Put a CORK in it (I'm really punny)

GOOD MORNING ALL YOU WISCONSINITES! I still am weirded out by the time difference. Can't believe it's only a little past 8am for you guys. On Wednesdays, I always skype my friend India at 4pm my time, 10am her time. So weird that my school day has ended while her's hasn't begun. Okay anywhoozle, I had an amazing trip in Cork! It was a really fun time and I got to hang out with some great people.

On Friday morning, Ellie woke me up at 8:10 (we were supposed to be at the bus at 8:15!) because I missed my alarm. Needless to say, I sprung out of bed faster than you can say peach cobbler (sorry I am in a weird mood). We made it out the door and to the bus stop in less than 15 minutes. Luckily for us, another girl was running late, and we almost had to leave without her. But she made it right in the knick of time. So after a few hours on the bus, we made it to Cahir Castle (pronounced like care). It was a beautiful castle built in 1142! We were given a short amount of time to explore the castle, which was really cool! I was also obsessed with all of the colored buildings around the city! The weather was pretty rainy, so the river was raised really high!

 Before we knew it, we were back on the bus headed to Blarney Castle. We joked a bit more on getting our Valentine's Day kiss via the Blarney Stone. But it's true! It was definitely fun to come back after nine years. It was exactly how I remembered it. This time around, I wasn't even scared to kiss the stone, despite how high you are from ground level! I just went for it, no nose bonks like my poor mother experienced on her way up from kissing the stone. To this day that still makes me cringe. Blarney Castle and Gardens are BEAUTIFUL, despite the dreary weather. Ellie and I walked a bit around the gardens after kissing the stone, and I even bought myself some Gleeson coasters (This is the Irish spelling of my last name). So I hope my roomies next year are ready for a good time with those hahah. 

 Pucker Up!

 View from the top!

 Being this close to a raven was terrifying and awesome

We eventually made it to our hostel in Cork! We were given a few hours to settle into our rooms, and go eat dinner. Six of us, Brittany, Ellie, Mike, Grace, Samantha, and myself, went to Dunne's (a local grocery store) and bought ingredients for breakfast burritos! They were super yummy and we saved a lot by doing that and just splitting the cost for ingredients. After dinner, we went out with our group to the pub crawl (My favorite). At our first pub, we played a game called Cheers, Governor. You basically go around in a circle counting up from 1 to 21. The first rule is that when get to 7 you say 14 and vice versa. If you get to 21 without any mistakes, you make up another rule. For example, every time you get to number 5 you stand up and dance or something like that. If you mess up, you take a drink and the whole group has to start over. Each time you make it successfully to 21, everyone yells CHEERS, GOVERNOR and takes a drink. It was so much fun! It started out with the six of us, but then expanded to a group of about 11. Overall, the pub crawl was a great time. A night full of dancing and laughter! 

 Downtown Cork! So Beautiful!

Friends!

Day 2 was amazing and better than I would have ever guessed. It started a little shaky for poor Ellie. She had left the hostel a little later than the rest of us and wasn't sure where to get on the bus because she had fallen asleep at the time our bus driver told us where to go. I hadn't thought anything of it until the next morning, when I realized she was by herself. Of course my phone had locked itself and I didn't know the code to unlock it. Ellie only had my number. We were trying to frantically message her on facebook, but she didn't have wifi at the time so she couldn't see our messages. The leaders told us we had to leave. I start to panic a little and I feel so awful for Ellie. We start to turn the corner and Samantha yells STOP THE BUS. Sure enough, Ellie is running down the street trying to wave the bus down. We are trying to wave back to tell her that we see her and we can't stop right now because we are in heavy traffic. But since the windows were tinted, she couldn't see us. Eventually, one of the leaders got off the bus and told her that the bus was trying to turn around to pick her up. So she made it! She was such a champ about it, but unfortunately her day got a bit worse. In the middle of our bus ride, a girl comes down the aisle asking if anyone has a bag. We realize that someone is sick. The roads in Ireland are CRAZY windy and turny and the bus bounces really easily. Of course, it's poor Ellie who is sick. I felt so so bad for her, but she was such a good sport about it and was able to laugh it off and still make her day enjoyable. Good job, Ellie! You had a lot of excuses to be in a grumpy mood, but you totally took it as a memory and a funny story for the kids someday. (I'm not mean, I promise. I asked her if I could share her story and she said yes).

