Paddys Day in Cork

The last time I had been to Cork city was a few years ago when I had planned to go to college there. That was only my second time there (The first I can't even remember) and I was excited to get the chance to go back and spend Paddys Day there. Not only would I be spending our nations biggest public holiday down there, I would get to reunite with two great travel friends, both called Emily and both from Cork. And no, they didn't know each other.

Emily D who I met in Nepal last year, came to meet me at the station and we went to have some pizza and wine at 'The Sextant' pub with Emily B and her friend Sarah. We all agreed that it was beyond refreshing to talk about common interests and travelling life. Me and Emily even stayed up until 2am drinking wine, eating hummus and crackers and chatting about life.

The next day we planned to go into the city to enjoy the parade, the market stalls and do a bit of a pub crawl in the afternoon. After the parade we caught up with Emily B briefly in Wetherspoons and then we had lunch before leaving to hop around a few pubs. I had a vegetarian curry with naan bread, rice and a beer for only €10.95 and it was delicious. Me and Emily D spent the next few hours pub hopping and enjoyed beer in various places including Preachers and Rising Sons brewery. We ended the night with some take away pizza before heading home after a great night out. It was my first night out in Cork and it was a blast.

The next morning both of us woke up feeling fresh. Maybe that's because we slept until the afternoon. We took the bus into town later on and had a few hours to look around the awesome English Markets full of fresh fruit, veg, pastries and home made jarred produce. We wandered into a few shops and then decided to head to the recommended Sultan restaurant and sheesha lounge on Penrose Wharf. This chilled and vibrant space did the a great lunch deal for €10 which had just finished 40 mins prior to us getting there. The really nice staff told us that it was non problem to accommodate is, and even let us sit in the relaxing sheesha lounge to eat. I ordered the falafel and Emily ordered the chicken shawarma, both of which came with chips or rice, yoghurt mint dip, hummus dip, pitta bread etc. We had a drink for free so we chose to have Turkish coffee afterwards which we decided to pair with some fresh baklava, which id never had before. My god was I converted. Overall the service was amazing, complete with the smell of I sense, the sound of beautiful music, the colourful vibrant decor and the soothing vibes. Definitely a place I would return to in a heart beat.

You can check out their Facebook page here:
https://m.facebook.com/Sultan.Cork

Afterwards, Emily walked me to the bus station and just like that, my mid day 'weekend' was almost over. It was so great to see the two Emily's and explore Cork city and I would recommend every traveller or local to head down there if they get the chance. I know I'll be going back ✌️