On the second-to-last day of the bike tour I went up for a walk with some of my fellow cyclists (now pedestrians) to Charles Fort, just outside Kinsale.
Sailing is very popular here -- there were lots of boats out sailing on the water, including a sailing school, and many more parked in the harbor, and also one painted on the wall of this establishment on the way to Charles Fort.
As usual, the fort is built on a hill so it commands excellent views of the sailboats, harbor, and a small ruined fort right across the way, Fort James. It also makes for a nice climb on a pleasant day.Charles Fort has all of the usual ramparts, although they discourage people from walking on them to some extent.
The fort is pretty cool, with half-ruined walls creating a vaguely maze-like layout.
The ruins include doors to nowhere, which I love.
When I was finding my way out of Charles Fort, I passed a wedding party. Interesting idea for a reception, going to a place where any member of the public can join you for roughly $5. They arrived late in the day, which may reduce the number of tourists, and didn't bother to rent the whole place themselves, which certainly saves money. The couple was posing in among the ruins (I think the groom may have been lifing the bride over one of the ruined doors or windows, but that could just be my fanciful recollection). I respected their "privacy" (?) by not taking pictures of them. But I did take a picture of their wedding vehicle outside in the parking lot....
Returning from Charles Fort to Kinsale.
A convenient place to mail your letters on the way back to town.
I liked the look of this restaurant/bar, although I didn't go in. We already had plans for dinner.
Here's a poster from the place where we had lunch. What looks like Marilyn's face is actually made up of many other things, e.g., palm trees. There does not appear to be a coherent alternate scene, but it's still fun to find all the different components.
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2 comments:
Ireland is one of the most amazing places I've ever been to. Looks like you had a great time.
Thanks for stopping by, Nominal. I did have a great time in Ireland, and my maternal grandfather's parents came from Cork, so that was pretty cool.
But Italy is my true love. I could imagine living in Florence or Lucca or Todi. Florence is the most realistic of the three -- I even know what neighborhood I would live in, and what church I would go to. Whereas Lucca or Todi would only really be viable if I married an Italian guy.
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