14.05.2018 City tour with Nature-Pur! *.*

Early in the morning we headed towards Cork. I was a bit sad to leave Patricia again, but I promised her that I would definitely come back!

Arriving in Cork, I already noticed the typical 'city life'. Everyone in a hurry, everyone stressed. My mood quickly joined in, as unfortunately everything was cloudy and there were only expensive parking houses everywhere. After touring the city for about 1 hour, I looked up online and found a Park and Ride just outside the city. 5 euros for all-day parking with shuttle - absolutely great. So my sightseeing tour could begin. Starting at the Saint Fin Barres Cathedral (only cost me half price thanks to Groupon) to the English Market with a variety of delicacies. I was particularly impressed by the street performers. I often miss such things in Germany!

In between, I treated myself to a fat veggie burger, nachos with cheese, and a peanut Nutella milkshake. Yummy!

By the afternoon, everything started to get on my nerves. It was too hectic for me and I wished for a quiet spot. But I still had one thing on my list: Blarney's Castle. Hm... I thought to myself, 'oh great, another old ruin? The castle is about 20 minutes outside the city and when I arrived, I already noticed that it must be something special. There were many people there, even though the weather was not sunny or inviting in any way. The entrance fee was supposed to be 18 euros and I asked myself again, 'oh great, just for a castle???'. Well, I told myself that being stingy doesn't pay off. I can tell you one thing, the castle itself is very interesting, but it's more about the 'surroundings'. It's a huge natural park with various 'attractions'. From a poison garden displaying poisonous plants to a fern garden with different types of ferns in the middle of a 'jungle' in harmony with nature. There was a jungle filled with palm trees, waterfalls, and various flowers and plants. Right now, as I'm telling you about it, I'm filled with pure joy. I spent over 2 and a half hours there and couldn't explore everything because I was so exhausted from the day. Finally, the sun came out and I enjoyed the wonderful sight of these magnificent treasures of nature.

Afterwards, I checked in at my AirBNB. James, my host, manages the large family house and is currently renovating it. He was very friendly and we had a nice chat. Unfortunately, I was incredibly tired, so I decided to end the evening relaxing in my big, soft bed with a small snack from the supermarket. Everything was perfect! :)

I was glad to have only planned one day in Cork. I prefer being in nature!

Insights:

City life is too stressful for me.

Being stingy doesn't pay off, but taking a look behind the facade does.

Most Irish people have only seen half as much of their country as I have.