On Saturday we ventured out to Cork. My favorite part about the train ride there was the girl next to us getting ready. She went from "just rolled out of bed" to "ready for a night out" in 2 hours on the train. She covered every detail. Not only did she remove her nail polish on the train (seriously?) but she also applied a new coat. Then she proceeded to put on every possible make-up item. I didn't even know what some of them were or what they were supposed to do. I can't imagine what she could have achieved had she gone the whole way to Cork and had another hour to primp.
Once we arrived it of course was raining, but we successfully found our way to the city center with no map. Aside from the occasional rain, it was the best day ever. We walked through fun shops and lots of bookstores and found not only The Wholly Grain but also the best chocolate store ever. The chocolate shop had a cafe where they made hot chocolate, one of which also had a shot of espresso. So naturally we had to get one. Oh. My. Lord. Best drink I have ever had!! It had to have been a melted chocolate bar with a shot of espresso (which of course just brings out the chocolaty goodness even more). It took us an hour to get through them though. After each sip you needed to recover from the sugar rush and chocolate overload. Best chocolate I've had in a long time (and this includes Belgium and France!)
We also stumbled upon a craft fair in an old rec center. There wasn't much inside, but we both had luck with this great hippie girl and her hand made items. I got a super cute polka dot apron and Bridget got a gorgeous table runner. I love being able to talk to the person who made an item. It always make it so much more interesting and overall better. She was a hoot.
On Sunday we had an "as close as we could stand to get to an" Irish breakfast and also discovered the best cup of coffee in town. After this great discovery we went to the Guinness Brewhouse so we could use the tickets I bought a year ago. We went on the absolute perfect day. At the end of the tour you get a free pint of Guinness and you can drink it in the Gravity Bar in the very top of the building. Luckily on Sunday there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We could see everything, including out to the channel. Totally worth it. Then we attempted to go see the Book of Kells but we just missed the last tour group. Instead we just had dinner at this great vegetarian restaurant. Another fabulous day.
During the rest of the week we had more amazing dinners and hit up some nice pubs. Although it has come to my attention that Dublin pubs are more bar like than pubs in the smaller cities. Either way you meet fun people, hear good music, and have nice conversation. Oh, it just won't be as much without Bridget here. I should have tried harder to make her miss her flight . . .
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