When she headed to Cork Fiona Gartlandexpected to get a bit farther than Fota Island
MY MEMORIES OF Cork are not entirely positive. The last time I visited the city, for a weekend with my husband, it rained incessantly, the food wasn't great and our car was clamped. A return visit to dislodge the bad impression was required.
Instead of risking our own vehicle, we flew. It was my first trip in twin-turbo-propeller aircraft, and we sat by the wing so we could see the blades in action.
Courtesy of a nasty crosswind, the take-off from an overcast Dublin Airport felt a bit like being shot from a catapult in a slightly unbalanced bucket. Then we burst through the grey tarpaulin of cloud into a clear blue sky and a smooth flight. I'd forgotten it was sunny up there.
As we flew south we could see the land below us through breaks in the cloud. At 5,000m the country does not look so chaotically planned; it seems neater from above, with miles of green fields top-stitched together, speckled with dinky buildings and threaded with silver rivers. And there weren't as many black-vein roadways as I had imagined.
Before we left, Corkophile friends tried to sell us on the delights of the "real capital". They had our itinerary filled with bars and restaurants and must-see sights.
Fota Wildlife Park was an essential destination, they said. The park, which is 10km east of Cork city, boasts 90 species, most of them free to roam the park. Admission is €13 for adults and €8 for children, with a family ticket costing €54.
You can get there by car or by train from Cork, with a link to the Dublin intercity service - great for those with a phobia about bringing their own vehicle to the city.
Fota Wildlife Park is conservation in action, we were told. It participates in the European endangered-species breeding programme for several types of animal.
Spread over about 30 hectares of countryside, it is home to animals from every continent. Some of them, such as monkeys, are safely out of reach on islands. Others, such as ducks and peacocks, are close enough to touch.
The park has been very successful at breeding cheetahs; more than 180 cubs have been born there since it opened, in 1985.
The park recently opened Ireland's first cheetah run, which is designed to make the big cats work for their food. It is suspended on a wire, three metres off the ground, and zips along at 65km/h. We were told that if we got to the run by 4pm we could see the cheetahs nab their food.
The park also has a selection of gibbons, including white-handed gibbons and siamangs. In the siamang household the females dominate, and when the couple sing a duet they can be heard up to two kilometres away.
There's a playground and picnic area and, for those whose time is short, a tour train that takes in the essential sites.
Other animals include bisons, giraffes, flamingos, prarie dogs and penguins, although, as one of our friends remarked, we could see all of those in Larry Tompkins bar if we didn't make it to the park.
There seemed to be so much to do in Cork that we should have managed to squeeze in some of the must-sees. But we didn't.
Instead we spent two luxurious and entirely self- indulgent days at Sheraton Fota Island Hotel & Spa. The five-star hotel, which opened in 2006, is a 30-minute drive from the airport. Set in 300 hectares of park and woodlands, it has 131 bedrooms, three golf courses and, in its spa, a large range of beauty treatments.
Although we didn't have time to sample many, we did spend 45 very calming minutes in the hydrotherapy pool. I also had an hour-long facial, which left me so relaxed I could hardly lift myself from the heated table when it was over.
The hotel has two restaurants; we ate at the Cove and sampled some lovely local seafood. Service was friendly. The staff, mostly young and all enthusiastic, made an effort to say hello when they passed us in the corridors. It helped to add an extra sense of comfort to the place.
The visit was over too quickly, and we left Cork a good deal happier about the place than on our previous visit - and promising to return, to sample what else the city has to offer.
Go eat, drink and see
Visit
Cork City Gaol, built in the 19th century, offers a glimpse of life both inside and outside the prison walls.
Crawford Municipal Art Gallery has a permanent collection that includes work by Jack B Yeats, Walter Osbourne, Edith Sommerville and the contemporary painters Dorothy Cross and Vivenne Roche.
Beamish and Crawford Brewery - but bear in mind that it is strictly for over-18s.
Dunkathel House is a neoclassical mansion overlooking the Lee estuary.
Eating out
The Quay Co-op, on Sullivan's Quay, is a vegetarian haven.
Ristorante Rossini, on Princes Street, serves up a cosy slice of the Mediterranean.
Drinking out
Jazz at the Bodega, on Coal Quay.
The Raven Bar, on South Main Street, is great if you don't mind a squash.