Pop the (West) Cork!

It is 1:15 am and I cannot sleep, what an apropos time to write a blog...

I shall catch ye up on my adventures in West Cork. My music class took a two-day trip to Clonakilty, West Cork, and did a lot of fun things. This short trip was to end our three-week class and serve as bonding time for the group. 

We all boarded this small and poorly ventilated charter bus in the morning for our departure. We drove for about an hour through beautiful country that looked like the Ozarks and scurried up a one-way dirt road to the most bucolic property I have ever seen. The intention of our visit was to see a recording studio situated peacefully in the West Cork countryside. We didn't realize that along with the multimillion dollar studio would also be one of the most gorgeous estates and properties viewed thus far on the trip. There was a lovely mansion with a refurbished stable in the back. This property is home to rescue donkeys, horses, and dogs that freely roam and wander through the studio at will. The view from the studio was extraordinary and could get even the most musicless individual to write a hit song. Seriously, it was insane. Views of the property:

Our music teacher knows the man who runs the studio and we got a full tour of the awesome space. We then got to record a song as a class that the man (I believe his name was John) is going to mix and send out via email. Because we hadn't memorized any of the Irish songs we learned during the course, the class chose to record yet another rendition of the pub-favorite "Wagon Wheel." If I do get this email, I will link the recording. The studio:

After the studio tour we went into the picturesque town of Clonakilty for lunch at the famous folk club, De Barra's. I had a chicken and stuffing sandwich with mushroom soup and after lunch we were given time to wander around. I ended up buying a honeycomb ice cream cone and I enjoyed being out of the bustling Cork City for a peaceful day. Clonakilty:

The beautiful garden room in De Barra's.

Once our free time was over we re-boarded the bus and headed for the beach. Now, I am not sure what I expected of an Irish beach, but my expectation was nothing close to the strikingly beautiful beach we pulled up to. The weather was perfect and we had plenty of time to smack around a tennis ball with hurlies, walk around in the sand, and marvel at tiny fish swimming around our feet. Not to mention take A LOT of pictures:

After the beach we were given some time to clean up at the hotel and get ready for dinner and the gig later that night. And let me repeat, it was a hotel, not a hostel or the questionably comfortable mattress in my apartment. It was so comfortable and so clean and delightful that I, and everyone else on the trip, used this time not only to clean up but also for a brief snooze. 

We walked from our hotel to dinner which consisted of a lot of appetizers and unlimited wine. I got to talk to the other students in the program, and was especially intrigued when we finally learned about our teacher who had remained a complete mystery up to that point. After dinner we went back to De Barra's for a gig featuring John Spillane.

John Spillane is a singer/songwriter from Cork and plays at De Barra's every first Thursday of the month. Our music class briefly discussed his work and I was so obsessed with the one song we heard in class that I bought it on Itunes during the lecture and did plenty of independent listening in my free time. Basically, I was ecstatic to go to this gig and had a wonderful time as I knew quite a few of his songs from Youtube interviews and videos.

After a wonderful sleep in the hotel and one of the fanciest continental breakfasts I have ever eaten, we got back into the poorly ventilated bus and returned to Cork. I am in shock that my music class is over (even though I still have an essay to write) and am very grateful for the people I met and for the experiences I had!

Until next time,
The Opinionated Lassie