Suggestion Doesn't Equal Suggestion in Ireland :D

Me: "Hello there, what time is check-out?"
Irish Host: "What time is good for you?"
Me: *Utterly confused* "Err..I don't know, eh. That's why I am asking. Maybe 12?"
Irish Host: "Maybe 11, Dear"
Me: "Oh, okay then. Thank you."
Irish Host: "Thank you very much, My Dear"

This was my short conversation with the owner of  Garnish House, where we stayed in Cork City. Without  doubts, I have been very impressed with the hospitality of the hotel & restaurant staff here! Irish hosts in general are exceptionally friendly and attentive. However, they can also appear to be somewhat misleading when answering inquiries or suggesting ideas. Well, if I were an Irish, I would probably take (/understand) their gestures well. But I am not one, obviously! As a matter of fact, I am more used to the straightforward way rather than the polite (winding) one. It's interesting, nonetheless. I find this Irish trait is somewhat similar to Indonesian's. People in Indonesia say 'perhaps' or 'maybe' quite a lot. Often times they do so to be kind and to appear less imposing. I don't know if they still practice this mannerism, but I reckon the older generations still do. The young is more less ruthless these days. LOL. Excuse me! I am just being brutally honest with you! :D

Some chaps busking on a street in Cork City

Here in Ireland, I gotta say that we've come across so many youngsters who swear, like every here and now. I find them very entertaining, particularly due to their accent! It's cute! Irish accent is not as thick as the Scottish nor the English, by the way, making it easier to understand. Speaking of accent, today upon visiting Belt Store (yea you're right, it's a belt store) on 56 Corn Market downtown Cork City, we stumbled into the owner of the shop who 'strangely' recognized us coming from the States. I said 'strangely' because we both are not quite from the States. Hey, no one is originally from the States except for the Native Americans/the Indians.. the Caucasians came from all over the Europe to America between mid to late 1800's and it's kind of up to you how you want to define who Americans are -and in our case we only happen to live in America and flew from there to Ireland! But I reckon the dude sorta told from the way we talked and shit. He said he once sailed over Coos Bay, Oregon. Interesting, eh. We ended up buying stuff at Belt Store; we love the fact that this store sells quality goods.

Breakkie at the Garnish House

Okay, let's make this post rather short so as not to bore you :D. Today we left Cork for a town called Killarney, which is located in the county of Kerry. I felt a bit reluctant leaving Garnish House in Cork; I will miss their breakfast! Unlike most European B & B's, Garnish House's breakfast menu is very extensive and they allow you to order whatever in the menu that you want! I had grilled trout (fish) the first day, and settled with grilled herring (another fish name) this morning. They served both dishes with baked potatoes, baked tomatoes, a slice of lemon, some mushroom and eggs. You can also tell them if you don't want any of these complements. During breakfast, the owner would visit your table at least twice to ensure that you get any orders you fancy and that you're happy with the food. Such a true Irish warmth this lady is!

Anyway, we arrived in Killarney some time after 4.30 in the afternoon today and headed straight to our hotel. We didn't need to take any transport to get to Murphy's of Killarney -the name of the damn lodge- since it's only about a 400 meter walk from the train station (by the way, they spell it 'metre' here instead of meter).

Killarney!

Killarney Station; reminds me of Gubeng!

Our place Murphy of Killarney charges about 70 Euros per night. Within our proximity, there are a lot of other lodges too. Some places even advertise their charge on their door, like this one place (forgot what the name is) that charges 25 Euros/person. Not too surprising, Dublin actually has a better (read: wider) range of variety when it comes to accommodations. For example, on the lowest, this place in downtown Dublin called Hosteling International only charges about 15-16 Euros/bed per night. I also saw this apartment for four that charges 50 Euros/night. As for food, Killarney also doesn't give too many options compared to Dublin either. We checked out the menu of some decent sit-down restaurants, with entrees priced anywhere from 15 to 30 Euros each one. Overpriced. However, they also have fast food restaurants, cafes, and fish and chips places that offer food at lower prices. The thing that sucks is that most of these places are closed at 6 PM and even earlier! Man, Killarney is a dead town after 6 PM!  >.<

At Murphy of Killarney's Lobby...
.....
Irish Host: So, would you like to pay now?"
Hubby: "I'll pay on check out. I normally do that" -It's typically the custom in most places, anyway-
Irish Host: "Alright, enjoy your stay then" *smiley face*
....
As soon as I got to the room, I read the hotel's booklet just because... I felt something was not right! Here is what's printed on one of the pages:

Guests are requested to settle accounts on arrival.


"I told you, I told you! I got a feeling that's what she implied!" :D

That was me, yapping at hubby.