Today we toddled into Cork to see how it had changed since we’d been here. Lots and lots of new shopping centres which only have one store in them have been finished, the corner where a coconut flew out of nowhere to smack me in the head is now a whole different building, the back side of the museum has been tarted up, the Grand Parade walkway’s been finished–it all looks quite terrific. We were very much enjoying just being in Cork, as we went around to the river and the Shandon area where we used to live and pretty much agreed that yeah, we’d move back there in a heartbeat. We went through the English market (oh, how we miss the market), where almost nothing has changed; we stopped for hot chocolates…
…and when we came out at noon, there was a man in a tuxedo and a long black overcoat and a teal scarf singing opera on Oliver Plunkett Street.
We miss Cork. We really, really do. :)
The guy was utterly splendid, with a lovely tenor voice, and he’d been there a while, I guess, as this was his last song, and he had a hat chock full of change. Very successful busker, as he well deserved to be! And wow, he just delighted me beyond belief, standing there in the sunlight (he chose his location very dramatically: at a crosswalk, so the sunlight was spilling down on him and all) singing opera. Ted cleaned out his pockets of change to put in the busking basket, because, as he said, “He made you smile.” (I have the best husband *ever*.)
We met Kate for lunch, and after a while Ted headed out for the gaming convention while Kate and I plunked down in a cafe to chat for a couple hours, all of which was altogether lovely. So it’s already been a great couple days–last night we went over to Sammy & Myles’s and Ted cooked them a housewarming gumbo–and I am looking forward to taking the next couple days to write while Ted’s off gaming.
Yay for weekends away!