International Man of Mystery

Ok. Do you know how excited I am right now? So excited! I got to go inside the Cork Opera House!

Let me start at the beginning of yesterday. We departed from Killarney, and arrived in Cork in the south portion of Ireland. A tour guide joined our bus, and she told all about the history of Cork and it's port, Cobh, while we drove and walked through it. We took time to visit the grounds of University College of Cork which was built during the Potato Famine at the request of Queen Victoria. Then we got back on the bus (for the 9000th time) and made our way to Cobh which was the last stop of the Titanic before its fateful voyage. There we got to explore the town briefly, and we found a Bagpipe Parade/Contest. That was pretty amazing. I didn't realize that bagpiping was popular in Ireland because I always associated it with Scotland, but the competition included many local groups from Cork County as well as many more. After this excursion, we returned to Cork and checked into the Imperial Hotel which our tour guide glibly slipped happened to be where Franz Liszt stayed and performed when he came to Cork. In the 19th century. Minor heart attack #1.

After I got settled, I went into the city with some friends to basically explore. Along with beautifully historic churches and clocktowers, we eventually made it around to the Cork Opera House. This is where the fun begins. While driving around the city a few hours before, I discovered that Cork had an opera. Never knew that before. So when we were walking, I begged my friends to come in with me which they politely acquiesced. Once we walked in, we promptly walked up the stairs and started the adventure. I wanted to see the inside of the theater, but there was a dance rehearsal for a local dance school. So I stuck my phone in and took some pictures of the first mezzanine. The space surprised me by how small it was. But this makes sense because if the space was too big, it would be difficult to hear everything. The smaller space contributes to a better experience for both the audience and the performers. This is where I got to feel like a spy because we spied on the rehearsal for a bit. Then I ran around the upper level taking pictures like a madman. Exhilarating!

 Our tour guide said something today on our way to the Blarney Castle that really spoke to me: "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right." I see this in the attitude of most of the people that I have met here. They have this can-do spirit that makes them all positive people who I think have the ability to conquer whatever they put their minds to conquering which is very inspiring for me.

I can't believe that this whole experience is over on Thursday!