Douglas – Cork Spring

We left Durham on the morning of 29 January, passingthrough Philadelphia on the way to Dublin, where we arrived after the overnight flight on the morning of the 30th. Rented a car in Dublin and drove through Kildare to Athlone, where we spent a few nights in the town of Claire’s grandfather’s last Irish residence.

The trip got off to an auspicious start, as we shared our flight with the legendary John Prine.

We also stopped at St. Brigid’s Well, one of several sites to share that name, in Kildare. St. Brigid’s Day, 1 February, is supposedly the second most observed saint’s day in Ireland, but we saw very little of that when we arrived in Cork on the first.

We drank some of Sean’s whiskey and ale, from the oldest pub in Ireland, and probably in Europe, dating back to the year 900 AD.

All of that was prep for our 60 day stay in Cork City, which we are halfway through. Good time to take stock.

Before we left North Carolina, we went through what we thought was a comprehensive checklist of things that could go wrong, and prepared as well as we could. We hired an arborist to to evaluate and take down trees which might threaten the house, and tried, though unsuccessfully, to eliminate the intermittent failures in the fridge. The workaround appears to have taken, though, so we’ll deal with that on our return.

Our main concerns in Ireland were for the weather and the exchange rate. We have no control over either, of course, other than to prepare. Our rain gear has worked out. That’s good news, as Cork received roughly twice as much rain this February as in any previous. It’s been colder than anticipated, but still above freezing on even the coldest nights. Even on our arrival, the sun was setting at 6, so that wasn’t much of an issue. I guess we’re pretty far west in the time zone, because the first week we were here it wasn’t getting light until 8:30 or so. But now, three weeks out from the equinox, it’s getting light before 8, and staying light until nearly 7.

The first crescent of the new moon and Venus have been dancing together a few nights each month after sunset. We have a great view of the western sky from our balcony. Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated, and i’ve missed out on catching any good photos. Should get one more chance in 26 days just before we leave.

We’ve walked all throughout the city, averaging better than 5 miles a day. As far east as Blackrock Castle, and south to the suburb of Douglas.

North to Glen River Park, and west to where the river splits into the two branches that turn City Center into an island.

Before leaving the US, we had thought about booking a kayak tour around the Island. But having walked around the whole thing, and seen the river in its various angry stages, neither of us is in the mood for that.

Can’t talk about Ireland without talking about beer and whiskey. Our first visit three years ago, we mostly stuck with the Guinness regardless of where in the country we were. Here in Cork, it’s been the local brews, Murphy’s and Beamish. Pro tip from one of our bartenders – the Beamish is better in the Douglas Street pubs, and i can’t say he was wrong.

As in the US, craft brewing has made some inroads against the big brewers. Unlike the US, i can’t say they’re an improvement over the traditional beers. We are walking distance to 3 of Cork’s small breweries, Franciscan Well, Rising Sons, and Elbow Lane. Of those, i thought Elbow Lane had the best beers, but it’s mostly a high end restaurant rather than a drinking establishment. Rising Sons is a great place to watch sporting events, and Franciscan Well is a nice little live performance room, but neither has beers that struck me as superior to the Murphy’s, or even Guinness.

The big distillery in these parts is in Midleton. The old part is now used for public tours, while most of the whiskey is produced in the modern, off-limits distillery. We also did a craft whiskey tasting at one of the local establishments, and came up with some favorites that may not be available for purchase in the states. Could be a stop at the duty free shop is in our future on the way home. Midleton is also home to the Kindred Spirits monument. Full blog posts about our visit below.

Later on, some thoughts about food and people. But right now, the sun is shining, and we’re headed out the door to Cross Haven.

Yesterday we headed south, up the hill and out of the river valley to Douglas, a suburb of Cork about 4 km down the road. We of course got squalled on, so the walk took a couple of hours, what with ducking into a pub or two to dry off.

Saw, for basically the first time here, a preponderance of single family detached houses, many of estate size, and all bearing charming names.

Douglas itself was small and clean, a 2 three block downtown areas separated by a park, with the Douglas River running between them. A handful of pubs and restaurants, including Barry’s, where we had a couple of bowls of soup and some stout. We’ve been favoring Murphy’s on this trip.

Took a slightly different route back to the city, passing through the Turner’s Cross neighborhood, where both the soccer and rugby stadia are located. The Six Nations tournament is taking place while we’re here. It’s probably getting some press in the States. But both the women and the U-20s are playing on similar tournaments at the same time, and the U-20s play here in Cork. We’ll be attending the match home to Italy on 6 March. It’s about a 2k walk from the apartment.

Here’s a few photos.