Cork to Paris

We had a lovely couple of days in Cork. Cork is an interesting town. It is a lot more authentic feeling than the other cities we have been to. There is not a whole lot in the way of tourism in Cork city [I think most of it ends up in nearby Cobh], and it seems like a place where people could actually live unlike Dublin and, to some degree, Galway.

The first night we got in Laura was not feeling well, so she did not want to go out. I went out and did a bit of exploring. Actually, downtown Cork is extremely small, and I ended up walking up and down the length of it about three times.

The second day we got up early and caught a bus out to Blarney to see the castle and kiss the stone. This was my first castle, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The crowd of American tourists was a bit much at times [the fellow in front of us in line kept trying to explain things he had never seen before to his wife. It was rather tiresome.], but the castle was gorgeous, and I am fairly sure that you are not permitted out of the country until you have kissed the stone.

Yesterday evening we took it easy and hung out at the hostel to ensure that Laura would be healthy for Paris. Also we have been in Ireland about a month the pubs are not quite as exciting as they once were. We stayed in and ended up watching television with some of the other travelers. Not the most exciting night, but they were all very nice.

We caught a bus to the airport this morning and we are sitting at the gate waiting for our flight right now. We should get into Paris around 2:00 this afternoon.

I actually wrote this in Microsoft word because the internet in Cork airport costs 6 pounds per hour, which is absolutely obscene. So, now we have been in France for nearly a day. It took us about two hours to get from the airport to our hostel due to huge lines and an impressive language barrier. I studied a few words in my guidebook, but I really know how to say almost nothing in French. As a result of this language barrier, Laura and I ended up eating two balls of dry falafel at a cafe last night in stead of the falafel sandwiches we intended to get. This morning I used what is essentially the extent of my French knowledge to order at breakfast:

Me: Un croissant si vous plait.

Girl serving food: Un ou deux

Me: Un.

[croissant received]

Me: Merci.

As you can see, I am practically an expert already.

I've not uploaded my pictures of France yet, but there is free wifi at the hostel, so expect another update soon. Today we are going to check out the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees.