Happy Holidays!

It's Christmas Day, for those who celebrate. It's our second holiday season away from the States, and boy how time flies. It seems like just yesterday that we were spending a quiet (and cold) Christmas in Cork, Ireland's other capital.

But looking back, so much has happened since that little holiday away. We've checked off a number of other travel destinations, like Belgium, Derry, Munich, Prague, and Scotland. If it counts as a travel destination, we visited our families back in Iowa and New York.

Family has come from America to see us in Galway, Mayo, and County Clare (writings of those trips coming soon).

I've accomplished a number of personal goals, finally pushing "publish" on my free eBook, and it's been very successful so far. The downloads creep up slowly each day, and as it becomes available on more platforms, I know it will grow. I hope to continue promoting and updating the book as the new year begins.

I'm well into writing my second book, pumping out my daily writing quota without much trouble. Instead of spending those hours every day on new blog content, I feel like I'm getting a better product with longform, pictureless, personal essays. Hopefully the new year will see another book on my e-bookshelf.

We hope you are kickin' it with someone you love this holiday season, whichever holidays you celebrate. If you are away from your close family and friends like we are, we feel you. Try to spend some time connecting with them with this amazing world wide web through which you're reading my words now.

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season and new year to all!

Cory and Sara

Cong, Co. Mayo
(Photo: Keri Hanson)

An Irish Year in Tourism

Before moving to Ireland, Cory and I were not completely inexperienced in navigating new places. I wouldn't say that we are worldly or seasoned travelers, but we had some shared domestic and international travel experiences under our belts (including our Farewell to America Road Trip in the weeks before our departure). To quote Rick Steves, our favorite travel writer, "travel is intensified living". For better or worse, you learn a lot about yourself and your travel companions in the course of an extended trip far from home.

I have learned a couple things about myself in traveling, the primary lesson being that it brings my type A personality to the forefront. I am a planner. A spreadsheet-making, travel-book-reading, list-writing, budget-generating planner. I try really hard to roll with the punches while traveling, but for me an hour spent lost in a train station is an hour I won't spend walking through the gardens of Versailles or drinking beer while listening to live polka music or eating gelato while watching gondolas wind through canals. It's an almost unbearable loss for me and it drives me to ambitiously fill our schedule to the brim. Traveling this way is exhausting, but I fear retrospective trip regret far too much to risk missing out on a must-see sight. 

All of that preamble is merely meant to explain why one of my most difficult transitions upon moving to Ireland was actually living in Ireland. For at least a month (maybe longer) I was unable to just be at home on an evening or weekend. We were in a foreign country! There are new and exciting places to see! Museums to visit! Shouldn't we be drinking Guinness or walking up a grassy hill spotted with sheep? Listening to trad music? Touring a castle? We couldn't just relax at home! We were wasting time! 

It's fortunate for me that I brought a patient companion who was able to tolerate my manic bursts of travel-hunger. Someone to talk me down and convince me that since we would be here for awhile we had plenty of time. There was no need to spend every available moment sightseeing, and we should take breaks from the spreadsheets every now and then. It took some time for that mindset to sink in, but fortunately for both of us it finally did. 

Traveling abroad is constantly exciting and exhilarating. Living abroad is not. It can't be. At some point, the surroundings and local colloquialisms become familiar...and thank goodness they do. Don't get me wrong, life in Ireland is interesting. We continue to learn new things about Irish history, culture, and politics while we are slowly crossing off items on our list of Irish places to visit, but I definitely feel like we have settled in. Work, chores, and weekly errands all have to be done. The mundane aspects of life exist here just as they do in the U.S., and sometimes I can spend a weekend at home binging on Orange is the New Black without feeling like I'm losing out on travel experiences. 

"Intensified living" cannot be a permanent state of being. We strive to keep a balance between accomplishing all of the tasks required of us as functioning adults and taking advantage of our location and situation as much as we can. Since moving to Ireland, we have always had at least one trip planned for our near future, and think that if we continue at our pace we will be able to look back on our time spent here without regret. 

