Ireland Day 4

Ginger count for the day: 2 super gingers and three regular gingers

Agenda for the day: Rock of Cashel, Cork

So Dani and I drug ourselves out of bed at 11:00 or so, effectively missing our breakfast and confusing our (maybe just my) circadian rhythm for the day. We got a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car because travel by bus seemed too confusing in our befuddled state.

Once we got our car, (his name is Seamus O’Toole), it was off to the Rock of Cashel! Through our road trip, we discovered that a) Dani is a terrible navigator, b) my road rage still exists even when I am driving on the opposite side of the road, and c) VW Golfs are fun cars. We (somehow) made it without me paving a pathway of destruction and terror through the Irish countryside.

Anywho, we made it to the Rock without too many mishaps! One of the many Cormacs who were Munster Kings decided to donate his fortress to be converted into a chapel in the 12th century so it wouldn’t get taken over. It was used throughout the next few centuries, only to be abandoned in the 18th century. Probably because it was located on the highest ground around and the weather went crazy for about 15 minutes while we were up there. There was hail, wind, and it got frigid for a bit. Imagine that occurring every day. Of every year. For years and years and years. After a while, I’m sure even Nan’s wool socks won’t keep your poor feet warm.

They were doing some restoration work on one of the chapels. It was constructed of sandstone, which happens to absorb water like a sponge. I don’t know what drunk person decided that creating a building from sandstone was a good idea in Ireland, but the chapel has a serious danky drippy wet problem. The restoration involved removing every single stone from the roof one by one, labeling them, so they knew which rock went where, and then putting up a new waterproof roof undercoating. The new undercoating is supposed to help stop the water problem.

After the Rock, we were on our way to Cork for the night. Dani and I had a lot of fun stopping at the toll booths and throwing Euros at the machines and hoping we made the correct toll amount. The devices even talk to you in an Irish accent! They sounded Dubliner though…

We got to Cork around 19:00, drove around confused at the one-way roads and alleys, and then I rage quit and parked in a random parking garage and hoped it was near the hotel. We got lucky and only had a 5-minute walk. After we checked into the Imperial Hotel in the Cork City Centre, we went to an Italian restaurant and had delicious Italian food. After that we went to bed, deciding to explore the city the next day. We may be a pair of little old ladies.

I’ll talk to you again later; I have a onesie for my cat to finish knitting…