Cork Trip, Part 2: Cobh

     On Sunday, we five travelers ventured to the seaside town of Cobh (pronounced Cove), just a half-hour train ride away.  The early morning train ride itself was great--the train tracks were literally built on the beach.  Aside from its loveliness, its main attraction is that it was the last port of call for the Titanic.  When we arrived, the sun was shining on the quaint town above us.  Cobh is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been--I think I've found my future retirement community.

Within twenty minutes, the clouds began rolling in.

     We ran around the town, getting pelted by the most violent rain I've ever experienced, trying to find someplace to eat.  Unfortunately, most places were closed on a Sunday until we managed to find a restaurant that boasted "Real Irish Breakfasts!", was manned by a very French chef, and played Eminem and Sweet Home Alabama over the speakers.  All the same, the food was fantastic and extremely cheap.

     After the sun broke through the thunderclouds, we ventured up the hill to St. Patrick's Cathedral (I swear, there's a St. Patrick's Cathedral in every Irish city).  The outside was gorgeous, and the priest saw us gawking and invited us to look around after the service ended.  We entered the cathedral at the time he had told us, only to discover that the pews were almost completely filled.  We snuck into a back row and sat for about thirty seconds until a line of people began marching towards us.  It turns out we had interrupted Communion AND stolen people's seats, who were now beginning to return from Communion.  Needless to say, we made a very hasty exit.

     We also saw the famous Deck of Cards houses.  The houses are identical, except each is built on a different level to accommodate the hillside, and each is a different color.

   After that, we wandered around Cobh a bit longer before taking the train back to Cork.

I think this has something to do with the Titanic.

The sun over the seaside.

Guardian Angel of Cobh?

 
   We returned to Cork thoroughly pleased with our adventure.  We had a few hours to kill, and wandered around Cork proper until we ended up in the best place in the world.

The best hot chocolate place I've ever been to.  It was....indescribable.

When I'm rich and famous, I may travel to Cork just to get this hot chocolate.

Sleepy girlies.

    Thoroughly exhausted, we crashed for about an hour, and then got on the bus back to Dublin.  Thankfully, the heat was working, but this time the bus was completely full and very loud.  I got a fantastic 14 hours of sleep that night, and I've never been happier.