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Day 4 would best be described as the day of very friendly (too friendly?) locals.
After waking up early and getting a great jog around Cork, I visited Cork's English Market. The market was a lot like Philadelphia's Reading Terminal market, except in a more historical looking building, but an eighth the size.
At 11am, I grabbed a 3-hour bus ride to Kilkenny. The ride was pretty but bumpy. Upon checking into my hostel, I learned the internet was down, so I dropped into a nearby pub that had WiFi and began typing furiously before my battery died. The bar was entirely populated by older, local gentleman and two Russian waitresses, and my iPad unexpectedly became the topic of conversation for the entire bar. I was a tad surprised that the locals seemed engrossed by the device; I've seen the internal sales figures, and I know Apple sells plenty of iPads in Ireland. Anyway, I finished blogging and turned to the pint of Guinness in front of me while making small chat with the still staring locals. The Irish are certainly friendly, but can be a little heavy handed with personal questions. I had an older gentleman next to me, "Dan the Man," that seemed unwilling to be satisfied until he had my personal life story, a deep understanding of my relationship status, and why I'm not married yet.
By the time I excused myself from Dan's grilling and offers for another pint, most of Kilkenny's sites were on the verge of closing. I had just about enough time to tour the castle grounds, before discovering that pretty much everything in Kilkenny closes at 6pm, even many restaurants. Kilkenny is not known for it's nightlife. About the only places that stay open are the pubs, of which there are at least two per drinking age resident (a slight hyperbole, but not too far from the truth). I grabbed a quick nap at the hostel, and then decided to check out the traditional Irish music across the street, which was close enough that I could hear the music from my room. The traditional music was nice, although a bit sleepy, but I chatted with some Canadian backpackers for a bit. After, I started talking to a local at the bar, who recommended a place with a popular local singer who sings traditional Irish ballads. The bar and singer had been recommended to me earlier by the locals from the first pub, so I decided this bar had to be worth checking out.
I wandered over, and found that the place was packed with locals, and the singer was in fact quite good. My accent quickly gave me away, and I went through another round of life-story interrogations. After a couple of pints, I found the attention was getting to be a little more than I needed for the evening, although I did enjoy that the singer pulled me over for Morrison's brown-eyed girl (too bad my eyes are green), but it was time to go.
Another fun day in Ireland, although the pubs can be claustrophobically friendly!
More on Kilkenny and photos coming tomorrow!
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