Blackie

Hello! Sorry it's been a little while since I've posted anything. Its been such a busy week! We've had three birthdays this weekend in API... ironically they were all turning 20!

Birthday Girl, Emily

Yes we had party hats and everything.

Over the weekend, on Saturday, we went to Cork's national park Gougane Barra. It's the origin of the River Lee that flows through Cork City and cuts it in half. The Park is beautiful and it was right on the edge of Kerry so it reminded me a lot of my trip to Killarny.

Here's the lake with the tiniest church I've ever seen. It could hold about 50 people in it... very squished though. Apparently there's a 5 year waiting list for weddings at the church. It's a bit crazy but the pictures would be worth it I guess. (Amanda and Derek wanna sign up here? hahaha)

 Then we strolled through the national park and along the way we found a friend. Meet Blackie.

 We don't know where she came from or who she belonged to, but she followed us on our walk the whole way. She smelled so bad though, like wet dog mixed with some other weird disgusting smell. But she was incredibly sweet.

We went for a little hike up a "mountain" as the Irish would call it... but really it was just a hill. And of course Blackie went exploring with us. We pretty much adopted her for a few hours.

We hiked along this stream....

 We walked over bridges...

 We crossed the stream over stepping stones....

 We walked up the path, and Blackie followed....

Until we got to the top. The view was so pretty. You could even see the lake we were at to the right (just missed the picture unfortunately). 

 After walking back down the hill, we recharged ourselves with Sandwiches and Cadbury Chocolate bars. Of course, Blackie was there begging for scraps. I think some of us gave more of our sandwiches to the dog than actually eating it. At least she was happy. We even found out that she sits only when you say it in Irish. I might have to teach my dog a trick or two in Irish. It was sad to leave her behind though.

We headed for Bantry after leaving Gougane Barra. Bantry is a port town, that is in South Western Cork. It was so little that we walked a circle around the town center in about 15 minutes. There wasn't much to do so we went to a little café and got soup and tea. 

The whole time I had Star of the County Down stuck in my head though "From Bantry Bay, up to Derry Quay and from Galway from Dublin town..." Now I just need to go to Derry Quay and I'd have been to all those four places! 

Bantry Bay

 It was a great weekend. Celebrating birthdays is always a good time :) But now it's time for me to do real work. Finally school kicked in and I have essays due and exams to study for. I can't wait to see my family next week though!