Blogs from Cobh, County Cork, Ireland, Europe - page 3

After a lovely sleep in Kilkenny at Auburndale and another delicious breakfast, we decided to head out to the Rock of Cashel. Since we got massively lost the night before in Kilkenny we decided to forego the castle and just move on. As we were driving through the Kilkenny – Cashel Scenic drive we came across a ruin of a church just outside of Rathmoyle on the way to Freshford. It looked just like a ruin from the side of the road – then as we got closer and looked inside, it had been in ruins for some time. A huge tree was growing right through the middle of it. It was also swarming with very large blackbirds. Just another example of how around every bend there is some sort of piece of history that is ... read more

The final rugby day of the tour was another cracker with not a cloud in the sky as we started the wake up rounds at 7:30. Despite the early night it was just as difficult as ever to get them up and going - I think they’ll sleep for a few days solid when they finally get home on Tuesday morning. Shaved lines in eyebrows seemed to be the fashion this morning - not to mention a couple of modifications to hairstyles that had magically happened overnight - must be the leprechauns sneaking around I think. We rounded them up and onto the bus by 9 for the short journey to the grounds. The list of medication required continues to shrink and I think that by the time we get them all home they’ll be ... read more

It was a very subdued night of the boys after their big defeat and we let them sleep-in until 9am to try and help with their tiredness. Some were still late to bed as it took quite a while to get through the ice, rest and then strap routine for a couple of the niggling injuries. Sam Wild and Cesar had managed to both crash out and ended up with over 15 hours of sleep each. This has made a huge difference to them both and they are well and truly on the mend now. A couple of others are showing the signs of wear and tear and may not be in the best of shape by tomorrow! The packing up is certainly getting much easier and the boys were able to get up, dressed, breakfasted ... read more

Work has brought me to Cork city and has also given me new opportunities to blog new places without getting on a plane or costing all that much. My days off are now full of plans to see a county I barley know anything about. Last time I set foot down here I was a child and my one memory was visiting Fota Wildlife Park. So where better to start my new adventures around the Rebel County. Cork so far has been excellent. It’s like a big Galway and small Dublin. It has probably got the best shopping street in the country by a long mile and each side street is filled with little café’s and excellent restaurants. We are working our way through the early bird menu’s, where you get three courses for €20. ... read more

Saturday continued.... Next we went to Cove (formerly known as Cobh and Queenstown). I really enjoyed Cove for a couple of reasons: 1) it was the last port of call for Titanic 2) The exhibit on the Titanic, emigrate ships, and convict ships was very well done, and 3) I found out the Coleman is an Irish surname. First we stopped at the St. Colman Cathedral-- it is a very beautiful and well kept cathedral. It was built in 1868 (but not finished until 1915). The carillon (A stationary set of chromatically tuned bells in a tower) is the biggest in Ireland, with 49 bells. They are tuned to the accuracy of a single vibration!! That must be really hard to do. My camera died right after I stepped inside, but Sarah has kindly shared her ... read more