No kisses

I went on my first real train ride last Friday on my way to Cork. It was nice to get outside of Dublin even if just to go to another city. Cork is more laid back than Dublin and smaller. I honestly did not see a ton of the city, but it was a great opportunity to rest and relax. One of my new friends, Linn, works for a hotel for her internship so she got a night at a hotel in Cork for free. Linn goes to the same school as Connor, Dominique's roommate, so that's kind of how I've gotten to know her. Connor, Linn and I all went to Cork. We were all really happy to get to sleep on the big fluffy hotel beds and take advantage of the swimming pool. It's been weird not swimming in the summer, but it is also cold outside for summer. We slept a lot, watched tv, ate some food, and enjoyed our view of the city from our hotel window. I bought a little boy football jersey from a sports store--- I don't really know anything about the team, but I like the colors.

We woke up on Saturday to go to Blarney Castle. None of us ended up kissing the Blarney Stone because we didn't have that much time and the line was crazy long. Can't say that I'm that disappointed. You have to lie on your back and lean off of the edge while some man holds onto you so you don't fall off of the castle wall--- great, right? Yeah... It was a really nice day (not to mention the Fourth of July) and there are a lot of grounds to explore so we walked around a bit and enjoyed the trees. I climbed two trees-- one was very easy and just required a simple step up and the second required a little boost, but was definitely worth it once I was up there. We were kind of sad to get to spend so little time there--- it was really pretty AND they were having a barbecue for the 4th! The Irish don't all remember the 4th of July when it rolls around, but they're as eager to celebrate a defeat over the British as much as we are. As we were walking toward the exit past the 4th of July tent and baloons I recognized the music they were playing. At first I thought it was just some random country, but then I could tell it was old Dixie Chicks. The song playing was from the only CD of the Dixie Chicks that I still listen to: Little Ole Cowgirl. I thought it was really funny because they Dixie Chicks have kind of a celtic flair on that CD and one of the song starts "I wish I were in Dublin or some other sea port town..." and I played it for myself when I learned I would be going to Dublin this summer. After Blarney we had to catch our train back---

to be continued.