Category: Ireland

We had beautiful weather for our journey to the most southwesterly point in Ireland.  Here, the landscape is wilder and more rugged.

Along the way, we stopped to see an Altar Wedge Tomb where people have been worshipping for over 4000 years.  

The drive is dramatic as the roads are narrow and winding.  Larry is a fearless and has had little difficulty driving on the opposite side of the road!

Once at the Mizen Head Signal Station, paved pathways take us to the edges of the cliffs.

The views are spectacular!

Back in the car and it’s time for lunch. We stopped at the small harbor village of Crookhaven.  Our seafood chowder arrived with a basket of brown Irish bread!

Bon appetit!

Hackett’s Pub in the village of Schull (pronounced Skull) was just the experience we hoped for!  The locals are warm and welcoming and made us feel right at home!  We listened to traditional music and visited with new friends.  Experiences like this are exactly why we love to visit Ireland.

Our new friends including Jean Paul, a priest from Dublin, a couple of fellow travelers, long-time friends, and Irish football fans.  

The town, in southwestern Ireland is small but very quaint–locals are happy here and proud of their village.  Thanks Suzette and Denis for recommending  that we make a stop in Schull!

Tomorrow we’ll head for Mizen Head, the most Southwesternly Point In Ireland!

Cheers!

We realize that some of our photos aren’t posting properly and are trying to determine why that’s happening!  In the meantime, we’ll say a little more about why we like Cork so much (besides the music in the pubs.)

There’s always something going on here!  This weekend there is an International Storytelling Festival and next weekend there’s a Folk Music Festival. We’ve found great restaurants with creative menus, enjoyed hearty soups served with slices of brown bread plus, buskers on nearly every street corner.   Today we discovered a great bookstore called Waterstone’s.  

So here are our Cork highlights!

• St. Anne’s Church topped by a weathervane shaped like a giant golden salmon.
• Linehan’s Sweet Shop Shandon-one of the oldest sweet shops in Ireland.
• The English Market.
• St. Patrick’s Street-the main shopping street in the city.
• St. Finbarr’s Cathedral-nineteenth-century neo-gothic cathedral.
• The Butter Museum.
• Plus, there’s more to see that we just didn’t get to!

Below is the tiny prayer book displayed in St. Anne’s Church–measures about 1.5 inches square!

Tomorrow we’ll retrieve our rental car and head out on the wrong side (to us) of the highway!  We’re moving south to the harbor town of Schull!

There just aren’t enough hotel rooms in Cork for all of the people who want to visit so that makes hotel prices more expensive than we’re used to.  Of the two we’ve stayed in here, we’d pick Hotel Issacs over Jurys Inn though either one is fine.

So, we’ll try to resolve our technical issues!  Fingers crossed!

Slainte!



Our guidebook described Cork as a “compact city with a lively atmosphere and plenty of historic sights.”   We think that sums it up well!  It’s popular and so busy that we almost didn’t find a room for 2 more nights.  Today we moved a few blocks away to the Jurys Inn which is comfortable and well located.  

In spite of advice suggesting otherwise, I couldn’t resist a visit to The Butter Museum located in what was the world’s largest butter market.

It’s quirky and dusty but, at least for me, worth a quick tour!   Who  knew there was so much to learn about Ireland’s most important food export?

The neighborhood near Shandon Street has many row houses.  It’s an interesting and diverse neighborhood where even pubs display works of art.

We ended our day with a walk around the city to see the sun setting over the River Lee.

Everything worked and we arrived in Cork by bus from the Dublin Airport early this afternoon!  We had to find a new hotel due to Hurricane Irma, as we weren’t sure we’d arrive in time and canceled our long-ago-booked reservation at Acorn Guest House.  

Tonight we’re sleeping at Hotel Issacs–tomorrow we’re not sure where we’ll be!  Cork is a busy and popular city!  We’ll stay here another night if they have a cancellation but so far, that’s not an option.

Our room is large and comfortable but since it was a last minute booking,  not inexpensive.  It’s well-located near the bus/rail station and city center plus, it has good Wi-Fi which is just what we need.  Our plan is to pick up a rental car tomorrow.

The English Market shown below is a popular destination for locals and tourists.  Shops sell an array of local produce, meats, fish, pastries and more!

It’s a breezy, sunny day so perfect for discovering highlights of  this walkable city.  The popular shopping street named Oliver Plunkett is pedestrian-only with many shops!

The Cathedral shown below, was built for the patron saint of Cork, Fin Barre.  It was rebuilt to its current style in 1870.  We thought it was worth a visit to see the design, mosaics, stained glass windows and to learn about its history. 

We found the perfect plate of scones and hope to find more when it’s time for breakfast tomorrow!

In the meantime, all is well and we’re happy to be discovering a new destination–Cork!