Cork - Kinsale

It's Halloween, so we're off to stay in downtown Cork to see what kind of festivities we can find in the area where the holiday originated.
But before we drive off into the bustle of the city, we decide to take our tour guide's advice and drive ourselves down to the town of Kinsale to see the narrow streets, the brightly painted buildings, and to test the driving skills. Following the direction of the GPS led us astray once, but otherwise, a fairly easy drive.
Kinsale is a quaint village on the water, with plenty of shops and small restaurants. Kind of felt like home. We visited St. Multose Church, and had lunch at Dino's.
After exploring a while, we head off to the 'big' city. With the "Keep Left!" command still going strong, we navigated the city streets handily, though some of them more than once. After checking into our hotel for the night, the Hotel Isaacs, and getting a suitable parking spot for the car, we set about finding a lively pub in the area to celebrate.

At the Cask, the hip, upscale spot attached to our hotel, we had an interesting yet barely tolerable craft cocktail, and our bartender told us of a local costumed parade that would cross the Shandon Bridge at 7PM, so we headed off to get food and drink in us to withstand the cold and rain of a Cork evening.
Food was Gallaghers Gastropub, and drinks were found at Sin E and Larry Tompkins'. Full and warm, we set out to find the parade route. It wasn't too difficult, as we were soon caught up in a group of locals and tourists all headed to the same thing. And what a parade it was...
Kids, adults, wheelchairs, giant chickens, and dragons. Creatures made from cellophane and steel. Dancers, acrobats, and scary faces galore. It was only 30 min long, but the rain stopped and the spirits came out. By far one of the highlights of the trip.
Now wet and cold, we headed back to find a spot with music and beer, so we returned to Sin E to meet local university students and

old musicians. A lively bar with a great crowd.
The hotel was a large red brick building with a beautiful courtyard running through the ground floor, with outdoor seating and a waterfall. Our room was spacious and strange, resembling a Swiss chalet.
The next morning, we decided to search out a few nearby churches, then find food. After allowing the GPS to lead us astray again (due to user error, of course) we found our way to the Cathedral of St Mary, and St Anne's Church and Belltower. By now we are soaked through, so we tuck in to the first pub we find, O'Cionnaighs. This place is straight out of a movie, with the grizzled old bartender, the two elderly gentlemen nursing beers at the end of the bar, and the young guy in a track suit and bowl cut wiping down the barstools. We quietly ordered a beer (by now our drinks of choice were Guinness for me, Smithwicks Red for Jolene) and settled in at the table in the corner, hanging our jackets by the wood stove to dry. Not five

minutes later, the older men at the bar begin to ask us where we're from, about our trip, just a great conversation between total strangers from different worlds. It was wonderful. And we were to learn through our trip that this is more the rule than the exception. Especially in the smaller areas.
Now we needed food, so we walked our way across the River Lee to the shopping district, where we found O'Flynn's Gourmet Sausages for lunch, and then a walk through the English Market.
Then, it was back to Grange for our last night in County Cork. Dinner was delicious pizza at Palmento, and one last beer at O'Sullivan's Pub.