Bandon Trip: Part II

The Bandon Mural

Me on a Seesaw Polar Bear

After looking at the river for a while, we crossed it and headed to an adorable playground.  In it there was a great mural that said Bandon and had other things like "Empowering Youth" written on it.  Kyla and I had fun being kids for a while using the swings, going down slides, and riding the seesaw animals.  Some of the parents probably thought we were a bit odd, but we had a good time.

A Nice View of Bandon

It was after the playground that we really talked about the benefits of our little trip.  Sure there wasn't a ton to do in Bandon and we had trouble finding a lunch place that was open on a Sunday afternoon (pretty sure there was only one restaurant open actually), but it was cool to get out of Cork, be somewhere not touristy, explore a really residential part of Ireland, and just find our own fun little things to do (like the playground).

Statue Dedicated to Irish Patriots

There were two statues in Bandon that I took a photo of.  One was dedicated to Irish patriots.  I loved the quote on this statue: "They rose in dark and evil days, to right their native land, and kindled there a living blaze, that nothing shall withstand."

Sean Hayes Statue

The other statue was specifically dedicated to one Irish patriot, Bricadier-General Sean Hayes who fought for Irish freedom and died in battle in 1922.

The Shambles

One of the last things that Kyla and I saw before we caught the bus back to Cork (we actually ran a bit because we hadn't thought we'd make it) was The Shambles.  It is a 15 sided building which makes it fairly unique.  However, we are still unsure as to what it is...or why its end date appears to be 2007 (or its foundation date as 1817 when the Bandon website says it was made in 1754).

All in all a pretty good day...but now I have to go work on a paper.