Cork

The good weather from yesterday did not stick around long, as today was very wet. I started my day by visiting L'Arche Cork. After entering the address into my GPS system, I was on my way. However, for anyone coming to Ireland, please know that lots of places do not have addresses, just street names. Luckily I had been given some more specific directions, but without that, finding places when all you have is a street name can be difficult. I arrived at Le Cheile (Irish for 'together'), and was very warmly received. Le Cheile is a purpose-built building that serves many functions. There are administrative offices, a large atrium, a prayer room, a large multi-purpose room, a kitchen area, a therapy room, and rooms for several different programs/projects. These include gardening, wood working, candle making, weaving, print/card making, life skills, and a retirement room. Besides my interest in the overall building set-up, my focus was drawn to the wood working area, as it was something that I have not seen, at least not to this scale, thus far in my experiences in other L'Arche communities. After taking a tour and visiting each area, I joined the group for tea. I am finally getting used to the idea of drinking hot beverages a multiple times throughout the day. After visiting the showcase of items that they produce in Cork, I headed out. However, I did make sure to get some pictures of the grounds, including their anniversary statue and labyrinth. Thank you to all in the Cork community who made my visit so worthwhile.

The wood shop

A spice rack

Bird houses

Sanding table for hand cut candle holders

Me trying to be artsy

Two of my favorite pieces from the prayer room.

The labyrinth

Driftwood statue

After my visit with the community, Rach and I set out to face the weather and experience downtown Cork. There is a cute little cafe that we can see from our hotel room window, so we went there for lunch. Then, it was off to St. Patrick's Street for a bit of shopping and a lot more looking around. This was a really neat area, but the weather simply would not cooperate. Fortunately, the hotel staff lent us umbrellas, which proved to be life savers. Once we were properly tuckered out we stopped by a restaurant called Liberty Grill for dinner. I had something called a Don Quixote Burger, made from a combination of ground beef and chorizo, topped with manchego cheese and a tomato relish. Everything was quite tasty. Once in the hotel we talked with our friends at camp, loaded photos, and each did some typing. Tomorrow we are heading to a town called Kinsale. Everyone we have talked to has said that it is a must see. Hopefully the weather will be in our favor.

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