After leaving Wexford, we were able to get drives all over the rest of Ireland (the south anyway). Thanks to Lisa’s cousin Paul, we were driven from Wexford, along the scenic route to Cork. We drove through Waterford, which I am told is famous for its crystal. As you can all tell, I am a big crystal fan, and just about lost control.
We spent a few days in Cork, staying with Paul and his brother Ian. Here, we really did a whole lot of nothing. We slept late every morning, went to an Internet Café, went back to sleep, got a tour around the Cork Area thanks to Paul again, went to wait in Line at the tax office (no trip to Cork is thorough without a trip to the local tax collector), and then decided to go back to bed.
Cork was actually pretty uneventful, but it was great to spend some time with Lisa’s cousins.
When we were done relaxing in Cork, we got another ride (thanks Paul….again) all the way up to Dublin, to stay with Lisa’s other cousin Bairbre. When we got there, her Italian roommate was there with her parents who were in from Bologna. Some fantastic cooking was on the order for the evening.
The next day, we went to the Guinness storehouse/museum/brewery where I had originally planned on having my first pint of the stuff…but we all know how that plan ended. Of course we did the tour, all the way up to the top where the gravity bar is where we get our “complimentary” pint of Guinness.
Aside: I suppose they could call it complimentary, but when they charge you 13 Euros to get in to the friggin place, and there is no tour guide, no audio guide, just a cheap piece of paper telling you how to get to the toilets and elevators, they should really be calling it “the most expensive pint of Guinness you’ve ever bought”…
Finally in Dublin, we got to a place that was recommended by Lisa’s favourite professor (Bob). Mulligans was a typical old man bar, full of drunken men who made George Burns look like an infant. Our first encounter of the evening was when we were trying to find this place, and a man approached us to try to help us find our direction. Although I am sure he meant well, his odour really made us wish that he would have kept his distance. Neither of us was really paying attention to anything that he was saying, as we were both very much preoccupied with his odour, as well as the very large and rather offsetting growth that he had coming off of his nose. Lisa thought it was another nose. I however, for once, had nothing to say about it…It may very well have been another nose. When he finally left, we looked after him, and it was only then that we realised that this 65 year old man was wearing a Wu Tang jacket. I know that the two of us found some good humour in this. Laugh if you would like…
So we finally got to Mulligans, and looked at the wall where we could see a sign listing the drinks and the prices of the establishment. Under the Heading of USA Whiskeys, the first drink was Canadian Club. Finding a slight problem with the categories here, Lisa called the barman over to let him know of the mistake. She says to him, that CC is a Canadian distilled whiskey, not a US distilled Whiskey as they had advertised. Not believing us, the barman went to grab a bottle of CC to prove us wrong. When he came back, we showed him that it was in fact distilled in good old Ontario, to which this friendly Irishman “Oh geez, it’s really all the same anyway”. Now I don’t know of any of you guys back home, but Lisa and I are proud of a good Canadian drink rich with Heritage and we don’t want credit going were it is not due. I am sure that the US makes some very nice Whiskeys, but CC is not one of them. In response to the barman’s reaction, I soberly piped up from the quietness that I am sure you are all used to with me, that calling CC a US Whiskey, would be like saying that Guinness is brewed in London.
Much to my surprise, the Irish really don’t like the English, and I am sure if the barman wasn’t in his late 60’s, he would have pummelled me something crazy. The fire in his eyes was quite evident. Thank God it was late in the evening, and we only had to conduct business with him a few more times.
That’s pretty much it for the south of Ireland…off to the north!!
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