We returned to Cafe Serendipity for coffee and lunch, where I got cream of broccoli soup. It was quite tasty. Back on campus, we had a library tour, which was extremely redundant, and spent some time in the on campus shops looking for notebooks with the UCC crest on them. I was unsuccessful in finding a notebook that represented the school, but I did find a giant cookie.
This Friday was Culture Night, one of the many festivals in Cork. Culture Night was marketed as a free, late night cultural exploration of Cork city. Everything started around 18:00 and went till midnight. Our first stop was 20/20, a fine art gallery, where black and white film was being showcased. After getting some free wine, we watched a confusing silent movie about a with being burned at the stake but transforming into a metal cyborg and the fighting that ensued. After that, we headed to the Cork Butter Museum. The exhibit featured vintage butter making equipment, including a manual (meaning hand-crank) centrifuge that was used to spin the butter at 1100 rpm to separate the butter from the milk products so colour and density could be inspected. I also learned that Irish butter gets its distinctive taste not from just the buttermilk content, but also because all butter produced in Ireland must have no more than 16% moisture content. The European Union has guaranteed market prices for certain farm commodities, meaning that many countries will purchase huge surpluses of a certain commodity, such as butter, leading to "butter mountains". The museum explained how this treatment of butter including the distribution of butter vouchers to people on government aid has shaped the economy of Europe.
After the butter museum, we went to St. Anne's as they were allowing people to ascend the bell tower and ring the bells of Shandon. Alex met up with us and we queued for quite a while in the church which had a spectacular stained glass window. Eventually, we were allowed to begin the climb to the top of the bell tower. St. Anne's bell tower features four clocks: one on each face of the tower. They all show slightly different times (we got to see the clockwork responsible) due to construction of the clock system. It is known as The Four-Faced Liar. Around the third flight of stairs, we got to the upper chamber, where you could ring the bells, and I played out a tune from one of the songbooks near the ropes. We began the 40m ascent which was made of very narrow stone stairs worn smooth from use. We had to wait for others coming down to begin our journey to the top as the stairway was too narrow for people to cross. As I emerged from the stone portal onto the observation deck, the city of Cork opened up before me, cast in the brilliant amber rays of the dying sun. To my dismay, the battery in my camera was exhausted. Some things are hard to capture in film. The deck is open for use during the day, for a fee, but few people get to see the city from above at night.
We stayed on the observation deck until they closed, watching the city gradually light up as night set in. As we came down from the tower, we stopped at a small cafe near the church called the Four Liars Bistro. It was a fancy little restaurant, but a bit more than we bargained for. I got tiger prawns in lemon garlic butter (a relatively reasonably priced starter). After the bistro, we walked along the River Lee, headed south to some of the pubs that were featuring traditional music. After passing a live (and not so good) band playing outdoors on the Grand Parade, we made it to An Spailpin Fanach, a pub, but they had unfortunately cancelled the music for the evening. Afterwards, we decided it might be a good idea to walk to Blackrock castle, but a local (unfortunately they are called Corkonians) told us we had at least an hour to go and it wasn't really the best way to walk at night.
We wound up at City Hall, which was featuring some short horror films. After watching our fill, we made to leave, and while waiting in the vestibule, the Lord Mayor John Buttimer of Cork approached us, and mistook me for one of the actors in the film. Barely understanding him, we held a brief conversation, and he shook my hand.
The night, still being young, invited us to return to Oliver Plunkett street, the main pub street of UCC students. We went to The Oliver Plunkett trying to catch some friends, where a live band was playing, and I tried Hoegaarden, which was particularly citrusy. We ended the night by meeting up with said friends at Crane Lane, where there was a small dance floor.
My first festival in Cork and I already met the Mayor.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Go raibh maith agat.
(Irish, literal: A thousand thanks)
Thanks a million!