Cork

I really wanted to go to the west of Co. Cork while I was in Ireland (southwest of the country) because it is supposedly one of the prettiest areas of Ireland. But I was unable to find a host in the area at the time that I was able to be there. So instead I went to Cork City. Cork City is considered by some in Ireland to be the most internationally leaning city in Ireland. This is because it is located close to several international harbors and homes  one of the international airports of Ireland. Just walking the streets you could see that people of many more racial backgrounds were represented in Cork.

I arrived in Cork on Thursday night and met some people at the hostel. After talking with them in the common room for awhile they invited me out for a drink at the pub. Since it was a walk away (easy and safe to get back on my own by catching a taxi), I agreed and we went. There were two girls from Canada (Sydney and Allie - studying in France), an Irish guy (Nyle - no "S"), an Aussie (Josh - typical Sydney surfer type), an American (Bibino - from Arizona), and Simon (quiet guy, never really got his story).

Usually when you go out with people you met in hostels it is a hit-or-miss situation. Hit, you love the people, you go to a great place, you are sad when the night ends (like my night in the Bath hostel). Miss, the people are ok yet more interested in drinking then talking, but the place you go to is a dud, and the music sucks. The night in Cork was a miss. Thankfully, the night ended sooner rather than later.

The thing is that the people at hostels are usually just the kind of people that you want to meet. Interesting travelers around your age from all parts of the world. And it's wonderful to meet them. But sometimes the situation is just a miss. Nothing goes wrong, but you find that your not exactly having fun either. And you wish you had stayed in bed for your Skype date with your family. Oh well.