For anyone interested in our last year of Irish travels, check out the blog posts about sights around Dublin, Northern Ireland, Cork, Trim Castle, Howth, and Newgrange. For our trips around Europe, see posts about Munich and Prague (and stay tuned for Belgium).

Travel with Bus Eireann

After our quiet and relaxing Christmas Day walks in Cork, we were set to depart back to Dublin. It was a quick trip, but we still had a great time seeing the sights and tasting the food of Ireland's second largest city.

Our travel to and from Cork was made easy and affordable by Ireland's nationwide coach bus service, Bus Eireann.

It should be noted right away that we are not spokespeople for B.E., nor is this a B.E. promotion.  Just some honest thoughts and observations about traveling Ireland by coach.

What's The Big Deal?

It is great to have a service like this at our disposal.  When I talk to Irish people about Iowa, I have to drop the factoid that Iowa is three times larger than Ireland with half the population.  The population is spread out and the Western third of Iowa- apologies to Storm Lake, Council Bluffs, and Sioux City- is particularly sparsely populated.  Most of the Midwest (think roughly a chunk of the U.S. from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains and South to the Texas state line) is the same way- big hunks of land with a few medium-sized cities separated by hundreds of miles of farmland and small towns.

What does all that have to do with buses?  Everything, really.  Given such a large land mass and low population WITH the American standard of multiple-car homes, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Midwestern U.S. has very few public transportation options.  Larger cities have buses and commuter trains, of course.  Some cross-county bus services go through the Midwest, but usually following the Interstate Highways, of which Iowa has two (I don't count I-29 here, sorry again Sioux City and Council Bluffs!), forming a rough cross-shape through the center of the state.

...So if you are living in the corners of the state and need to travel, better gas up your truck and get on the road.

We don't have that option in Ireland, of course, but not to worry.  Ireland is smaller and more densely populated (relatively speaking) than the Midwest, AND public transportation is more culturally acceptable in Europe generally, so an overland bus service does make financial sense.  I am amazed with the ease and affordability of these services.  Someday I may be jaded and complain about the full buses or the cost, but for now, it's all fresh and new.

...On Bus Eireann

When buying a ticket, one can reserve online, buy a ticket at the station, or hop on a bus and buy one from the driver.  When we booked our tickets to Cork, we noticed that it was easiest and cheapest to buy an advance ticket for a date rather than a specific departure time.  We bought a return ticket departing on December 24, and we could use that ticket on any bus going from Dublin to Cork on that day.  Because Cork is a larger city, there are many express buses between Dublin and Cork everyday, so we had our pick.  All we had to do was get to the station.  We decided to take the first (bus departing at 08:00) to maximize our time in Cork.  We caught the first Dublin Bus up to Busáras and got to the station before 07:30.   

Aside-  I like bus and train stations.  Maybe for slightly different reasons than the narrator of Love Actually describing airports, with all that lovey-dovey mushy gibberish.  I like to see the mix of people of all colors and classes waiting to depart.  This form of public transportation is cheap enough for people of lower income to use, but convenient and comfortable enough for suited-and-skirted business travelers.  People watching, for me, helps alleviate the general misery of a long wait on uncomfortable wooden benches.

So, it's 07:30 on Christmas Eve and the station is busy with holiday travelers.  The longest line, of course, is the bus to Cork.  Because the tickets aren't reserved for a specific bus, most people had the same idea we had- catch the first one and maximize Cork time.  If this bus had been full, we'd have had to wait to catch the 10:00 bus- not a huge deal, but we were excited to get there, and the ride would be about four hours...  Not to worry!  We (and all the passengers who arrived after us behind us in line) were able to board the almost full bus, and we were off!

Being an express bus, there were only a few stops, and those mostly in the second half of the journey.  We admired the view of the countryside- even from the motorway it was beautiful.  Everyone here recommends traveling off the motorways to see some of the more picturesque small towns and country scenery.  I guess that is something Iowa and Ireland have in common- crappy sightseeing on the big highways...

Anyway, two of the stops we made were in Cashel and Cahir, both towns on our "to see in Ireland" list because of their ancient fortresses.  The Rock of Cashel is well known as a church attended by St. Patrick, and Cahir Castle is a well-preserved stone-walled hulk.  Both of these monuments are right in the center of town, so we got a nice view of each as the bus made its way through the very cute town squares.

