We took the train to Cork and my mom chatted up to teenagers (yes, you read that correctly) who were headed to Cork to some amusement park, which they claimed was not very good, but were headed there for lack of better things to do on Easter Break.
Upon arrival in Cork we were introduced to Michael Connolly (that's Mick to his friends, which we quickly became (see below)). Mick drove us to our hotel, the River Lee Hotel. Within 3.5 seconds of the trip, my mother had Mick discussing his nine grandchildren and she had let it out no fewer than 16 times that she had none. The River Lee was a nice, new, American-style business hotel. We walked around Cork and settled on lunch at the Pavilion, a restaurant in the Huguenot Quarter (directly across from the Huguenot cemetery) that was housed in an old movie theater. It was surprisingly good for a not-so-crowded, slightly out of the way lunch spot.
We then walked around Cork (nothing to write home about, don't waste your time except for Huguenot Quarter and the English Market (which is pretty awesome)). Mom bought a loaf of bread and a pound of butter (yes, you read that correctly) as a snack. Obviously, when we departed the hotel the next day, 7/8 of the pound of the butter was left as a donation.
Two highlights of Cork: (1) there was a cow in a tree. Literally. See picture. It is apparently part of a traveling installation that the citizens of Cork hate because of the expense it took to bring the cow here. (2) there was a store that sold very funny t-shirts. None of which I remember now. Kate, Mom?
Mom and I dropped of Kate at the hotel and proceeded to the Cathedral of St. Finn Barre, the "Notre Dame" of Cork (various pictures below). It was a lovely church and there was a choir from England rehearsing for a concert, so it was nice to have musical accompaniment to our visit to the church. I also like the interactive guide at the church that explains all of the sculptures at the front of the church -would I honestly have guessed "wise virgins" and "foolish virgins"?
After St. Barre, we called up Mick and told him to swing on by to pick us up for our dinner in Kinsale. Kinsale is ADORABLE (sadly no pictures!!!) and, if I could have changed one thing about our trip, I would have skipped Cork altogether and headed straight there. By the time we arrived, most of the shops were closed up. We headed to Max's Wine Restaurant, a restaurant featured on both Kate and I's "eat here" lists. It did NOT disappoint. Mom tried Ling, a fish she had never had and LOVED it though it's cooking liquid contained (gasp!) sun dried tomatoes. The dish also featured langoustines which she gobbled up. Kate had an excellent bass. I had the foie gras. Dessert was a creme brûlée with rhubarb and hazelnuts. Mick came and picked us back up and dropped us a the hotel.
