Circumnavigating the UK - Day 7-8 Dublin and Cobh

Back to the cruise.  I am going to combine two days into one post as I don't have many photos to share from these days.

Our 7th day saw us arriving in the capital of Southern Ireland, Dublin.  We arrived at the same time as an absolute monster of a cruise ship called the Celebrity Silhouette which looked like a moving street of tower blocks. It was a rather late morning for us by the time we boarded the shuttle bus into Dublin's centre just as it began to rain.... Not a good start!

The journey took us along the river passing picturesque bridges and a combination of historic and modern buildings. We alighted the bus on a pretty square with gardens and parked by a house that was associated with Oscar Wilde.

We walked along the thoroughfare glancing into a very nice department store called O'Kinney's where Mum bought some soap and I admired Orla Kiely items.

What was immediately evident to us as how horribly crowded Dublin was on this day, compounded by rain, numerous road works and thus rendered our onward progress both slow and irritating as we attempted to manouvere round gawping, snail-paced pedestrians.

We glanced into Cath Kidston and contemplated book dresses and dinosaur umbrellas.  The rain was getting a bit too much so we headed into a French bistro where Earl Grey tea and hot chocolate were supped respectively.

Yes, this is how bedraggled I look on holiday when what I wore for the day does not go with a yellow raincoat. We've got a traffic light look with the Shamrock-green postbox though!

We decided to head for the Cathedral but didn't end up going inside. We found ourselves at the river.  This building was so attractively decorated.

I liked the fact there was an orange man as well as the green and red men.  We had seen reference to the National Leprechaun museum and since we were near it, decided to go and find out what this was. It sounded right up our street, a treat in storytelling and giant props so you feel leprechaun-sized but sadly there was a 2 hour wait and Mum's legs weren't up to it.  Lucky chance led us to notice a music shop on our walk so we  headed in and I bought  a beautiful Tony Dixon D Irish whistle as I couldn't find my own set of tin whistles (typically, I found them exactly a week ago) and a book with CD of Irish music session sets of jigs and reels to learn. In truth, I was craving an instrument after a week of not having played one!

We headed into back into town back towards the bus back to the ship as we were wet and a bit miserable.  We made a quick detour into a touristy shop where Mum bought lucky rainbow socks and I bought a Shamrock pin.

We saw a large troupe of those mime artistes who upped and walked not one second after this.

We also had a look at old Molly Malone, she of Dublin's fair city selling cockles and mussels.

After a long walk, we found ourselves back at the pretty gardens where we saw this lounging Oscar Wilde.

Back on the ship, dinner was a very pleasant affair and I was invited to go and play games with E and F, some of our table companions.  I was introduced to Rummicub, a really fun game and after this, an uproarious game of Pictionary which got a bit noisy and may have disturbed other people a bit.  It made a happy and fun end to a less than ideal day.  I am sure Dublin is delightful in the sun but there were just too many people, too many roadworks and too much rain!

The next day was a total contrast.  We arrived in the pretty village of Cobh in glorious sunshine. Before we came, I had called our friends who live 45 minutes drive from here to tell them we were coming close and would she like to meet which she was glad to do.

Mum gave our friend Denise a call. She was our next door neighbour when I was young and is someone I am very fond of. I used to walk her dogs as a teenager (she gave me that parrot brooch from 5 brooches) and she invited me to their home in Ireland a few years before.

Cobh train station was just by the boat so many people were able to head off into Cork but there seemed to me pleasant walks and boat trips you could take in Cobh, as well as browsing the shops and the Titanic experience.

Denise and her husband Richard pulled up in their car soon after and we hopped in. They had darling Skudie in their car, an elderly Springer Spaniel.  The drive from Cobh to their home in Youghal was pretty and enjoyable.

Eventually we reached the town where Denise picked up some salad and we continued to their house. I had forgotten how amazing the views are from their home.

After a cup of tea and a chat, we drove off with Denise to go for a cliff-top walk.  After the busyness of Dublin, we just wanted some quiet, scenic and beautiful walks.

The weather was just perfect and the views were delightful.

Denise is such a fun and ebullient lady.  She has such a big heart and I am always so glad to see her.

The sea was a sight for sore eyes.

We had a real comedy moment when we reached Declan's well below.

Mum asked Denise if it was Spring water and drinkable.  Denise replied in the affirmative it was so Mum bent down and scooped up some water.

Not 5 seconds later, a dog appeared out of nowhere, barged me out of the way to leap straight into the well and turned round and round, disturbing all the silt and mud down the bottom which we were suddenly made aware of.

All three of us watched the dog in stunned silence and then burst into hysterical laughter for a full 5 minutes.

These two photos are the epitomy of Denise for me. Hilarious!

I adore these pictures!

The dog nonchalantly continued his vigorous ablutions as we regarded him and his owner appeared.

We continued on our walk.  Even Mum, who has fybromyalgia and gets tired easily was spurred on by this gentle but interesting walk and was able to easily walk the onward miles.

I'll continue to share these beautiful views as I continue the journal.  We eventually came back to the car and drove back to Denise's house where Richard had prepared a beautiful fresh Tuna Nicoise salad with cooked tuna steaks.  We sat in the garden and basked in the sun whilst eating our fill and enjoyed a delicious chocolate orange cake which used no fat but used boiled oranges instead.

My camera had died at this point, hence the lack of additional photos.  All too soon it was necessary to make our way back to the boat. We took a detour to the cathedral in Cobh for a little look- it was very pretty and then Denise dropped us on the High Street where we bade her a sad goodbye and had a wander.

I wandered for longer whilst Mum returned to the ship.  As I reached the gangplank at the last possibly minute, the town band was setting up to play us off. Cobh was an unexpected delight.

Because departure time was fairly early, we had time before dinner to go and sit in the Jacuzzis on board ship.  I also went and swam in the unheated saltwater pool and chatted to a lady called Faith whilst others looked on at our bravery at attempting the chilly water.

That night it was a Greek-themed night and the restaurant was decked in white and blue and we ate tasty Greek cuisine.  

It was also one of the special buffet nights after dinner with intricately-carved fruit and vegetables and many treats to sample but  will share that at another point.

In conclusion, this rather domestic day in the course of our journey was a delight and a real contrast.

What luck that we could see a much-missed family friend as part of our holiday.

Stay tuned for the next instalment of my cruise which was the most eagerly anticipated of all our destinations- the magnificent Isles of Scilly with an added blogging-delight in the the form of a Blogger meet-up!!!!!

Have you been to Dublin or Cobh?  What did you think?

xx