This morning we steamed into Cobh, Ireland, (pronounced Cove) and had a full day to explore this little region of Ireland. I woke up early, excited to spot my first view of the Emerald Isle, and shocked Mike when he woke up and I was already dressed and on the balcony. Our first view of Ireland was of a pretty lighthouse overlooking a row of multicolored houses marking the entrance to the inlet that leads to Cobh, which is outside of Cork. We wended our way up a channel past green fields, fishing boats, and well, a couple of factories. But the factories were backlit by an awfully pretty sky! Overall, though, it was a very beautiful introduction to Ireland.

We soon pulled up in front of Cobh itself, which is extremely picturesque, but the ship was pointed the wrong way so we watched as a couple of tugs pirouetted the ship through a 180 degree turn to position us next to the dock. Since we were up and ready to roll, we somehow managed to make our way to the disembarkation deck just in time to hit the line as they allowed us to exit, avoiding any line at all. No small feat when there are 3000 passengers all waiting to leave the ship.

We had decided to catch the train into Cork since Cobh is a very small town and we had all day. The train station is adjacent to the ship terminal, and our timing was once again perfect as we walked up to a short ticket line and then had only a 10 minute wait for the next train. We even got seats! And then felt sorry for all the folks still standing in line for tickets as our train pulled out of the station. Well, not too sorry.

Cork was a very short 24 minute ride from Cobh, passing along the shore for part of the way, and even past a couple of small castle-like structures. Cork was a delightful small city with a lot of streets to walk and shop. An enquiry at the first shop we stopped in guided us to the English Market, which was a great warren of open butcher shops, cheese shops, bakeries, etc, reminiscent of Pike Place Market. We hit a bakery and started with a chocolate croissant (me) and raisin scone (Mike), but then Mike could not just walk past the sausage stand, so he also had a sausage on a stick. Yes, he shared, and it was yummy.

We had visions of a pub lunch with a glass of Guinness, but after scouring many blocks, we figured out that in Cork, beer and food do not come together. Beer, food, beer, food—a tough decision, but we opted for the beer and found a bar to have our lunch in. We’re in Ireland, after all! I had a Guinness and Mike had a Beamish, just so we could sample each other’s. Unfortunately, we were so anxious to have our first gulps that the picture is not as, um, full as it could be. Oh well, you get the idea.

Some of the other patrons of the bar were a family from France—mom and dad and their two young sons. Soon after we came into the bar, the song ‘Paradise’ came on the sound system and every time the chorus of  “Paradise” came on (the words paradise sung repeatedly), the two boys would both launch vigorously into their version of the chorus. They were completely out of sync and out of tune, but it was it was so darn cute that now whenever I hear that song, I am going to think of those two boys in the bar in Cork.

Now properly fortified, we hit the streets of Cork again for some serious shopping. There were many sporting goods stores so I finally gave in to temptation and got a pair of deliciously beautiful purple soccer shoes that fit my feet oh so well. Go figure—they’re Nikes but I can’t find turf shoes anywhere in Seattle in such great colors. I was thrilled. We’re still searching for the perfect cycle jersey for Mike, but I’m sure it’s waiting out there for him.

Returning to Cobh on the train, we renewed our search for an Irish meal and found not many choices. We finally settled on a small place that offered more traditional fare and tucked into Shepherd’s Pie (Tami) and Seafood Pie (Mike). Both were quite tasty.

It did not take long to exhaust the browsing in Cobh. It’s very picturesque, but the shops are very limited. The town’s main claim to fame is that it was the last stop of the Titanic before she headed across the Atlantic. (And the town is full of Titanic memorabilia everywhere – you want a Titanic t-Shirt, this is the place! – M)  April 12^th was the 100^th anniversary of her departure from Cobh, and there is a museum right downtown that is all about the Titanic.  I’m sure it was very interesting but it was also stuffed with cruisers, so we decided we should find out how the bars in Cobh compare with those in Cork.

We found the Rob Roy just off the main street so we wandered in to check it out. Ordered a couple of pints, and lo and behold, it was clear that the FA Cup final, Chelsea v Liverpool, was scheduled to start soon. We found nice comfy seats in front of the big screen TV and settled in for one of the biggest games of the year. Unfortunately, it was still an hour before the start of the game, and the ship sailed before the end of the game, but we had time to at least watch the first half. What better way to watch the FA Cup final than in a bar in Ireland with a room full of raucous football fans!

The room steadily filled until it was quite crammed with fellows in red Liverpool jerseys.  Every once in a while they would start singing to whatever music was playing in the bar.  Finally, the whistle blew and the match began. Our fellow patrons were as much fun as the game. They kept up a constant commentary on the relative merits of each of the players and had no mercy for any Chelsea player. There was a brief moment of quiet, then cursing, as Chelsea scored a goal partway through the half. It only seemed to spur them on to greater exhortations for their team, their boys, to pull through. Sadly, we had to leave at half time and their boys were still down 0-1. We later heard that Chelsea prevailed, so perhaps it’s best we weren’t there for the finish.

Back to the ship and up to the deck so we could watch the view as we steamed out through the channel to the open sea. We had a fine day In Ireland and are excited about tomorrow in Falmouth, Cornwall. And we have been specifically informed that it is Cornwall, NOT England!

Cheers!

-T