Getting lost, roommates, and pubs

On Friday morning I was keen to do some exploring. My first intention, however, was to find the tourist shop and buy a map since the little printed-out one given to me by ISU just wasn't cutting it. So I looked at my crappy map, made a plan of how to get to the tourist shop, and headed off. About 1 hour later, I hadn't a clue where I was, but I definitely was not at the tourist shop. I ended up somehow completely leaving the shopping area/business district and was wandering around random neighborhoods. I resisted pulling out my map, remembering that it's not exactly a good idea to draw attention to yourself as a tourist in an area you don't know. Not that it would have helped much anyway, seeing as names of streets aren't exactly conspiculously posted around here, (if at all...). I finally ran into a sign that pointed to the city centre and headed that way. At that point, I was just wanting to find my way back to my flat, completely not caring anymore if I ever found the tourist shop. But as chance would have it, about 1 1/2 hours after I had initially set out, I ran right into that darn shop. And the kicker was, it was a street I had been on before and I just hadn't known it! I'd like to say I know the city of Cork better now after that episode, but I don't think that's true at all. I really doubt I could get lost the same way twice...

After leaving the tourist office (and buying the map I was now more convinced than ever that I needed), I walked down the street to the Englisht Market. The English Market is this great indoor area where there are tons of different booths set up. They have everything from fruits and vegetables, to breads, to meats and fishes, to chocelates and pastries. It's a little overwhelming when you actually want to buy something though, as the area is very crowded and most people are moving rather quickly. However, I did manage to buy some chicken and finally headed home to rest after a rather exhausting morning.

That afternoon I decided to explore the campus a bit. As I was hoping, the UCC campus is only about a 10 minute walk from my flat. It's a really gorgeous campus from what I saw. A great mix of the old stone buildings with ivy covering them that you would expect with a smattering of more modern buildings. Really pretty.

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at my flat. Made myself some dinner, then decided to see a movie at the theatre that is just a block away (I was dying to see a movie at a cinema after having been in Montana). I saw a really cute coming-of-age Irish film called "32A." I was a little annoyed with myself upon coming home when I realized I hadn't locked the door, even though I was certain I had. Upon further inspection, I noticed there were people in my flat and that one of my roommates had indeed arrived. This roommate is named Erin, and is an American like myself (she's from New Jersey). Her parents flew over with her about a week previously, and they had been doing some traveling around the southern part of Ireland before moving her in. Her parents were really nice and asked me along to dinner with them. I told them I had already eaten, but accepted their offer of at least tagging along for a drink. We ended up at a restaraunt/bar called "Scott's," which was a very busy place indeed on a Friday night. I got a cup of seafood chowder (which was amazing!) and had some nice wine from the bottle Erin's parents had purchased to wash it down.

So, all in all, Friday was a very productive day indeed I though. Saturday was a little less busy, but just as nice. Erin and I did some shopping in the morning (we went back to the same grocery store several times because we kept thinking of things we had forgotten). We came back in the early afternoon to discover that our other roommate, Cleo had arrived. Cleo is a music student from France and was accompanied by four of her friends who had came along to make sure Cleo got situated, as well as to do some traveling. All very nice people, and all but one of her friends spoke English fairly well. Erin and I left to let Cleo get situated, and we headed to see if we could get our ID cards from the university. It didn't appear that the office was open on Saturdays, so we continued our journey and headed to the gym several blocks away that we'll have free use of as students this semester. It's a very nice gym, very modern with great facilities. It was really nice to get a workout in.

We ended Saturday by making some dinner and heading to the Fransican Well Brewery and Pub that is directly across the street from us (Erin, Cleo, Cleo's friends and I). Got to try one of their own beers ("Rebel Red"!) and we had a nice time. We packed it in pretty early, since we were all dragging a bit.

So, I think that was a rather detailed (probably excrutiatingly detailed for many of you) entry that brings everyone up the present. I'm sure my blogs will get less mundane in the future. I just happen to have a bit more time on my hands presently. Erin and I are thinking of doing some traveling in the area for a few days though, so I may have some more exciting updates later in the week.

Until then....

Hannah