The return ticket system is also very convenient.  When purchasing a ticket, one selects the first departure date only.  Once the driver punches the departure, the ticket is good for thirty days for a return trip.  Any bus, any day.  When we were leaving Cork, we could take any of the buses departing on that date.  It was the day after Christmas, called St. Stephen's Day here, and it's also a public holiday.  As such, buses were running a more limited schedule, so the express Dublin bus was running every four hours instead of every two.  No problem- we waited at the station (observing the ever-interesting human bus station mix) and caught our bus home.  Extra classy note that I must document here- on the return bus someone a few rows in front of us had a bottle of cheap red wine stoppered with a wadded-up paper towel.  Every time he took a pull from it, we got that nice whiff of grocery-store-special wine.  Some might have found it annoying, but it was all I could do to keep from laughing and asking him to pass it back.

It really is great to have access to such an efficient and convenient public transport system.  Car-less as we are, we feel like the whole country (and Northern Ireland, the other country on this small island) is open and easily accessible to us- and we plan to take full advantage of that while we're here.

Christmas in Cork: Christmas Day Walks

After our long, wet, gloriously fun slog through Cork on Christmas Eve, we were hoping for a little bit more sun for our Christmas Day jaunts around the (hopefully quiet) city.  Our hopes were answered when, on Christmas morning, it was... well, like Christmas!  The sun was streaming in through our window and a close-hugging ground mist over the river suggested just a bit of crisp bite in the air.

First, we had to tackle our stockings and gifts, wrapped in very Spartan materials.  Why buy rolls of gift wrap that we won't be able to use up?  Brown paper from shopping bags and white tissue paper from packing materials made wonderful, practical gift wrap for us.

Christmas Gifts

Time for breakfast!  We weren't sure how full the B&B would be around the holiday, but the dining room suggested they were close to capacity.  Lively travelers chatted up and ate delicious breakfast all round the comfortable room.  We started with some coffee, scones, toast, cheese, and fruit.  That's right, started.  The menu was impressive, and we ordered up some hearty food to help keep us going on a day when few restaurants or shops would be open.  Pictured below is the Eggs Benedict and Full Irish Breakfast (Egg, bacon, sausage, potatoes, mushrooms, white and black pudding, and a fried tomato.)

Eggs Benedict and Full Irish Breakfast

After our warm and filling breakfast, we hit the door and emerged to a beautifully crisp, sunny winter morning. The morning light had that mind-winter characteristic low-light color, which gave the impression of being much earlier than it was.  The temperatures had dipped just below freezing overnight, and the river near the B&B was covered with a heavy, swirling mist in the warming air.

Mist on the River

Obligatory Cory-Looking-At-The-Water Shot

We passed on the River one of the many references to Cork being a "Rebel County."  Some quick Wikipedia checks reveal (very briefly, I'm sure) this nickname goes back to the 15th century, but more recently, Cork and her people played a prominent role in the Irish War of Independence, and it was an anti-treaty stronghold during the Irish Civil War- fought just after the War of Independance.  We had seen a lot of Cork Rebel signage and references when we watched the Cork v. Clare Hurling match at a pub near Croke Park stadium.  The Cork fans streamed to the stadium waving their red Rebel flags.  Disturbingly, a fair few of them were displaying and wearing flags of the Confederate States of America.  I understand the connection to "Rebels" with these flags, but flying the confederate flags in the States today (despite the loud crying of an ignorant and backwards minority) is a clear signal of racism, separatism, and white superiority.  I hope assume the people who use these American rebel flags don't know what those flags stand for, and would stop if they knew their hateful and painful history.  Maybe I'm just too sensitive.

Cork Rebel Sings

Just beyond the River Lee South Fork (off of The Island) we could see a large church just up the hill.  It was St. Fin Barre's Cathedral.  A worship center of the Church of Ireland, the building dates back to 1879.  The gray stone stood out wonderfully on this cool, blue Christmas morning.

