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Traveling in Ireland

Spur of the moment I decided I would do one last trip. I wanted to go somewhere in England or the United Kingdom that I had never visited. So I took to the internet in search of where to go. I saw a picture on social media of a place called Cobh (pronounced Cove) and it looked beautiful. After doing some research I found that Cobh is in Cork, Ireland, and that I could catch a Ryan Air flight there. I booked my flight, found a hotel, that just happened to be in the photo I saw, inspiring me to want to go to Cobh. I was really excited for my next solo adventure.
The day arrived and I woke up early to pack my little back pack and head out. The 2 hour non stop bus ride to Gatwick felt like a breeze compared to the 3+ hour ride to Stanstead I’d done previously. I am becoming a pro at public transportation! I made it to the airport, through security, and was off to Ireland.
Landing at Cork Airport I knew the fastest way to get to Blarney Castle, my first stop for the day, was by taxi. I was only staying in Ireland for a day and knew I should get to my first place of interest the fastest way.

About 30 minutes and 25 euro later I was at the castle. Once I got into the castle grounds I was blown away by how beautiful it was. It was colder than it had been back home in England but, it was the perfect temperature.

The gardens were gorgeous and I wished I was staying longer than one day and night. I could have spent the whole day wandering through the different gardens. I slowly made my way through the grounds taking a few pictures but mostly taking in the views.

Finally, I arrived at the castle where I was shocked by the long line. The Blarney stone is located at the top of the castle and is said to bring you good luck if you kiss it upside down. It took about 45 minutes, through the VERY narrow spiral staircase, to get to the top. The view of the surrounding fields and castle grounds was beautiful, then it was my turn to kiss the stone. It was nerve-racking putting your life in someone else’s hands but I didn’t wait 45 minutes not to kiss the Blarney stone! Besides who doesn’t want a bit of good luck! After this I strolled through the gardens some more before deciding to catch the bus back to Cork.

I made it to Cork in about 30 minutes on the bus and quickly felt uneasy there. The bus driver had been giving me weird looks and I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I was not comfortable in this town sadly and hoped Cobh would be a little bit different.

Since I collect Starbucks mugs from different countries and states, I decided to find the closest Starbucks and then make my way to Cobh. After getting my Ireland cup I went to the bus station but discovered I could not take the bus to Cobh like I had read online. Luckily, there was a nice gentlemen who told me how to get to the train station where I would be able to find a train to Cobh. Again I came across a nice man at the train station who helped me to quickly get my train ticket as the next train was leaving in ONE minute! All of the strange looks and rude people had been out weighed by these nice gentlemen and their help.

When I got to Cobh I knew it was all worth it. The hotel was easy to find as it was close to the station and over looked the water just like in the picture I had seen. I retrieved my room key and headed to the top floor hoping for a Seaview. As I opened the door I was in love. The room was simple but nice and the view was once again, breathtaking! I settled in and then set out to explore. By this time it was about 7 and I didn’t think about shops closing soon. I walked through the streets looking at the quaint houses and the sea views.

Realizing I was hungry I turned back to find something to eat. All the souvenir shops I had passed on the way had closed and I was sad I wouldn’t be able to get any, but that just meant I would have to come back.

I chose to eat at the hotel restaurant and was so glad I did! I had seafood tagliatelle which had cod, shrimp, salmon and white wine sauce. It was so delicious! It also came with a side of my choice. Wanting to get in as much british food as possible I had chips and loaded them with ketchup and vinegar. While we are on ketchup, have I mentioned how much better it tastes in Europe… at least in my opinion!

After a busy day of exploring I settled in for the night and enjoyed the view as the sunset.

The next morning I was up early for the breakfast that was included. After a quick snack I headed to catch the train back to Cork for my early flight back to England. Although this was not my favorite trip I would like to go back to other parts of Ireland to explore for a little bit longer. I might find traveling in Ireland to be better in other parts of the country. Maybe Ireland will be on my list of places to visit next year!

Be sure to check out some of my other travel blogs here and here!