Italia: Day Six

Since we stayed out so late, I decided not to get up and run in the morning, which may not have been the best choice, but I do need to try and sleep when I can. I got up at nine and packed my bag because today was our last day in Torino. The group met and walked to a local market together to look at their produce. After admiring the large amounts of fresh fruit, Pam, Chelsea, and I met up with Patti (Loredana’s Italian friend) and wandered around the clothing side of the market. I purchased a corset and tank top that were pretty cheap in price. I also found a bottle of white nail polish that I wanted to get because the color is in style. All of the people I interacted with in the market were very nice, although we were warned ahead of time to be wary of pickpockets. It was somewhat difficult to communicate that I wanted to try things on though.

We spent the rest of the day wandering in and out of stores on the Garibaldi strip, a large collection of fashion stores. Everything was pretty expensive though, so we just looked and tried things on. In a cheaper clothing store, we all tried on matching dresses in different colors and took some pictures. Then we went to an underwear store where we tried on fruit-decorated boxer briefs and took more pictures.

Trying on our fruity underwear

After buying postcards from a small, touristy shop, we sat down at a restaurant called Happy Days for lunch. We all got the pasta and it was amazing – possibly the best that I've had so far on this trip. It’s funny though because it was really just shelled noodles in a tomato sauce. The bread at the restaurant was really good too.

We met up with Becky and Loredana after lunch and stopped into a bar to get some drinks and sit on the patio. I got some weird strawberry and vodka concoction that was very strong and tolerable, but not my favorite. It was a little too fruity for me. Pam got a Amaretto and Coke that was really good though, so I vowed that I would try it at our next stop.

We kept walking toward the river and went back to the park in the center of the city that we keep visiting to rent a four-person bike/car (I don’t know what the technical name for them is but they're covered vehicles powered with your legs, like a bicycle, but that look like an old-fashioned car). We had trouble on some of the hills, but we managed by putting our brute strength into it. It helped that four of us were peddling. At one point, we picked up some random guy who spoke very little English and dropped him off at his bus stop like we were a taxi service. We also steered down this massive hill though and spent the whole way down screaming and having the Italians stare at us. At the bottom of the hill there was even an amusement park-style bump that Becky lost her bag on.

Our rental bike/car

 We wanted to go ziplining after we returned the bike, but the stand by the river was closed so we didn’t end up getting the chance. It’s a shame though because the experience would have only been seven euros.

On our way back to meet the group, we stopped for another drink at a different bar. This time I got the Amaretto and coke. I decided I didn’t like it very much toward the end of the drink because the Amaretto is really sweet tasting and not my style at all. I sucked it down though and proceeded to feel a little bit tipsy for the rest of the afternoon. I’m just glad the glasses we got at the second bar were two euros cheaper and double the size of the first.

We met the rest of the group at a chain ice cream shop, GROM, near our hotel and picked up our luggage before boarding a bus to the airport. I’m really surprised by how big the Torino Airport is. I was expecting a dinky little three-terminal airport, but it’s actually quite nice and decent sized. Even our plane is bigger than I expected. We did have to take a little bus out on the tarmac to board though, which reminds me of 
travelling to Ireland.

Boarding the plane to leave Torino

Ireland: Food is Love

This morning, we woke up at seven and took showers before heading down to the continental breakfast. I had cereal (rice krispies, which they called rice bubbles) and sweet, homemade Irish bread. We packed up after breakfast and headed to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was a long walk and we ended up just wandering around the church once we got there.

After we were done at the church, we walked over to Dublin Castle to see the free sand sculptures. The castle was pretty, but we couldn’t go inside because we didn’t have time for a guided tour. We took some pictures and moved on to the Christ Church Cathedral, which was the same boring experience. However, when we asked where the bathroom facilties were, we were directed to the crypt. I got to pee and then nap in a crypt :p

When we went back upstairs to explore, they told us we were in time for the peace prayer, so we had to sit down for a few minutes and listen with our heads bowed. I fell asleep.

Once it was over, we went out to get lunch. We stopped in a tourist store on the way and I tried on a boa in the colors of Ireland. It was cute but expensive, so I just took a picture. We walked across the street for lunch at Café Werburgh. I got chocolate ice cream, a chocolate chip muffin, and a tortilla wrap with Cajun chicken and swiss cheese. It was an amazing meal for less than seven euros. We took our lunch to a park so that we could eat with pretty scenery. I would have been fine eating in the café though. It was very cute in design and had authentic customers.

The quirky cafe

Cajun Chicken Tortilla Wrap

Pretty park in the business district

We set off on a long walk after to head to Kilmainham Gaol Museum but once we got there we found out we had to wait an hour for a tour, so we walked to the park across the street and took naps. We walked back to gaol when it was finally time for our tours.

The guy took us around the gaol and told us all about Irish history. I was disappointed that he didn’t tell us more about the gaol itself like they did at the gaol in Cork.

A car that we passed on the way to the gaol... quite an interesting garden

After the tour, we broke into dinner groups. Some of the group decided they wanted to go see an Irish dance performance, but I didn’t want to stay out that late or sit through the performance and fancy dinner, so we formed a seperate group. We went to small touristy store where I was able to find a white zip-up sports coat and an adorable sheep umbrella. After leaving the store, we headed back to the Temple Bar area in order to find a restaurant to dine at.

After looking at a couple of menus, we decided to go to a quiet place called O’Shea’s. I ordered a southern fried chicken with chips and a side order of bread. It was actually quite good and I walked away stuffed.

On the way back to the hostel, we stopped in a small market and I bought a package of penguin bars. They were really good at the camp, so I thought I would take some home. I’m running short on money, so my purchases from now on will be solely food, hopefully.

Well, I’m ready to crash early tonight so I can enjoy my last day in Ireland.

Ireland: Hamburger Helper

The Air Canada plane ride to Ireland was really peculiar. I couldn’t bring myself to fall asleep on the plane, but that’s okay because they served us a meal midflight. The dinner consisted of a fruit cup, brownie, noodles, chicken, and a roll. The food was actually really good!

After dinner, they came around to offer all of the passengers nightcaps. I was surprised when the flight attendant offered me wine, but I declined. It didn't sound like it would be the best idea if we hit any turbulence. I read for most of the plane ride and then they gave us banana muffins and orange juice in the morning.

We waited forever in the customs line, to the point where I noticed their exit signs are a lot different here. We decided to pose underneath a sign for a picture. It’s going to be our thing while we’re here.

Our exit sign pose

After leaving the airport, we got on a bus headed toward Cork. I fell asleep almost immediately and didn’t wake up until we stopped for lunch. I tried a chargrilled chicken pita with chips from the Burger Bar. The chicken was good but I didn’t realize the pita was going to come with a ton of stuff on it. The bread wasn’t very thick either, which was a bummer. I tried the chips with vinegar and salt, but it wasn’t very good and neither was their tomato ketchup, so I just ate them plain. Our bus trip continued until we arrived at the hostel, which is actually quite nice.

My Chargrilled Chicken Pita from the Burger Bar

After dropping off our luggage, we went to explore St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral. It was really boring, but pretty to take pictures of outside. I bought two postcards of Cork while we were there. We stopped at a park near the hostel on our way and were able to take some really scenic pictures. Afterward, my travel group broke off to buy some groceries for the hostel, but we ended up getting lost and wandering around the city.

A peculiar tree found in the park.

The University of Cork, right near our hostel

St. Fin Barre's Cathedral

We carried the groceries back and the other group had dinner ready. It was hamburger helper – the most disgusting thing that I’ve ever eaten. Needless to say, I’m still hungry.