St. Fin Barre's Cathedral- Cork

At the top of the hill, we stumbled upon another of Cork's most famous and historic sites- the Elizabeth Fort.  On top of the South hill, overlooking the whole River Lee valley the fort was built as a protective fortress for the English governors of Cork.  It was originally built in 1601, but rebuilt after several sackings in various uprisings and coups.  Today the site is mostly preserved in the walls.  There are some exhibits (all closed for Christmas, of course) to be seen, but the main gate was open for a poke-around in the parking lot.

Interestingly, we found this site totally by accident- not having done much research about Cork before our visit.  The plaque in the photo below is apparently a popular place, as we saw pictures of some politicians visiting Cork posing with the same plaque we had just curiously found.

Cory at Elizabeth Fort

Coming down from the hill of, we again crossed the South Fork of the river and snapped another photo of St. Fin Barre's from a distance.  The mist was mostly cleared by this time, but notice the church is slightly faded as the last of the fog was burned away by the (almost midday) sun.

View from the South Fork

We've already mentioned Beamish Stout, and we took a stroll past the historic brewery in which it is produced.  The brewery is open for tours, but not on Christmas Day.  

Beamish Brewery

The narrow lanes around Patrick street, so busy with traffic, shoppers, and street performers on Christmas Eve, were nearly empty and silent on Christmas morning.  We had the neighborhood almost to ourselves.  Shops were quiet- except for the radio speaker in the doorway of one department store.  On a normal day, the music of that small radio would only be heard just outside the doorway, but in the quiet of the Christmas Day streets it could be heard echoing for a square block all around.  

Murphy's Stout Sign Dwarfing that of Guinness

We made our way to the River Lee proper and crossed the bridge to the North bank of the river.  On the bridge, we saw what I thought was one of the highlights of the trip, because I am a water-creature-nerd.  A big lump popped out of the river a ways from the bridge.  The photos we took were difficult because of the great distance and the angle, but the naked eye could see clearly- a seal.  Awesome.  After living in landlocked Iowa for so long, I still can't shake the novelty of living in a place where a sea mammal might just pop up into town as if to say,  "Merry Christmas!"

Hey Buddy!

 Nothing springs the appetite like a few hours (and a few miles) of walking on a cold, clear day.  We were ready for our Christmas feast, mostly purchased at the English Market the day before.  We tucked in to the cured meats, bread, cheeses and wine while we connected with some family members Stateside via video chat.

Meat, Cheese, Wine, and Everything Nice

After our feast, we were again a bit restless.  We had warmed up, eaten some great food, enjoyed some great wine, sipped some hot tea, and there wasn't anything good on BBC or RTE- so we decided to take another (shorter) walk around town to see the city at night.

Cork Christmas Lights

Wow!  Were we ever glad we took that night walk.  Just like Dublin, Cork dresses its streets up with lights, trees, and decorations for the holiday.  On Christmas night, all the locals were inside enjoying the holiday with family and all the tourists were too full of food and drink to bother with the cold night- so we again had the streets almost to ourselves.  There were a few other people out who looked like they were just out to photograph the Christmas lights.  Smart plan, with the streets empty and quiet.  These clever devils could set up tripods in the middle of Patrick Street and take long-exposure night photos with no trouble.  We made a mental note to do the same thing next year, no matter where we spend Christmas!

Tommy and Gap take the beauty from the scene...
Try to ignore them

Christmas Tree in Cork

After a pleasant walk to stretch ourselves out, we made our way back to the B&B.  The temperature had once again dipped below freezing, and the sidewalk along the South Fork was very slippery.  With the cold temperatures returned the mist over the river.  The fast current threw the fog up in big playful swirls and twirls.

Christmas Night Mist

At last, we had returned to the warm B&B.  We were to make our trip back to Dublin the next day, but we knew even then that this would be a Christmas that we would treasure forever.  Cork is a beautiful city, and we were sorry to leave it- but isn't that how one should always travel?  "Always leave 'em wanting more" is the phrase, and we believe it also fits with travel planning.

Christmas in Cork: Patrick Street in Patrick Sleet

After our very successful trip to Cork's famous English Market, we set out to find a fish and chips shop recommended by our B&B host.  The bright Christmas Eve afternoon was fading to gray, and rain had moved over the area.  Patrick Street (and the surrounding shopping/bar district) was clearing out as shoppers came in from the rain to celebrate the holiday with their families.

