February 15 – The ride to the airport is snowy, glad to be leaving it! Jason drops us off at the terminal about 2:00 pm. Our plane is scheduled for 4:40 pm, but due to the snowy conditions we don’t leave until just after 5, this puts us in Chicago at 5 CST and the flight to Shannon is scheduled for 6. Doesn’t give us much time but we get to the International terminal gate M-9 with a few minutes to spare, meet up with Lance and Diane Timmer, and Lance Jr who are on our flight over with us. They will leave the plane in Dublin and travel to France for a couple days before coming back to Ireland.
February 16 - The flight over is ok, I get a little sleep, food is airplane food, no free drinks like last time we took Aer Lingus. We land at Dublin, brief stop to unload passengers and their luggage then back in the air to Shannon, we land on time and get off the plane, no trouble through emigrations or customs. Find the Bus Eireann bus stop and catch the 9:50 to Cork. 15 minute layover in Limerick, and the bus stops periodically on the way to Cork. We actually get to see the sun a couple times! Weather is mid 40’s no rain. Lisa sleeps a bunch on the way, but I can’t sleep, want to see everything of course! We get to Cork Parnell Place bus station about 12:15 and have a one hour wait to catch the Kinsale bus which leaves at 1:15 and gets us to Kinsale about 2:05. Take the luggage and walk to Victoria Murphy’s office, Ann meets us there, gives us the keys and suggest a taxi to the house. I’m glad she did, wouldn’t want to climb that hill with all the luggage. What a beautiful place we are renting! Larger than I thought really. We have a few things to investigate, but we unpack, put things away, and go to town to get a bite to eat. Picked up groceries for the morning and promptly got lost on the way back! Went for a long walk the wrong way, but finally arrived back home. Bed time about 9:30 and slept until 9:30 the next morning!
February 17 – Wake up our first morning in Ireland! The sun warms us most of the day, cool but that’s ok, much better than the snow back home. Spend a easy morning in the house, go to town for lunch and more investigating and orienting ourselves. Find the local coffee shops, I find a adaptor at the computer store that I can use for my laptop, we get serenaded by a local at the Armada when we stop for a pint. We pick up groceries for dinner and go home to eat. Can’t cook on the stove yet, I don’t know how to turn it on, have most everything else figures out. After dinner we head to the Vista about 8 pm, they advertise music every Saturday and we listen to three guys on guitar and mandolin who start with a Neil Young song. Lisa and I start laughing, it’s the kind of music from the coffee shop back home. Besides Neil, they do Beatles, country, 1980’s, etc. Nice guys to talk to, we tell them we will be back next Saturday and we head to center of town, as we pass a bar we hear some trad music so head in. have a couple pints while we listen to one guy singing traditional Irish, then he throws in a few 80’s ballads, and when he takes a break one of the locals gets up and sings a song of the 20p it costs to pee around here LOL. Great fun, nice barkeeps, we stayed until midnight then headed home. Found out we were at the Lord Kinsale. Hit the hay about 1:00 and sleep until 9:30 again.
February 18 – Had breakfast, headed to the internet café. Brought the laptop, makes it easier to use my laptop to access internet, 1.50 euro for a half hour, not to bad, I had most of my emails typed ahead f time to save time. Paid some bills online too. Got a coffee to go and tried to find some slippers in town, the floor is quite cold in the house, and socks don’t cut it. I will look in Cork tomorrow, did get a paper and some groceries and went back to have lunch and read the Sunday Irish Times.
After dinner we went to the An Seanachai to listen to a ballad singer by the name of Peter Returns. He started at 9 and went until 11 when they started to kick everyone out. Tried a Kinsale Ale, doesn’t taste anything like I remember, bitter and has a aftertaste, I switch to Murphy’s and ahhhhhhh what a difference! Creamy, smooth, with a chocolate/coffee taste, much better. We start talking to a couple guys from England, Larry and Chris. Chris has come over to find a job, wants to bring his partner and kids, says he’s a mechanic, applied for a job in Middleton. Larry is a accountant, and quite the talker :) We had fun talking to them most of the night. Headed home after closing, hit the hay about midnight and got up about 8, much more reasonable time LOL.
February 19 – Woke up to windy/rainy conditions. Lisa wants to shop in Cork, so we have a bite for breakfast and hit the 10:45 bus to Cork. Takes about 45 minutes one way, get there about 11 and head out to Oliver Plunkett Street which is a pedestrian only street with stores on both sides. Stopped at the Old Oak tavern for a quick lunch, this is the first floor of the Cypress Avenue music venue that the Elders will be playing at next month. Hit a few of the local stores after that, went to a Penny’s and bought jeans for 6 euro! Picked up a pair of slippers, the kitchen floor in the house is a little cold, and Lisa got a few things. We walked to the end of the street and found the English Market, great place for food! We bought some cheeses and breads for lunches at the house. Headed back to the Bus depot, swung by Dunne’s and picked up a few more edibles, took the 4:45 bus back to Kinsale, dropped off the groceries and went to Dino’s for dinner, it is a “chipper” on one side (take away) and a sit down diner on the other, it’s right on the waterfront. Nice place, I had the cod, Lisa just had some chips. Went back home, addressed some postcards for the grandkids, Lisa did a couple loads of laundry. I figured out the satellite TV so we can now watch more than 3 channels :) And I even found the “on” switch for the stove, no more microwave dinners, but real food!
February 20 – Farmer’s Market Tuesday, up about 7:30 today, Lisa slept until 9. The sun is shining, I think I will take some pictures and video, as I look out the front window I can see the passerby’s breath, so it must be cool yet. Around 10ish Lisa is ready to head to the market and when we get there it starts to rain! No umbrella because it was so nice when we left, the weather today has gone from sun to rain about 4 times so far. We pick up a few items at the Farmers Market, head home to make lunch. Back out after lunch, as Lisa wants to find a sweater (which she does for cheap!) and we have a pint at Muddy’s. Talk to the owner for a bit, nice guy, then take a short stroll around with the camera, I get enough sun to take some pictures of Kinsale and around the place we are staying. Cooking in tonight, now that I have the stove working.
Went down to Oscar Madison’s, a little sports pub on Main Street, after dinner to watch PSV Eindhoven play Arsenal. Only a couple guys in there when I arrive, and I get a good seat at the bar to watch the game. About the time the game starts a local chap comes in wearing a red scarf, thinking he is here to watch PSV I say something to him and find out he is a big Arsenal fan. We have a little small talk during the game, we remember each other from some place else in town, (I will have to find out where later), and I have to apologize to him when I let out a whop when PSV scores. A friend of his comes in at half time and has a chart that he writes on. When I ask what it’s for, it has something to do with promoting Guinness and he asks if I will drink a pint if he gives me a freebee. “Heck yes!” so he gives me two prepaid vouchers that I can use anytime this week. Game over at 9:30, PSV 1 – Arsenal 0, head home watch a bit of TV and hit the hay.
February 21 – Up about 8, fried potatoes and scones for breakfast. Headed to the Icafe to email and post this.
