The drive to Kinsale lasted about 45 minutes and followed a road that meandered through the
country and woods. Even Greyhound buses are better in Ireland! We arrived at Kinsale around 2 and were starving for some fish'n'chips so we popped into the closest seafood restaurant where we randomly ran into some classmates. We all gorged ourselves on fish'n'chips (a little disappointing I have to say) but turned out to be an informative meal with them telling us all of the best things to do in the town. They suggested the castle and Charles Fort. We opted for the Fort because it was free and because they were doing reenactments of battles all day and you know how I love me some history!
Full of fried food we began the 45 minute trek to Charles Fort. From the path to Charles Fort you get all of the best views Kinsale has to offer (wow, I sound like a guidebook!). But seriously, wow! At the risk of sounding like a grandparent reminiscing, that walk actually was uphill both ways. It was well worth the sweat, though. We got there and enjoyed watching the awkward Roman soldiers tell us about their tunics and fake swords. One of them even had braces!
After getting our fill of the Romans we headed in to the actual Fort and explored the ruins as we fought hurricane strength winds to make our hair picture ready. It was a fight we were not prepared for. We wandered around taking pictures with soldiers and of the view while we waited for the reenactment to begin. In typical Irish fashion, when they say 15 minutes they really mean 45. As we toured the Fort we found it rather remarkable how little historical information there actually was there. Eventually the battle began and our two soldier friends we had met earlier, the ones who told us to cheer "America!" during the battle so they would know where we were, died violently.
Once the reenactment ended with the dramatic line, "And that's what happens when you don't follow the law," we headed out to watch the Romans and the Celts fight. It wasn't nearly as impressive as it sounds. Because the reenactment began a little behind we missed the last bus back into town and had to take the same route into town. Still beautiful, but less enjoyable after an afternoon of battles and wind. We recovered quickly over a cone of ice cream and by stalking a french family in the park. There is absolutely nothing cuter than little kids speaking french. Seriously. Eventually we caught the bus back to Cork only to wait 35 minutes for the city bus to take our tired feet home. Luckily we had a beautiful sunset to enjoy during the ride!
We dined and rally to go out for a Saturday night pub crawl. The roommates and some friends wandered for a little while, but eventually we settled into the Saturday night rhythm. At the first pub we went to a very drunk Irish 20-something told my roommate Annie and I (Cathy and Allie) that we were the prettiest sisters in all of County Cork! With our newly found confidence we ended up dancing the night away, stopping for kebabs on the walk home ready to fall into warm beds and sleep until noon.
Unfortunately that wasn't going to happen.
8:00 am rolled around with a bang. A group of tourists were staying in the building for the weekend and decided to set off the fire alarm via burnt bacon to give us all an 8 am wake-up call. I was not a happy camper. Luckily the fire brigade came with haste and I was back in bed before I could realize how cranky I was. The rest of the day was spent shopping, relaxing, and pretending like I was off to the gym in the immediate future.
Today came and went without much adventures. In class we discussed the Celts and how the archaeological evidence suggests that the Celts never really existed. To me, this is the most interesting thing that we have talked about so far in class because of all the implications "Celtic" culture has for modern day Ireland and Irish-Americans. Maybe I'll write about it for my paper! After class two of my roommates and I went downtown to fight with the phone people again, by some produce from the English Market, and look at a mural suggested in my guidebook. The English Market is really a neat experience and feels very uniquely Irish. It's a year-round farmers market where they sell everything from pig's feet to produce and spices and everything is fresh, fresh, fresh!
I'm just beginning to really settle into my routine, but have to admit that I still don't really believe that I'm here, living in Ireland, for the next 4 months. I've been enjoying myself too much and hope that once the real Irish students get here that it only gets better!