We eventually made it to Kinsale, a precious little town right off a bay. I am not kidding, it was the cutest. It was full of adorable shops and restaurants and boating docks. We had such a fun time exploring the city. It was nice and sunny outside so the weather just made it that much more enjoyable. We had just a short amount of time in Kinsale before heading to FOTA Wildlife Park in County Cork. It was beautiful and so much fun to see animals who are clearly happy in environment such as that. I know that some zoos do not treat their animals properly, and you can clearly see that through the animals. But these were out in the open and those who would pose as a threat (such as the zebras or cheetahs) were enclosed in large areas in gates. I only wish we had more time to spend there, but we had an appointment at the Jameson distillery for which we could not be late. The distillery was pretty interesting, and I learned a lot about whiskey, something of which I had known nothing about. For example, I had no idea that whiskey can be distilled for at least 5 years, even going up to 22! That is crazy to me. At the end, they provide you with a free drink. I tried one of their signatures, a Jameson Ginger and Lime, which is whiskey, ginger ale, and a slice of lime. I liked it a lot, it may be one of my new favorites. Since a few of us were tired and not looking to spend any more money, we stayed in the hostel Saturday night, watching movies and playing games.

 The adorable shops of Kinsale

 

 I had to get a picture with them, of course!

Sunday we were up and off early, headed to Cobh (pronounced like cove). It was another quaint little town full of colors and beauty. We had a few minutes before our tour at "The Titanic Experience", so we walked around and got to walk inside St. Coleman's Cathedral. It was BEAUTIFUL, so gorgeous and I plan on getting married there someday ;]. Soon enough, we got to tour the Titanic Experience. It was awesome! We were given a card at the beginning of our tour to look like a ticket of someone who actually was aboard the Titanic. Cobh was the last stop  before her sinking. We got to see what a Third Class Cabin looked like, which was actually more like a second class cabin because of the standard of the ship. We joked that it was nicer than our hostel. We also got to see what a First Class Cabin looked like, which of course was extravagant and spacious. Towards the end, we were moved into a room with a large screen, and our tour guide told us that "a boat has been reserved for us". So we were watching the Titanic sink in a 3D perspective from a lifeboat. It honestly felt so real, and made me so sad to think about how many lives were lost. At the end of the tour, you can check to see if "you" (according to your ticket) survived the sinking. My person did! Her name was Mary and she was a bit scandalous. It is suggested that, as a 31 year old woman, was possibly pregnant and engaged to a 19 year old man who did not survive the sinking. Little is known about her outside of that. I smell a soap opera coming on. 

The Original White Star Line Dock

After, we headed to a town by the name of Youghal (pronounced Yawl). We only had an hour to walk around an grab a bite to eat before heading to Kilkenny Castle! Kilkenny Castle is a really interesting one because it was left abandoned and then eventually refurbished by the town of Kilkenny. Some of the artifacts within the castle are authentic, while others are replicas. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures. After Kilkenny, we were headed home. Overall I had a wonderful weekend with some great people. 

Kilkenny Castle!

The week thus far has been really good and flying by. This week has been FULL of sunshine and I absolutely love it. Definitely perks you up and puts you in a much better mood. Today was 52 degrees outside! So that was obviously wonderful, since I'm used to chilly Februarys. But I'm hearing that you guys are getting somewhat of a heat wave also. So that is wonderful! I'm officially ordering prints to put up on my walls and I just bought stamps for the postcards, so those of you who asked, be expecting one soon! I'd also just like to mention that I have yet to receive any mail, and I happen to love receiving mail. Cough Cough, hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge (was that obnoxious?) ;]. Okay, that's all for now. I have a lot of school work I need to do before Emily comes to visit in 10 days! Yayyyy so exciting!!! And so crazy how fast February is flying by. Hope everyone is having the best week!

Xoxo