Janet and two other gals from this trip wanted to go into the Art museum and I really did not. So I told them to go on ahead and I'll sit in Starbucks and have a cup of coffee. Little did I know Starbucks would be so cool looking.
But let me back up a bit. This morning we hopped on the coach again and headed to a small port town called Cobh (pronounced "cove". I learned today the Gaelic language doesn't have the letter 'v' in their language. But a "bh" or an "mh" makes the sound of a v. Who knew? 4 million Gaelic speaking people on the Emerald Isle that's who.)
Ahem. Anyhow, what's so special about Cobh? Well, it's a charming little fishing village, but more importantly it is the last stop the Titantic made before it's fateful trip. We had a somewhat famous historian about the Titantic give us a walking tour around some of the memorials and provide us the "truth" about the Titantic. It was fascinating to hear. I sat and wondered about the people who got off the boat on that day since Cobh was their stop. Or the worker guy who got too drunk in a pub and didn't make it back on the boat before it sailed. Those peoples lives were forever changed by one decision they made. Crazy, isn't it?
Now I've officially seen the last place the Titantic stopped AND the cemetery in Canada that most of the lost souls was buried in.
The other thing about Cobh is that the Lisuatania was torpedoed just outside the harbor. They have this fantastic memorial statue for it. The angle is standing on a sword to denote peace. And the two men below were two fishermen who spent HOURS picking up survivors in the water and bringing them into shore.
We had some free time when Michael, the tour guide, was finished with us so Janet and I decided to walk up to the St. Colman's Cathedral. And by walk UP I mean this massive, very steep hill. As we were walking up and I was hyperventilating because of all the exercise I wondered why I was doing this. But then when we got to the top and we saw how MASSIVE this building was, it was totally worth it. I should also mention as we were walking up this hill, as we crested the top the wind was blowing so hard that it blew Janet's glasses off the top of her head.
After the tour we got to do something that I wasn't even sure what it was when we signed up. The company, Grand Circle, does these Home Hosted Lunches where we go and have a lunch prepared by an Irish family and we learn about their lives. We were hosted today by a wonderful woman named Joan. She fixed the most fantastic meal I've had. We started with a salad that was an end all be all salad. Followed by the most scrumptious Cottage Pie I've had. But the dessert! That was what put it over the edge. She fixed a Bailey's Cheesecake...Let me just tell you...I was so tempted to pick up my plate and lick it. It was so freaking good that I'm sure I'll dream about it for years.
Back in Cork we decided to walk around a bit more, but really, there isn't much to see in Cork itself. So we found a nice little pub with heated benches outside and stopped in to have a beer and a whiskey.
Later in the evening, the Hurling Championship game was on and since we all learned about hurling we went down to watch the game. It's a violent, brutal game, but so fun to watch.
Tomorrow it's off to the Blarney Castle. I won't be kissing the Blarney stone - gross - but I do plan on going up to the top of the castle...it's 127 steps so I hope I can make it.
Tomorrow is also the sheep dog exploration series. I cannot wait to meet me some sheep dogs...and maybe a few sheep. I may or may not try to smuggle one home. The dog, not the sheep.
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