All these photos were taken on November 9, 2010. I woke up at Sheilaās hostel in Cork, had toast with jam for breakfast, then spent a few hours wandering and snapping pics, as is my wont. I remember the Olympia bar reminding me of the PNW, along with the baby fern growing out from a damp stone wall. I took a local train to Cobh, the port town nearby where emigrants would embark via ship, had tea and wandered some more, then back to the city. I strolled through downtown and felt an unusual twinge of envy upon seeing an affectionate couple walk ahead of me. I stopped into the nearly-empty Cork Arms for a pint of Murphyās, making gradually-less-awkward small talk with Ray and Noel, who served me my second pint on the house. Soon enough, the place started to fill up and I saw a bearded man walk through the door. Next thing I knew, he was asking for the seat next to me at the very end of the bar, and the first coincidence - that he too was visiting from the PNW - set us rolling on a five hour conversation that has now stretched ten years. That night, I wrote: āperhaps more important than the topics one can converse on and relate over is the manner in which they do so- their enthusiasm, their humility, their courtesy (or lack), their deference. fredās a good one!ā #milestones #tenyears #meetaversary #rhodialove (at Cork, Ireland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHZVVcHJThV/?igshid=tb97o1ei9p22