Undaunted by a little rain, we set off for our fish and chips.  The chipper was just off the main City Centre drag, up a steep hill.  The rain continued as we left "The Island" of Cork- the area between the River Lee and The South Fork River Lee- and headed up the hill.  As we climbed higher, the wind picked, getting stronger and stronger as we climbed higher.  The main center of Cork on the banks of the river is protected from the wind by high hills on three sides, and we were losing that protection fast.

The climb became something of a determined trudge as the rain turned to a heavy rain/light sleet mix with a strong headwind.  I almost didn't notice the subtle change as I looked desperately ahead for the neon sign of the chip shop.  My glasses were covered with persistent rainwater, but I heard the gentle "tick tick" sound of sleet on my coat turn into a not-so-gentle "TOCK TOCK TOCK" as the size and intensity of the sleet grew, each ice crystal making a hollow thunk on my black winter coat.  Oh how quickly the weather can change in coastal (or non-coastal!) Ireland.

At the top of the hill, after a mile climb through the sleet, we got to the chip shop.  As Poe said in The Raven, "Darkness there, and nothing more..."

"NO!"  They were closed for Christmas Eve.  We had made that long, hard trek to a closed chipper!  We didn't blame our B&B host, he wasn't sure if they would be open (or open late) on Christmas Eve, we just took a gamble- and lost.  Disappointed, (and cold, and wet, and sleety) we set off back down the hill toward The Island again.  The walk back down the hill was decidedly more pleasant than the walk up.  The wind (and rain, and sleet) were at our backs now, and the steep incline kept our pace up.

Back on The Island, we were hungry for... something.  Many of the restaurants were either closing up or jam-packed, leaving mostly fast food joints open to us.  We hunted through the streets for something to catch our eye, but we were so set on those fish and chips, we were almost too disappointed to choose something else.  After several laps around the Patrick Street area, we decided to duck in to Rockin' Joe's, Cork's answer to Dublin's popular Eddie Rocket's chain.  We both got large plates of burgers and fries (not called 'chips' in 1950's Americana restaurants here) with lots of Heinz ketchup.  Uninspired?  Maybe.  Warm and dry?  You betcha.

Rockin' Joe's Burgers

After rockin' our burgers, the rain had slowed back to the misty, wet-air feel that is usually called "light rain" here.  We went back out into the Patrick Street neighborhood.  The shops were all closed by now, and the streets mostly empty, but all was not silent.  The pubs were all open- and lively.  We walked by several establishments, all filled with merrymakers celebrating Christmas Eve with friends and family.  The sun had been down since before 5 p.m., so the parties had started early.  Fresh off our burger, we popped in to one promising looking pub for an early-evening 'nightcap.'

We first ordered a round of a highly-recommended local stout, Murphy's.  We both love stouts and porters, so we were excited to try this Cork competitor to Dublin's Guinness.  Murphy's is marketed to be less bitter than Guinness, which I found to be true, but I also found it to be slightly more dry than a Guinney.  I did enjoy Murphy's, but I prefer the maltier (with more hop bitterness) Guinness to the dryer, less bitter Murphy's.

The pub scene was really hopping, with more and more holidaymakers pouring in from the wet, dark street.  We watched the bartenders struggling to keep up with orders of two hot drinks we hadn't seen before.  The drinks were served in tall glasses with handles with a slice of lemon, cloves, and a spoon.  Orders were coming in so quickly for them, one bartender was devoted to just cutting up lemons and sticking whole cloves into the rind of each slice.  After watching this ritual with our first drinks, Sara wanted to try one of "whatever they are all having."  I strolled up to the bar and asked, like the tourist I was, about these mystery hot drinks.  "Hot Port and Hot Whiskey."  Was the answer.  He described each one, but the ingredients were pretty simple.  Port or whiskey, hot water, lemon slice with cloves, and sweetener if requested.  Sara adventurously ordered the hot port, with a little sugar.  I ordered another local Cork stout- Beamish.

