic bass. One solo of McBride's that stands out in my mind was an impressive measure he did on the stand up acoustic bass. This occurred right after McLaughlin tore off one of his characteristic solos. In order to keep the tempo, McBride simply didn't slow down. He played a solo on the stand up bass at the same speed McLaughlin had. It was out of this world. I've never heard a stand up bass solo that was so fast, so awesome, and so on key. His fingers were completely blurry as they flew up and down the neck. On the other end of the spectrum, the grooves that he established on the electric fretless were funkier, and they packed a powerful punch. He just stood in the back the entire time smiling while he played, hardly able to believe that he was playing with Chick & John, but they couldn't have drafted a better bass player. He was one of the best parts of the show.
The drummer was a inspiration to say the least. Being a beginning drummer myself, I couldn't believe this guy. He had a much tighter, "rockier" style than Cindy Blackman, but it worked perfectly with the group. He was definitely a fusion, as opposed to strictly jazz drummer. He laid down the funkiest beats, and like Blackman, left the beat he established with ease in order to provide powerful offbeat kicks and solos. He was probably twice as good as Blackman in my opinion. Like all of the other musicians, he got a standing ovation at the end of the show.
The songs just kept better and better as they played for about two hours. Some of the tunes evolved into near 15 minute long jams. Towards the end of the show I just started laughing in disbelief the music was so good. It was hands down the BEST jazz performance I have EVER SEEN.
In Ireland student housing is set up as ensuite apartment unites for four 3-4 people, with a shared common room and kitchen. For the first month that I was here, I was in my apartment alone. This wasn't necessarily bad, but it was quiet. Now the dynamic has changed with the arrival of my new Italian roommates!
My new roommates are awesome and extremely unique. I live on the ground floor so my room is wheel-chair accessible. My Italian roommate Alberto is handicapped and his caretaker Mauro is spending the academic year helping him out, taking him places, and cooking for him. They live down the hall in connecting singles.
Alberto is one of the most interesting people I have ever met. He is from Padua, Italy and he speaks fluent English and Italian. We've had many conversations about Rome, Italy in general, and our interests. Alberto is a history major and he knows loads of information about everything. He has no trouble reading English and he reads all the time. He's also very funny. The other day I told him I was going to write an essay and he said "I hope the ideas flow freely through your mind."
Mauro speaks almost no English, so Alberto has to act as a translator between Mauro and I. It is a very interesting dynamic. I'm learning bits of Italian everyday and Mauro is starting to pick up some English. Today he told me I was "bravo cook." Mauro is probably in his late twenties, and he is a nurse at a hospital in Italy. He said that Alberto's parents hired him, and he accepted the opportunity because he knew that it was a great chance for him to learn how to speak English. Every morning and night after dinner Mauro makes us each a small, extremely strong Italian coffee. It's basically a super concentrated shot of espresso with sugar. He said that American coffee is water without flavor and that's why we have to drink so much of it.
Mauro, Alberto, and I often sit around the table after dinner laughing, sipping coffee and eating cookies. I have to say that I am definitely going to be more cultured when I return home.
My other roommate is an Irish lad from Waterford named Neil. He's quiet and easygoing. Last night he was telling me about the plowing championships (with tractors) being held in Kilkenny. This reinforced my opinions about the importance of farming over here.
I really miss Fall. It's very different here. The air feels a little crisper, but the leaves don't change color. They simply fall off the trees and turn brown. Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons, and I'm really going to miss not being able to go mountain biking at Acadia National Park this year.
I know its been quite a while. I've been very busy. I can now say that I have seen a lot of Ireland. I've been trying to go on at least one trip within the country every week. This past weekend I made a spur of the moment decision to go to Galway...one of my most favorite places that I have traveled to here so far.
I woke up Friday morning, packed my bag, walked over to campus and passed in an essay, then walked into the city to catch a bus up north. The ride was 4 hours northwest of Cork. On the busride I read a considerable portion of "The World is Flat," an excellent book about globalisation. I highly recommend it.
We pulled into Galway around 4 pm. I called my friend Courtney and met up with her to get dinner. We ate a small place called Finnigan's pub (the name reminded me of Finnigan's Way). We each ordered the soup/panini special for only 6 euro. They love panini's here they're all the rage in the culinary sphere right now. The soups are all thick, delicious vegetable purees...they're not watery with chunks like the soup I'm used to. So we had a nice little meal and then decided to explore downtown Galway a bit.
Galway is a very cool place. I would call it more of a town than a city. It's much smaller than Cork. The upper part of the town is centered around modest park with a giant fountain in the center. Everyone hangs out around this area and we laid on the grass in the sun playing cards for a long time. The streets all lead from this upper area down to the ocean.
We walked downhill on Shop Street...a very exciting, pedestrian-friendly area. Cars are not allowed on Shop Street, so street performers are everywhere on each side of the street playing traditional Irish music, guitar, juggling, and dancing with fire (an art form called boi). Pubs with outdoor cafes were everywhere as we walked along, and lots of people were sitting outside enjoying the sun and a tasty pint.
We went back to Courtney's hostel for a while to hang out with some friends and I talked to a German girl for a long time. She was interesting, but seemed surprisingly isolated. She said she had only left Germany twice, both times to visit Ireland. She also was traveling alone which was definitely daring for a young girl. The hostel was small, quaint, and friendly. It only had two bedrooms filled with bunk beds. Most hostels that I've had to stay in so far are not nearly as nice...and they're always a bit "dodgy" as the Irish say.
The sun set behind the distant mountains and we decided to go downtown and check out some pubs. We went to The King's Head, a huge, raging pub filled with a jolly lot. The pub had a downstairs with a dance floor and an upstairs with a lounge. After enjoying some healthy socializing I called my friend Libby from UVM who was attending UC Galway for the semester. I found my way to her place...about a fifteen minute walk outside of town. Her suitemate had gone home for the weeked so I got to sleep in a bed which was amazing.
The next morning I awoke to find a beautiful Fender Jaguar in the common room, which I decided I had to play for a while. It was great picking up the electric for a change. I currently have an acoustic guitar that I purchased from a luthier in Cork. I walked back into town and Courtney, the girls and I had a delicious breakfast at a little coffee shop. I ordered the breakfast sandwich and they gave me a massive sandwich with eggs, sausage, cheese, and relish on a big ciabbata roll. It was incredible.
Courtney took a bus to see the Cliffs of Mohr, which I had seen earlier in the week on Wednesday, so I stayed in the city and explored with my friend Ruthie. We walked down to the waterfront and went for a walk along the ocean. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was absolutely beautiful. We saw a bunch of large fish in the water but I wasn't sure what kind they were. Consumed in the euphoria of the ocean air, we decided to get fish & chips at Macdunnagh's, Galway's most famous seafood restaurant. We ordered our meals to go and ate our fish & chips down by the water sitting on a large stone wall.
After lunch we went to an outdoor cafe and sat in the sun with a couple of pints. It was an incredibly fun and relaxing day. Shortly after dinner we took the bus back to Cork.
P.S. Please post recipe ideas. I love cooking now that I'm living off campus.
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.
