Put a Cork in It

This morning I decided to iron my pants.  Now, it is important to note that I NEVER iron anything.  So why I chose to do so today was a bit of a mystery.  None the less, I turned the iron on to high and set up the small, wall-mounted ironing board.  I had just finished the first leg and set the iron down to rotate the pants when the board gave way and collapsed, sending the iron to the ground in a crash.  I jumped out of the way and in the three seconds it took me to run back to pick up the iron it had burned a perfect, iron-shaped hole in the carpet.  Oh shit.

We went to get our host, Eileen, and explained what had happened. She said she would discuss it with her husband and then invited us up for our breakfast. I felt increasingly terrible each time she offered us more coffee, more toast, or another egg.  As we checked out she requested that we pay for half of the replacement cost.  We were expecting a $500 bill, so when she said 150 Euros I was more than happy to oblige.  We said goodbye, and apologized yet again before heading into the blustering hail storm that followed us all the way to the train station.

Lots of snow in the hills here in Ireland - but only hail down in town.

By 1:30 this afternoon we had arrived in Cork.  There was no real reason to come here other than to visit - and kiss - the blarney stone. We checked into another great little bed and breakfast and walked around the town, noticing just how shop-focused the downtown sector is.  It's blocks and blocks of clothing shops and shopping malls.  Fortunately, we also found a beautiful church with graves from the late 18th century.  Following that, we grabbed a pint of cider in a pub and walked home to rest our cold and weary bodies.

Cork.

The view from the back of the church.

From the front.

As awful as it is to say, this town is ugly.  I don't mean the buildings (although it is rather industrial and dirty), but rather the people.  I would honestly say that one out of every 25 people is somewhat attractive, but the majority are just homely.  It's a very strange phenomenon...and of course, that's just our opinion.  At least I finally feel like I fit in!