Exploring downtown Cork

Thursday, June 24, 2010
3:00 p.m.

After class this morning I went downtown for the second day in a row. While I didn't spend nearly as much time in the city as I did yesterday, the trip was much more successful. Three girls came along with me but since we are all starting to feel more comfortable wandering the streets on our own, we pretty much did our own thing. I had planned to make lunch back at the apartment to save money but since I decided last minute to go downtown, I ended up grabbing a bite at a small bagel shop called L.A. Bagels on Oliver Plunkett Street. I ordered a tuna salad sandwich on a sesame seed bagel and was very pleased with my order. I have been craving a bagel since I arrived here and finally got one! One thing different about the tuna salad in Ireland is that it always comes with corn mixed into it. Seems strange, but it is actually very tasty.

While walking downtown I was reminded of one thing a professor pointed out to us on our first day in Cork: the English Market. Yesterday I was so busy trying to find new, cute clothes – which after several hours I didn’t find one thing I liked – that I forgot about the market. The market, located between Grand Parade, Princes and St. Patrick's Street, is a huge, enclosed space that houses different stalls including poultry, seafood, pork, cheese, pasta, vegetables, coffee and pastry shops, chocolate shops, wine stores and more. It immediately reminded me of my mom and her love for farmer’s markets. (Multiply your basic farmer’s market at home times five and that’s what you would see here!) Some of the stalls were disturbing for me to even look at; butcher stations sold every part of the animal imaginable, including whole heads of the pig. Some of the exotic poultry stands sold crocodile steaks, kangaroo fillets and ostrich fillets. Although I was a little bothered by all the displays of raw meat, many of the stalls were much more pleasing to look at, overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables, large blocks of cheese, organic grains and salads, glistening pastries, and delicate chocolate truffles. The market was such a unique experience. I could’ve spent the entire day there.

After the market, I decided to browse a small gift shop after my eye was immediately drawn to a green and navy rugby polo in the front window of the store. Fortunately for me, the one I wanted fit and I ended up making my first purchase that didn’t involve food or drinks. Next to the gift shop was a small boutique that featured a bargain rack right when you walked in. I looked through the clothes quickly and a sequined tank top caught my eye again. It was only 10 euro’s so I couldn’t resist! I didn’t feel like shopping for much longer so I separated from the girls and caught a bus home. I’m becoming quite comfortable with the bus system here now so I had no problem waiting for it alone. Funny thing – while waiting for the bus to take me home from downtown, an Irish woman approached me and asked if the number 3 bus had come by yet. Surprisingly I knew the answer to her question and told her that she still had a few minutes to wait for it. “Great!” she said back to me. “I actually won’t be missing my bus today.” It was a strange thing being the one answering a local’s question as opposed to me asking them.