Beamish Stout and Hot Port

Both drinks were (of course) delicious.  I enjoyed my Beamish (a bit maltier and sweet than Murphy's, still not as malty as the auld Guinness) but the Hot Port was a beautiful warming elixir for the cold evening.  We made some back-of-mind plans to include Hot Port on the menu of our New Year's Eve celebration.

After our second round, we decided to call it an evening.  It wasn't very late, but we had had a long day.  We had arrived at Dublin's bus station at 7:30 that morning, spent four hours on a bus, and were on our feet for the better part of six hours.  It was time to walk back to the B&B and relax with some (only some!) of our English Market snacks and get ready for Christmas morning.

Christmas in Cork: English Market

Shortly after our arrival in Cork on Christmas Eve, we dropped off our bags and saw the city in our favorite way: pounding the pavement.  The main center of Cork is compact and was decorated beautifully for the holiday.  The streets and shops were busy with last-minute shoppers, carolers, and early Christmas Eve revelers.

We were out on a mission to pick up some food and drink supplies for Christmas Day at the B&B, because we (correctly) assumed that very little would be open on the holiday.  Our first intention was to explore the city first, then visit a grocery store for our supplies on the way back to the room.  That was our intention, until we saw the Cork English Market.

Cork English Market Entrance

The English Market is a huge indoor food/craft market/mall thingy in the center of the big shopping district (The Island) of Cork.  The market fills most of a city block, with entrances on four sides, forming a cross-shaped food bonanza inside.

Christmas Light Fountain

Food Bonanza

Inside, quality artisanal vendors of all kinds sold food and goods to the packed halls.  Each stall gave off a powerful and intriguing smell.  Craft butchers sold (and sold out!) cured spiced beef- a traditional Christmas dish here.  Artisan bakers sold (and sold out!) varieties of breads, fishmongers sold fresh and smoked fish, produce stands were piled high with holiday specials, and mysterious briny aromas drifted from the olive and pickle vendors at one busy corner.

Before we bought any food, we spied a yarn shop down one of the arms of the cross.  Of course we had to visit and pick out some special yarn for Sara to whip into a memento of our trip.  A bit of a Christmas gift for both of us, if you will (and I think you will.)

Cork Wools

Going by a fish shop, I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the smoked fish on offer.  We had to resist getting anything that would be messy or require preparation, but we sorely lamented our kitchen-less situation when surrounded with all the wonderful and local foods on offer here at the English Market.

Our biggest score came from a meat/cheese/bread stall called Off the Pig's Back.  This large (and very busy) stall had a display case crammed with a variety of cheeses on one side and stacks of exotic cured meats on the other.  Eureka!  We always used to have summer sausage, cheese, and crackers on Christmas Eve in the afternoon before dinner (homemade Nachos Navidad with red and green tortilla chips, taco meat, guacamole, and salsa- difficult to come by here) and we were just thinking how nice it would be to duplicate that snack on Christmas as an easy, tasty, and prep-free meal.  We split up, Sara took the cheese counter and I jumped to the meat line.

All of the cured meats were in their whole state.  That is, big tubes completely covered with the special white mold that is vital to the process of producing real pepperoni, salami, and other cured sausages.  After being aggressive and getting to the counter, I asked for 200 grams (about 1/2 pound) of a Rosetta De Lyon sausage from France.  The attendant took the big (moldy, remember!) hunk of meat to the slicer and cut me thin slices of pink marbled goodness.  Sara had a bigger and pushier line at the cheese counter, but she made it through after looking at all the varieties of cheese and got a hunk of gouda to go with our fresh sausage.

Meat and cheese in hand, we still hit the supermarket for a few supplemental goods.  Our plan was to buy some cheaper salami or pepperoni at the market along with some extra cheese, bread or crackers, wine, and mustard for our meal.  We were picking out our extras in the aisles when we saw (to our utter horror) that the sliced packaged salami was more expensive (by weight) than the high quality meat we got from the English Market!  After some indecision, we decided to go back and get more great meats from the market if we needed more.  Serves us right for choosing the big chain supermarket.

