For our second day trip in Ireland, Jake and I visited the
port town of Kinsale. Again, we were
quite impressed by the ease of Irish public transportation. Kinsale was only about a thirty minute bus
ride from the Cork city center. As we
arrived in Kinsale, we were greeted by a brisk ocean wind. We spent a few minutes walking around the
harbor, taking in the boats and the town.
Being a windy afternoon, we were lucky enough to see a flock of dinghies
cruising around the harbor. One of the
main attractions in Kinsale that we wanted to see was Charles Fort, a
stronghold built in the 1600s used to protect the entrance to the harbor. On the way over to the fort, instead of
walking directly along the harbor, Jake and I decided to take ‘the high road’;
a shorter but much steeper path. Taking the
high road paid off because it offered a gorgeous view overlooking the
harbor. Due to the lighting, my pictures
do not convey just how beautiful this view was.
Upon reaching the fort, Jake and I visited the welcome center where we
learned about the history of the stronghold.
We then spent the next few hours walking around the remnants of the
mighty fort. It was pretty awesome being
that close to history. You could picture
the soldiers running to their stations when an intruding ship was spotted. Getting cold we decided to head back to the
center of town for dinner. After
consulting with my Ireland for Dummies book (thank you Kaitlin!), we found a
restaurant called Jim Edwards. It was
here that we were introduced to the wonders of brown Irish soda bread. While it cannot be compared to mom’s Irish
soda bread (because mom’s is the best!), this bread is also quite delicious. I have since bought multiple loaves of brown
soda bread from the English Market and found a mix to bake it fresh in my
apartment. Having a great meal with good
bread and a pint of Murphy’s was the perfect way to end the day.
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| Dixie's cousin in Ireland |
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| The high road |
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| Traditional "selfy pic" from underground |
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| Touching the Atlantic from Ireland |
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| close enough |
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| Murphy's > Guinness |
