Ireland…briefly

by Elizabeth & Gary's Magic Bus Tour

Dublin has many interesting sights and much history. BUT, a significant amount of time was spent here five years ago on that wonderful, ‘bucket list’ golf tour, where GB friends met up to take in all the ‘must sees’, pubs and fine dining. So – this trip did little more than get off the boat and explore the market in the port town. Fortunately, it was a nice day for such exploring —

The ship anchored off the coast of Dún Laoghaire, a port city near Dublin.
A walk through the local Sunday Farmer’s Market was needed.
The downtown streets of Dún Laoghaire were busy with cars and people but most of the shops and restaurants were closed as it was Sunday.

The next port – Cobh, Ireland – provided its own history as well as the port city for Cork.

The dock was conveniently located at the entry to the old city AND at the station for the train to Cork. Cobh was the last port for the Titanic before it began its fateful trip across the Atlantic. One can almost visualize the bustle as the excited passengers were boarding – not knowing what awaited them. With the ship docked at the edge of town, there were awesome views of the old town from our veranda.

In Cobh, County Cork, the ship docked at the same spot used by the Titanic in 1912 to pick up its last 128 passengers.
A quaint historic church which is now the City Museum.
The view of colorful Cobh from our ship.

A hop on the train at the dock gets one to Cork in a quick 30 minutes. From there one can get to the historic part of the city, the iconic English Market and the shopping street of St. Patrick’s Street within a few minutes walk.

One of the city’s most iconic landmarks is Saint Anne’s Church, with its gold salmon weather vane. If you are willing to climb the 132 steps to the Shannon Bells in the tower, you can ring them and get a fantastic view of the city!

We chose not to climb the 132 steps – but to just listen and enjoy.
The church’s bell tower has a clock on all four sides – none of which tell the same time. The locals refer to the tower as a four-faced liar.

Climbing up to the church worked up an appetite, so off to Oliver Plunkett Street to find food. Wandering all the funny little side streets was quite entertaining – especially since every other shop seemed to sell donuts and very inventive donuts at that!!!

Could you get any more stuff on/in a donut?!?

It was finally time to wander back to the train station for a quick trip back to the ship. A wonderful surprise was waiting as the townspeople had a band to serenade the ship as it sailed away. How fun is this when leaving a port?

As the ship was preparing to leave Cobh, a local band provided the soundtrack.


Good bye to Ireland and off to France.
E & G hoping for a smoother sail than the Titanic🤞😂

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