Last week whilst sitting in history class I decided that I was going to go away for the weekend. On Friday I went to two small towns north of Dublin. First I went to Malahide to see the Malahide Castle. Then I went to the small fishing town of Howth which I really enjoyed. It was nice to get to walk around and just relax. Then on Friday night I went out with my cousin’s Laura and Louise to a club for Louise’s 17th birthday. Even though I didn’t know Louise til that night and the only people I did know were Laura and Abu (Laura’s boyfriend), I had an absolutely amazing time. In the picture, it is Laura, Me and Louise.

So then I woke up early on Saturday morning to catch a very early train to Cork. I took a train directly from Dublin to Cork. One in Cork, I went to Bru Bar & Hostel to check in. It was a very nice and very clean hostel…it is rated top 10 hostels in the world. After checking in, I dropped off my bag and then walked back to the train station.

From Cork, I boarded another train and went to Great Island to the town of Cobh (pronounced Cove). Cobh used to be called Queenstown and you would probably know it as the last port that Titanic stopped aat before hitting the Atlantic. To the left is a picture of Anne Moore and her two little brothers. Anne was the first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island in New York. While in Cobh, I went the the Queenstown Story to learn about Irish immigrants to the US as that is the port where most left from, including my great-grandmother. I also went to the Cobh museum and St. Coleman’s Cathedral. After that I just walked around for a while and saw a bunch of monuments that are up in the town.

On Saturday evening, I was back in Cork. I went to my first mass in Ireland at St. Patrick’s in Cork City. Then after grabbing a sandwich for dinner, I headed back to the hostel and two of the girls in my room asked me if I would like to join them in going to the Cork Film Festival that night. I accepted the invitation and we went to see a movie called “The Namesake”. It was very good and I am glad I went as I enjoyed it but it is not a movie I probably would have dropped $10 on at home.

Sunday morning I also was up early as I wanted to catch the first bus to Blarney. I got to Blarney only a short while after the castle opened and it was a very overcast day which turned out to be perfect as there were not a lot of people there. I made my way to the top of the castle, and yes, I did kiss the Blarney Stone. After I kissed the stone, I walked around the grounds for a while and saw the rock close. I then went to the Blarney Wollen Mills for lunch and to look around the shop. I then went back to Cork where I walked around for a little and then came back to Dublin.

Tonight I have my first water polo trainning. Then tomorrow night we have an Irish House Party at a pub near the apartment and I am going to Naas again for the weekend to see Margaret and the boys.