Yesterday (Sunday) was a day to get from Limerick to Cork. We wanted to go to Cashel and to Cahir (pronounced "care") on the way and thought that the backroads would be a lovely way to do it. We didn't get too lost for too long, but one wrong highway could have been our last. GPS > atlas - or at least, I'm guessing that it would be. We are doin' navigation using 20th-century techniques.
Dan and Cody assured me that the scenery on the drive was lovely. All that I saw was the road, the lines that marked the very tiny lanes, and all of the things on the left that I was trying not to sideswipe. Cashel was very cool, and our guide had a lovely sense of humor. Dan will post more photos, but here is a shot of Cody imitating the sad face made by part of the remains:
After the tour of the Rock of Cashel, we hiked down to Hore Abbey, which, along with a billion other places, was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in the 1600s. The hike involved climbing stone walls and not stepping in cow patties. Again, Dan has photos to post. We climbed back UP that freaking rock and then into the village of Cashel, where we popped in for a quick lunch and a pint. It ended up taking about two hours and, due to a misunderstanding, being served two pints of cider each. We then decided to head to Cork via the M8. How hard could it be to find city centre from a major highway?
Hard. The answer is hard. We finally found the B&B, but were unable to find anyone to answer the door. Are you freaking kidding me? Dan and Cody went off to find a phone so that we could call to see if anyone was around to let us in. They were, and we dropped our bags and headed out to find dinner, which turned out to be more difficult because apparently Cork puts a cork in it on Sundays. Also, we couldn't attach to the wireless in the B&B, so Dan and I went night-night and Cody stayed up to conquer the internet router.
Monday (today) brought lots of sunshine and no driving for me. We hopped on and hopped off the Cork tours, visiting the Butter Museum; St. Anne's Shandon, where Dan and Cody climbed the stairs to the bell tower so that Cody could play "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head"; and Shandon Sweets, where a cute little man has made sweets for over 50 years. Here he is:
Dude handles 300-degree melted sugar with his bare hands, so while he might look kind, he is probably dangerous.
So we hopped back on the hop-on, hop-off to complete the tour, which went through streets that looked too narrow for a small car, much less a freaking bus. But those bus drivers somehow do it. It's amazing. We hopped off for lunch and then Dan and Cody went to Midleton for a tour and tasting at the Jameson's distillery. I hung out at the tourism office and chatted it up with Anthony, a lovely native Corkian (?) who told me that it would be very difficult to trace my O'Keefe ancestors without knowing which parish they came from or the name of the ship that they took when they emigrated to the U.S. So if anyone has that information about John and Ellen (Mahanney) O'Keefe, do let me know. Thanks.
Tomorrow, we are off to Blarney, Kinsale, Clonakilty (known for its black puddings - ick), Glandor, Ballydehob, and Mizen. We are staying in a B&B run by a woman called Cornelia O'Keefe. Maybe she knows about John and Ellen.
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