Cork, Ireland — Dueling Time Zones

Apr 26

Apr 26 Cork, Ireland

Days of rough seas finally came to an end as we arrived in Cobh, Ireland. The night was ROUGH! I really expected an announcement saying we would have to miss the final Irish port. With rough seas cancelling Waterford and Dublin, passengers were ready for the good news of an overnight port stop! We didn’t get much sleep because the ship tossed us around in a serious fashion!

But as dawn broke, we entered a protected port and prepared to explore a new port. Stepping off the ship, and just outside the harbor gate, is a train station. For ten euro each, we got round trip tickets into the city. Cork… here we come!

Hoards of people stepped off the train and started walking down the street. We decided to cross the street just to get away from the “herd”. It turned out to be a good choice because on our side of the street was a beautiful cathedral. St Patrick’s Church was built in Cork City between 1832 and 1836. It was modernized with the pillars in the late 1840’s. We walked inside and a mass was going on so we didn’t wander around like usual.

Our first order of business, after our little side jaunt in the church, was to find a Cappuccino! Across the street from the church, we found a cute coffee shop. Grabbing a couple stools, we ordered and enjoyed our morning ritual while listening to the locals chatter away.

Just outside the cafe, we walked a short block and crossed the River Lee. We were actually shocked… minutes before we figured this would be a VERY short trip into town because it seemed like a series of sleepy streets. When we crossed the river, it opened up into a good sized city!

The first thing we noticed was the city lights… notice the long steel strips with several lights on each? They could be lowered down. I was so intrigued by them that I looked up a little info… there are over 14 hundred public lighting columns in the city. In an effort to save money, the city is experimenting with LED lights.

We continued walking through town and came upon this outstanding cathedral… St. Fin Barre’s. My husband’s family wanted to name him Finbarre but settled for a more Americanized “Barry”. This structure… amazing! Tombstones throughout gave evidence as to how old the cathedral actually is. Though this church was completed in 1879, it has been a place of worship since the seventh century!

All around the grounds are tombs. Some of them are relatively clearly marked, some have long faded away.

As we walked away from the cathedral, we crossed paths with a sweet Irishman… He initiated a conversation with us out of the blue. Seriously… we were walking along a relatively busy sidewalk and he approached asking where we were from. We told him the United States and he was surprisingly excited. He was anxious to share some history of the area and ended with offering us the best place (besides Dublin) to get a Guinness. That’s exactly what we were looking for so it was perfect! We added orders of Shepherd’s Pie too… on a side note, there were Americans at the IRISH bar drinking Coor’s Light! Come on… you’re in Ireland!!!

One area we came across, near the Opera House, was full of planters with colorful flowers. You know by now that flowers always catch my eye!

We found another church along the way. One thing Europe has no shortage of and that’s churches! Perfect for me because I never tire of exploring them! I love seeing tributes to God! I love seeing people stop during their day… taking time to swing in and pray. Gives me hope!

This little scene caught my eye. The color of the bike. The placement. The flowers. Such a photo op. It would actually make the perfect “scene” for a painting. Wish I could paint…

After walking miles and miles, it was time for us to take the train back to the ship. So convenient! A very small station… we could have gone to Dublin but decided to save that for another time. Instead, back to the “mother ship”. Tomorrow is another day!

An overnight in port means a quiet ship! We decided to have an extra dinner at Chop’s Steak House. It gave us a perfect opportunity for Overture by Opus One. Yummy!