On return to the English Market and Off the Pig's Back, we purchased 100 grams each of Salami Piccante of Italy and Spanish Chorizo.  All told, between the English Market and our supplemental supermarket trip, we had a prep-free feast on our hands as we finished our exploration and made our way back to the B&B for our quiet Christmas Eve.

Gouda, Cheddar, Wensleydale cheese with Rosetta De Lyon, Salami Piccante,
Spanish Chorizo, bread, wine, mustard, mince pies, potato chips, orzo, and couscous

Christmas in Cork: Arrival on the Island

We hadn't been out of Dublin for a while as the Christmas holiday approached.  Our Northern Ireland trip had been in October and we were ready for a holiday adventure.  Our first plan had been to visit a hostel or a cheap B&B in a small town with a fireplace.  We had hoped to arrive on Christmas Eve and spend a relaxing holiday with some fresh scenery (and a more comfortable bed and chairs...)

We quickly found out, without great surprise, that many of these small family-run hostels and B&Bs are closed over the Christmas holiday.  Further complicating the matter was the reduced services of public transport on and around the holiday, making travel to the smaller towns a bit more tricky.

Plan B, then.  What about a hotel?  Plenty of hotels open for Christmas, but they were mostly the nicer (more expensive) properties and bookings for the holiday usually came with a special package with meals, parties, and spa days.  Would have been nice to be pampered for the holiday, but those kinds of trips aren't in our usual plan or usual budget.

So, small town is out, hotels are hard to find.  What about a fewer-frills B&B in a larger town with more bus service and a higher probability of anything being open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  After some searching, we found just what we needed- a B&B in Cork near-enough to the bus station and City Centre.  To Cork we go!

Cork is in the South-West (kinda South-Central) of the island of Ireland.  The main buzzing commercial and tourist center of the city is on what they call "The Island."  The River Lee flows from the nearby mountains to the sea through the city.  A small offshoot comes off the river Southward and rejoins it about a mile later, creating an island-like chunk of real estate.

What we love most about our method of travel is the adventure.  Especially after we've had the adventure and are safely home.  The main Cork bus station is on the Northeast corner of the island.  Our B&B was on the Southwest end, more than a mile away.  We could have copped out and caught a taxi from the taxi line right outside the bus station but we took a different, more adventurous approach.  

The sun had just come out after a rainy and windy bus ride across the country (it never gets old to say that) and we took off through the main street, wheelie suitcase in tow.  We have learned since moving to this country that turn by turn directions with street names are utterly and embarrassingly useless because accurate street signs are hard to come by.  Lack of smartphones forced us (in a good way) to print off a more general map with the route highlighted along the streets we needed.  The map was a bit too zoomed-out to follow the exact street-to-street route, but we could get the general idea of compass directions and large streets.

We walked (unknowingly at the time) through the main shopping and tourist district of town, Patrick Street on our way to the B&B.  Our first mission was to get to our lodging to drop off our backpack and wheelie suitcase, so we walked determinedly past the beautifully decorated streets, interesting shops, Christmas festivals, and holiday performers making only small mental notes for our return sans bagages.

Once past the hustle and bustle of the high street (English/European term for main shopping/tourist street) Cork quieted down into neighborhoods, homes, and lodgings.  After only having to stop once to ask for directions, we arrived at our B&B, Garnish House.

Does that say "Welcoming Afternoon Tea..."

Waitaminnit, does that say, "Welcoming Afternoon Tea?"  Did we mention it was getting close to lunchtime when we finally walked up?  We would not be disappointed when we stumbled in- cold and tired from dragging baggage more than a mile through busy streets.

Coffee, tea, and cakes

Whew!  Hot coffee, tea, and a variety of cakes was exactly what we needed.  We had never done a B&B before, so we weren't sure what to expect, but we were impressed as soon as we were ushered to our table for a welcome rest.  After tea, we dropped our bags in the room and got ready for a more leisurely exploration of the city.

See what I mean about loving the adventure especially after the adventure?  It is exhilarating to feel a bit unsure (but not afraid or unsafe) and it feels good afterward to know one took a (very small) risk and did something not every modern middle-class traveler would do.

...And saved a few bucks on taxi fare.