Cork has many more food options than authentic Irish fare. Sure, you can get a Shepard’s Pie or Fish and Chips in lot of restaurants, but they have kebab joints and progressive, UC Berkley-type eateries, too. Cork lives up to its urban surroundings. With different cultures melding within the same city, food options are varied, too.

Blarney Castle is just outside Cork, Ireland. This is the place to go if you want to kiss the Blarney Stone, but this place is much more than just the Blarney Stone. Sure, the top reason people visit this attraction is to kiss the Blarney stone, but there’s Blarney Castle itself, which is pretty cool, and acres of lovely grounds surrounding the castle. Rock Close is especially interesting to explore. Make a day of it on your vacation (or holiday, as the Irish would say) and picnic in the outdoors. You won’t be disappointed.

It might not look like much from the outside, but once you enter Casa Belgo Argentina, you get to see a well-preserved, historical house from the 1800s. In true Brussels fashion, the owners speak French, but they also speak English, Dutch, and Spanish. And they love Art Nouveau architecture and love to share their passion with others. Stay here, and you’ll get a side of Brussels you wouldn’t see if you stayed at a chain hotel.

After I posted my original Glencairn Bed and Breakfast video, the website I was producing videos for contacted me and said they wanted the zany sound effects.  So I re-edited the video in my traditional, nontraditional style.  At first I wasn’t even going to post the first video, but then I thought comparing the two might be an interesting study in editing for tone.  Maybe it’s the film major in me.  I know this is a travel blog and not a film blog, but I figured what the heck.  With the garden, great hospitality, full Irish breakfast, and scenic views of the Irish countryside, this is a top place to stay in Cork. Don’t be like everyone else and stay at a hotel; stay at the Glencairn and get a healthy dose of “Real Ireland.”

I’ve been producing some videos for another travel website. I made one for the bed and breakfast I stayed at in Cork and tried to make the video as conventional as possible, i.e. no zany sound effects. Here’s that video.