How To: Entertain in your Adopted City

I've been in Cork for a month this Wednesday. I only started classes last Monday. My room is still in shambles, and I don't know yet where we keep the colander in the house. My Irish life is still developing, and I am still lucky enough to have already had visitors! (Eeeek!)

 Little K and Tall K flew from Edinburgh to Dublin and hitched a bus from Dublin to Cork (the bus was a journey much longer than the plane ride) to visit their old and my current stomping ground, the beautiful Cork City. 

What do you with guests when you've only been in your house for a month? Luckily, my friends know their way around, too. Otherwise, who knew what would've happened this weekend!

Just off the bus, they thought they looked bad. I wasn't much better....

I picked them up from town, and the first stop was for some lovely sausage rolls from the infamous English Market. I didn't get one, and I didn't take any pictures, but they've inspired me. I'm going back soon.

Then we caught the bus back to the house to relax and cook some food. We bought cans and cooked with the awesome sounds of 2010 playing in the background. We spent a few hours working on a playlist entitled Irish Reunion, which included such popular 2010 hits as "Only Girl in the World", "Dynamite", "Empire State of Mind", and "Teenage Dream". Little K, Tall K, and I all studied abroad together at University College Cork here in Cork City three years ago, and we were having a great time reliving the awesome and terrible moments had on those nights out. 

My friend S made the incredible trek on the bus all the way out to the house, and we all had a blast. We headed into town for a reminiscent pub crawl. First stops were the Franciscan Well and An Spailpín Fánach. Fran Well was a favorite of the Ks back in the day because of their infamous beer coupons. The place brews all of its own beer, and it used to be the only craft brewery in Cork City. It's been a bit upstaged recently, but its beer garden will never come in second. The Spailpín has always been one of my favorites because it's cozy, filled with nooks and crannies, and because it hosts dozens of Irish music sessions.

Picture struggle bus

The Thirsty Scholars playing for the incredibly large amount of tourists. It's true though, no one else would go to the Spailpín on a Saturday night!

Some incredibly Irish bevies: Guinness, Bulmers, Smithwicks, and a hot whiskey (clockwise from back left)

"Murphy's: The official pint of us" (Cork City)

Our next stops were where our night went from chill and "European" to club crazy. Two more favorites are The Washington Inn and Rearden's. Now if you know anything at all about Cork City, you're probably rolling your eyes and laughing with that sort of pained, I've-been-there groan. For those of you who've never been to Cork, allow me to explain. 

The Wash is one of my favorites because, on the regular, it's small, sort of rough, and you can always find someone to make friends with, even if it's the bartender. But at night (every night, really, but especially at the weekends), it turns into the party-goer's heaven. Relatively inexpensive pints, a live DJ (even if it is tiny in there, no one seems to mind!), well-dressed drunks. It's a pretty good spot. The number of stag and hen parties I've run into there is incredible. But I will admit: it's kind of a mess. Go with a grain of salt and a little stubborn integrity and you might make it out in one piece.

Irish reunion buddies (and a photobomb)

All four of us! (is that the same photobomber, do we think?)

 After the Wash, we headed across the street to the incredible Rearden's, which is a place that's not everyone's cup of tea. But at the weekends, it's one of my utter favorites. They play good music, but it's still a crowded (if incredibly large) bar. The crowd tends to be younger, and incredibly sloppy. But as long as you've got some good girlfriends who love to dance, you're solid. 

I didn't even whip out the camera at Rearden's because who knows who would've spilled what on it. But the four of us danced tons, got incredibly sweaty and gross, and caught a cab back to the house. Not before we had some spectacularly delicious chips from the new chipper on Washington Street (I've been there a few times already; I think I'm inadvertently making friends with the people behind the counter there).

 

 The next morning, we managed to drag ourselves out of bed at an unreasonable hour to hike to the city for the most important part of an Irish weekend: breakfast. The Flying Enterprise does one of the best restaurant Full-Irish breakfasts I've ever come across (the first prize would actually go to a great B&B I stayed at once).

We walked around the city a little to try to work off all that food and cholesterol, and after not long enough, we went for Butler's hot chocolate. Definitely worth the pain of the itis for that one. Dark hot chocolate is one of Ireland's greatest charms!

New addition to Wash Street. Um... what?!

Little K was stuck in gum...

We were all obviously exhausted by Monday morning. Actually we were exhausted by Sunday morning, which was easily proved by the number of spill-like accidents poor Little K had. But it was a great trip. It was awesome seeing these lovely ladies; it was the first time I saw both of them together since we were all here in 2010! And it was a great experience having visitors in my new city! It's good to finally know how many guests the house can hold, too. ;)

Special thanks to Tall K for some of the pictures!!