Day Forty-Seven - 27/10/2012 - Cork

     Despite having been in Cork for over a month, I had never managed to make it to the Saturday Corn Market, aptly named for its location on Corn Market street.  Today, we went.  There were many stands with the usual wares: bread, jewelry, trinkets, etc.  I bought a jar of Plum and Rum jam (very good) to go with my spelt soda (the delicious brown bread served in cafes).  Meng and I also picked up some meat pies, little meat-filled pot pies that heated into a nice lunch.
     Wandering the streets, we ran into another fantastic part of the Jazz Festival: the food stands on Patrick Street.  There were stands for almost every genre of food imaginable.  There were multiple crepe stands, a gourmet sausage stand, Indian food, fried fish, grilled fish, mixed nuts, candy, and loads of baked goods.
     A little ways down the road, we bumped into a strange sight on Oliver Plunkett Street.  There was a cage filled with hay, housing two goats, parked on the side of the street.  Apparently, a local charity was running a petting zoo.
     Back on Patrick Street, an artist was completing a massive, three-metre long sidewalk painting of the Titanic and related scenes.  The Jazz Festival brought a new atmosphere to Cork, with the sounds of street performers resounding from every street, the noise of the busy street markets, and a general good mood filling the air.
     Walking back home, we stumbled into a live performance by the New York Brass Band in front of the Crawford.  The festival organizers had apparently paid for them to make the trip as part of the Fringe Festival, the name given for the street performances, and after a few minutes of listening, it was clear why they were imported.  Near the end of their show, the band walked down from the stage and through the crowd, continuing the song, and back to the stage for the finale.  Just as we were leaving to head towards home, we had a rare sighting of the Guinness Quality Team van.  Guinness is notorious for sending out these representatives to visit and test the pouring skill and taste quality of local pubs serving Guinness.
     The Franciscan Well was hosting an event of its own this weekend, The October Beer Fest, in which they had about thirty imported beers on tap for the weekend.  They opened up a heated beer tent for the weekend along with a barbecue.  Meng sampled a raspberry beer, which was practically fruit juice, and I had a dark ale.
     We headed to Costigans, one of Cork's oldest pubs, to listen to Tupelo.  Costigans was giving out free straw hats that evening, with no explanation.  We finished up the night by returning to the well for some other beers.