Somewhere, beyond the sea

Today we left cork for our eventual destination of Bantry on the southwest of Ireland. First, we headed eastbound and down to Cobh (which has been Cove, and Queenstown in previous lives). This was the last port of call for many emigrating Irish as they headed off to America and many other places to escape famine at home. Also, the Titanic picked up its final passengers here, before heading off on its final voyage. The Lusitania is related here as well, as it was torpedoed 12 miles off the coast and sank, with great loss of life.

We started off at a Titanic museum. While small, it was very interesting. We were able to be in to-scale reproductions of a first-class and third-class cabin. While the third-class was definitely smaller than first, after seeing some examples of how the poor lived in that period, I must say that the cabin was pretty nice.

Then, we did another walking tour. Our guide was very friendly, and extremely knowledgable. We walked all over Cobh, and ended up at the huge cathedral which stands over the harbor. It is quite impressive. There was a funeral going on, so we didn't go in, but if the outside was any indiction, I'm sure it was beautiful.

Next, we headed to go east. We took a ferry across to sidestep backtracking through Cork. The weather started misting a bit on us, so some of the scenery became shrouded, but it was still beautiful.

We were looking for a castle and gardens, and found an old friary instead. The inside was filled with graves, some very old, and some pretty recent. We never could find the castle, but headed on west.

On the way to see where a particular road led - we came across a sign for a ring fort. We pulled over, parked, and opened the gate. The mist picked up a bit more, and by the time we had gone 30 feet, Carrie and Pat's feet were soaked. I, on the other hand, was wearing hiking shoes, and my feet stayed nice and dry. Score 1 for me! At the end of the path, there was a huge set of stairs cut into the hillside. Carrie and I ran up the stairs - finally got my heart rate up into the training level :) At the top of the hill, there was an ancient ring-fort. Even with the drizzle, there was great visibility all around. I'm sure in nicer weather, you could have seen for miles and miles. We made it back to the car, and after backing out very carefully, got back on our way.

When we arrived at Bantry House, our B&B, it felt like we had stepped back 150 years. Bantry House and gardens has been on our list of things to see both previous trips, but we never have made it here. On this trip, we saw that you can actually stay here. It is a country manor house with breathtaking views of Bantry Bay and manicured gardens. The only downside was bringing our luggage up 2 and 3 flights of stairs. We got unpacked, and went into Bantry so Pat and Carrie could buy some more appropriate shoes.

Bantry is not what you might call a car-friendly town. I ended up dropping them off by the shoe store and continue to loop around looking for an empty parking place. With all the one-way streets, and narrow spaces, as well as being on the left side of the street...when one finally opened up I was ecstatic. Les and I went and paid for shoes, then we walked over to have dinner at a very nice restaurant. Carrie and I (as well as Pat and Les) split some fish and chips - possibly the best either of us has had.

I've been starting to come down with a cold, so I went right to bed after - no time to journal. So this one's a bit late. It was a full day, and it was good.