‘’Goodbye
Slovenia,’’ I thought to myself as I felt the plane take off, the houses and
trees getting smaller and smaller through the window. The connected flight to
Frankfurt wasn’t very long, mind you. Only two turbulences later, and I was
already at the Frankfurt Airport, waiting for the next plane to Dublin, which
proved to be easier said than done as a plane in front of our plane had broken
down and could not be removed from the landing strip, so all the passengers and
the crew had to patiently wait in the plane headed to Dublin for an hour. If
this had gone on for another half an hour, we would have been stranded in
Frankfurt as the airport closes down at 11 pm.
Luckily,
the guys at the Frankfurt airport managed to remove the broken down plane from
the landing strip, so we were free to fly off to Dublin. Two hours later, I was
roaming like a lost little lamb around the Dublin airport, looking for a
shuttle to Cork. Turns out that due to the plane delay, I had missed it and had
to wait until 12.30 am for the very last shuttle to Cork, which was one more
hour of waiting. It felt more like five! I just collapsed into the nearest
chair and waited patiently, caught somewhere between sleep and awake.
And one
hour later, I was in the bus to Cork, sound asleep. Three more hours later, I
was in the middle of Cork which at 4 am, was completely abandoned. I guess all
those rumors about the Irish being party animals weren’t so true after all. I
was half expecting the streets to be swarmed with drunk university students, or
people undertaking the walk of shame or… something.
Instead,
the streets were eerily quiet and so was the hostel I was staying at. I basically
just collapsed into my new bed and got high quality sleep for good four hours.
After that,
I couldn’t sleep anymore, as the hostel guests had slammed the doors of their
rooms so many times it would take a miracle to fall asleep again.
Oh well, I
was ready for Cork, anyway, but first – I had to find some grub. Luckily, right
next to my hostel, there was a really cute café called the Buttercup, so I
ordered a huuuuge sandwich and a huuuuge cup of Americano and I was good to go.
With no particular plan in my mind, just sheer curiosity, my first stop was the
Cork Opera, just for the fun of it. Turns out, there was an opening night that
very evening for the Hairspray Musical, so the tickets were cheaper. Did I get
them? You bet!
After that,
I was roaming the streets of Cork, just like that, stopping at whatever I found
interesting, and that’s how I came across the Kilkenny Shop, which held the
latest collection of Orla Kiely bags. If you’re ever in Ireland, make sure you
treat yourself to an Orla Kiely bag, they are a bit pricy, but well worth the
purchase as they are very high quality. I purchased an Orla Kiely backpack
mostly due to the practicality factor: I realized that the backpack I had
brought with me was way too big and clunky to take on sightseeing. And I
really, really liked the new backpack! J Besides, most of the women in
Ireland have at least one Orla Kiely bag, so you know… when in Rome… J
The streets
of Cork were lively with people, the weather was sunny (!) which was kind of
amazing, considering the fact that it’s Ireland! I fell in love with the cute
Irish houses, the old streets with pubs, and the relaxed city atmosphere and
after a while, I felt right at home in Cork. Just one of the locals.
The River Lee
An Old Sweet Shoppe:)
A Detail on My Way to the Black Rock Castle
The Wall with the Famous Irishmen Graffiti
Then, I had
to sit down again, as I had slept for only four hours that night and I needed a
new dose of coffee. And that’s how I discovered the Butler Café. They seriously
have the best coffee there and the best bit is that is comes with a
complementary chocolate! I chose the caramel and salt one, which was a total
win! However, the coffee in Ireland in much, much more expensive than in
Slovenia. In Ljubljana, which is the capital, a cup of cappuccino costs around 1.50,
in Ireland it cost 3.00, so circa 50% more. But on the other hand, everything
in Ireland is more expensive than in Slovenia. The food, the drinks, the
hostels, you name it.
In the
evening, I went to the Hairspray opening night, which was amazing. Mind you, I
was a bit worried about the dress code, as in Slovenia and Austria, where I had
also lived, there is a strict dress code in the Opera, which means no jeans, no
open toe sandals, everybody is really dressed up and then we watch the show in
reverend silence, occasionally clapping, even if the show happens to suck. So,
I got dressed in the only nice dress I had brought with me, just in case I went
somewhere fancy. Turns out, I really needn’t have bothered.
Boy, was I
in for a surprise when I got to the Cork Opera. Not only did everybody wear
jeans, the Opera was providing snacks, SNACKS, such as ice-cream and popcorn,
and other junk food that the Corkonians were happily munching down in large
quantities during the performance, as if being in the cinema.
All of this
was taking place in the Opera.
In the
friggin’ Opera!
This would
never happen in Slovenia; the Opera is practically sacred here! The same goes
for theater. Can you imagine an actor in the middle of the ‘’to be or not to be’’
monologue and there’s crunching and munching coming from the third row? My
point, exactly!
It was an
amazing performance though, and I had such a ball!
I feel
asleep with ‘’Good morning, Baltimore’’ stuck in my ear.
Hope you enjoyed this post,
Love,
Teja xoxo
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