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| DRIVING DOWN TO CORK... A stop at the "Rock of Cashel" |
| Next Page, "Show #3: Cork Opera House" |
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| Josh Ritter Fansite Homepage |
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| This day is definitely one of the most memorable parts of the trip for me. Not only did I get to enjoy the company of three awesome gals and have some fun with everybody again, but I got to see a little more of this beautiful country. This was our group's admitted "Tourist Stop." |
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| As many helpful Irish fans who visit my site know, I was planning on going down to Cork on my own by catching a train or bus on Saturday afternoon. Visitors to my site went as far as researching fares and schedules and making calls for me, as well as making suggestions. But it's Emily, Flora, and Erin to the rescue again - with their rented car. |
| Cork Opera House, here we come... |
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| Road Trip. Saturday afternoon: Emily, Flora, Erin, and me - making the 3 1/2 hour drive down to Cork City, along with Josh, the band, and crew.. . |
| Lengthy car rides have a tendency to suck, but not ones like this. Once we got to the "country", I enjoyed seeing green, rolling hills and anything else 'Ireland.' The car ride itself was relaxing - even fun - for me (Emily took driving duties, and what a kick ass job she did). We got to chat about everything from politics to Ireland history (it figures: Erin is also one of the smartest people you could meet). Erin played dee-jay too, and introduced us to some cool artists she's been digging. Emily says during a long pause, "Aw, guys...we're driving through Ireland introducing each other to new music..." If she didn't say it, I would have. As far as car rides go, this was an absolute treat. |
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| Ms. Erin McKeown. |
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| Walking through, into the interior. |
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| Walking through the main graveyard. |
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| Sam, John Vickers (tour manager), Emily, Erin, Zack, Dave O'Grady, Darius (behind Dave), Flora, and Josh. |
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| Again -- you don't get to see things like this in the States. |
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| Josh taking in some of the fascinating tombstones. |
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| We don't have "castles" in the States...Walking up the hill to the actual castle. |
| The Zackman. |
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| Our stop at the "Rock of Cashel" was not a long one, but we were so glad we made it. For me, looking out from a CASTLE over green countryside filled with sheep was a cool moment that reinforced again that I was indeed far from home... |
| "The Rock of Cashel is one of the most spectacular archeological sites in Ireland. It sits on the outskirts of Cashel on a large mound of limestone bristling with ancient fortifications. Mighty stone walls encircle a complete round tower, a roofless abbey, a 12th century Romanesque chapel, and numerous other buildings and high crosses. The Rock of Cashel is composed of four structures which are the Hall of the Vicars Choral, the cathedral, the round tower, and Cormac's Chapel. Hore Abbey is about one kilometer north at the base of the rock." If anyone is interested in learning about this landmark, you can find some fascinating info HERE. |
| Some Information... |
| But time was limited; we needed to get back on the road to Cork for the third and final show on this Irish leg of the tour... |
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| < Whenever Josh's head gets too big, one of us has to knock him down a peg. Here, tour manager John Vickers does the honor. |
| > How great are digital cameras? Josh takes advantage to look at some pics. |
| < Another "Self-Portrait", this time by Flora. We're not off-center. It's the artistic look we were going for... |
| > Flora took this one of me for the folks back home. "Look ma, I'm in Ireland." |
| < Josh and Flora. |
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