some short stories...

This past weekend I was in a small fishing town called Dunmore East. Now I haven't been to mass since I've been over here because of touring or traveling but this Sunday was going to be different. Saturday night I asked a hotel worker where the nearest Catholic church was and he said it was about a fifteen minute walk and told me how to get there and said that mass was at half ten (10:30, thats what they say over here). So I set my alarm and allowed some extra time in case I got lost or wanted to take pictures. I woke up and ate the full Irish breakfast at the hotel and then set out. I walked for about ten minutes and then stopped to ask someone to make sure I was going in the right direction. She told me I was and that it was about a fifteen minute walk to the top of the hill where the church was located so I was glad I added in extra time. I hiked up the hill and got to the church and walked around the fence to the entrance and as I walked up I heard singing and though "Oh I'm just in time" only mass was letting out and people started coming out of the doors. I was handed a palm cross and then I looked around to see if there were anymore services that day but I couldn't find anything. Determined to make my hike worth something, I stayed up on the hill for a while and took some pictures before heading back. I took my time on my way back, stopping at the beach and getting a panoramic shot and then went back to the hotel. There was an Anglican church on the way back and just as I was walking by it the bells started ringing and I notices that the gates were open (they had not been earlier) so I started walking up and saw people going in and decided to go in. Now, I think I have maybe been to 3 different types of churches in my whole life and never an Anglican so it was a new experience for me. One of the things that I like about the Catholic church is that mass is always the same everywhere you go so I was a little nervous going in, not know what to expect. One thing that jumped out right away as different was that a woman was doing the service, something I never have experienced! But it was nice, I got to go to church and learn some new things.

Yesterday (Wednesday) the group went to Blarney Castle and I think we experienced all four seasons in that one day. When we first got there it was beautiful weather and we walked around the castle and then up to the top where I kissed the Blarney Stone. Side note: I read today that kissing the Blarney Stone is rated as one of the most unhygienic tourist attractions. After that I walked back down and then around the castle grounds. There is a really cool place called the Rock Close outside the castle where a witch used to live and many of the things around were based on things to keep the with happy. There was a staircase next to a waterfall called the wishing steps and if you walk up and down with your eyes closed and concentrate on a wish then the with will grant it within a year. She had to grant these wishes because she took firewood from the Blarney Castle. There was also a rock that is shaped like the witch's profile and her kitchen with fireplace was also nearby. While we were in the Rock Close it rained, then sleeted, then snowed, and then got sunny and warm again, I guess thats Irish weather for you.

Today we went on a tour of Cobh which is the last place the Titanic picked up passengers before it set off into the ocean. At first I was not too thrilled about this tour that was "optional" because I felt I hadn't even gotten to know the city of Cork very well and wanted to do that on my last day, but I went anyways. It turned out to be a very interesting history lesson and I felt that I caught a lot. I saw the building where the last passengers were before being taken to the ship and I saw the harbor where the ship came in. Besides being a harbor, Cobh also has a magnificent cathedral on top of a hill. The Catholics had to abide by penal laws for so long that when the laws were lifted, the Catholics wanted to build a huge Cathedral that was very showy and they definitely succeeded here. This cathedral was massive and had so many statues all around it. We were also told that the leader of the project was a bit of a perfectionist and ordered that all statues be made to ground level of detail (meaning they all had to be perfect pretty much when usually the statues that were going up high were not kept to that level of detail). The inside contained beautiful walls, more carved statues, and stained glass. There is a rosette window that was compared to the one in Notre Dame, the one in Notre Dame is 18 inches bigger but the one in Cobh has more vibrant colors. It is crazy to think of all the work that went into this magnificent creation.