Ireland 2 - Cobh & Cork

 

We drove to Cobh in the early morning of Day 2. Cobh is a small port town built on a south side of an island (Great Island) in the south of Ireland.  Within a few minutes walk from where we parked our car, we were exited at the town's famous picturesque views of St. Colman's Cathedral overlooking Cork Harbour and the Atrantic as well as colorful houses lined up on a steep hill.

Walking down to the waterfront was quick and easy via a short-cut walkway called the Rock Steps. There were more colorful buildings that made the town cheerful.

In contract, the cute town is notably associated with the significant tragedy of 1912. Cobh was the last port of call for the Titanic. A decaying pier next to the historic White Star Line Building was the original pier, where the last passengers boarded the ship on Thursday April 11th 1912. It looked sad...

Located near the Heartbreak Pier, Seasalt Cafe and Deli Cobh serves a lovely breakfast today. I had a vegetarian full breakfast and J had a real Irish full breakfast.

We strolled around the main street for a while after the substantial breakfast, examining how far the row of colorful building runs...   

A part of the sky was suddenly getting clear. We expected unpredictable weather during this Ireland trip. 

We climbed up the Rock Steps and stepped into the neo-Gothic style cathedral. Built between 1868 and 1915, St. Colman's Cathedral was specifically modeled after the 12th-century French cathedrals, featuring elaborate stone carvings, large stained glass windows and a remarkable spire. 

The partially blue sky gave me a chance to take better photos of the harbour side although the clouds were moving fast and getting more cloudy again...

We drove about 30 minutes to Cork, the second-largest city in Ireland. Although there were a lot of shops and restaurants, many were closed because it was Sunday. So was the English Market, which was what I most wanted to see in Cork. After all, I didn't figure out why Cork was widely recognized as the food capital of Ireland.

After another hour drive west we came to County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. It was the primary destination of our trip. We missed a lunch in Cork and ended up having a dinner at the bar of our hotel, situated on the outskirts of the town of Killarney. Actually the hotel was quite charming. The bar was cozy and served decent food. 

 

Thank you J for a long drive! He deserved a pint of chilled Guinness. 

My creamy cauliflower soup was very good. We shared Caesar salad, which was nice too. I believe J enjoyed his Steak frites. 

To be continued...