1 Landed in Manchester, England Friday morning, and met up with Terry. Pouring rain all day... welcome to England!
2 Had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manchester. The bartender was from Michigan!
3 Getting to the hotel in Cork, Ireland at 10 pm. Notice how light it still is!
4 Amazing... it's time to call it a day and it's as bright as noon in Manchester!
5 The ride into the city of Cork. Have to get used to being on the wrong side of the road.
6 Cork is historically an industrial and seaport city.
7 And it has the typical residential areas on the outskirts.
8 Wish I could remember the name of the river that empties into the Celtic Sea from Cork (Corcaigh in Gaelic).
9 Another look at the real Corcaigh along the waterway.
10 One of numerous monuments to historic figures and events you find all over Ireland.
11 A cross-river look at the shopping district of Cork.
12 Interesting architecture, especially since it's hundreds of years old.
13 We found the best stuff in an old junk store in downtown Cork.
14 I liked the ivy and wrought iron fence, so I asked Terry to take a picture.
15 One of many bridges, just south of the city center.
16 All the pubs have empty kegs outside the door for return. This was Saturday... must have been a wild Friday night.
17 Liked the woodwork on this lawyer's office door. Even commercial buildings had craftsmanship evident.
18 Heading out of downtown Cork, I liked the sign for Limerick and Blarney, two world-known places in Ireland.
19 Interesting brickwork.
20 An old mill was converted to a lovely courtyard and restaurant named "Greene's".
21 A view of Greene's from the other direction. Maybe you can pick out the waterfall in the background?
22 Downtown Cork is a great place to shop, even though the roads are all torn up for upgrading services. The booms are lights for the crew.
23 I was intrigued with the brick work... looks like the whole block was built by one guy!
24 Kind of reminds me of the Alamo... what's that doing in Ireland?
25 Cork City Hall, from a distance, across the plaza.
26 And a closer look.
27 An Episcopal Church. The bells were chiming as we walked past.
28 Heading south from Cork, on our way to Cobh (pronounced "cove").
29 On our way to Cobh, which is an island and a huge harbor on the Celtic Sea, which serves the city of Cork.
30 Still on the way to Cobh. About a 30 minute ride from downtown.
31 Did I really take two pictures of the same green hill?
32 Entering the village of Cobh.
33 The sign says "Welcome to Cobh" in both English and Gaelic. All the signs are bi-lingual.
34 A view of the huge bay that serves as the deepest Irish harbor.
35 The approach to the village of Cobh.
36 Each building has a pub as its ground floor business.
37 Amazing church steeple, considering it was built by hand hundreds of years ago.
38 A monument to the lost souls of the Titanic. On her maiden voyage, Cobh was her last port-of-call before the tragic accident.
39 A close-up of the plaque.
40 Cobh City Hall, right on the waterfront.
41 Looks more like a light-house.
42 White Star Line Restaurant. We visited a gift shop next door, which in 1912 was the ticket office for the ocean-liner and from where the last passengers boarded.
43 Very colorful and interesting side road in Cobh.
44 Doesn't look like a local, does he?
45 Beautiful garden along a water-front park in Cobh.
46 And a gazebo at the same park.
47 Historic cannons also are at the park. Take a close look at the light post... more decorative than any in the US!
48 Really nice tile work along the edge of the water-front park.
49 Stopped in for a pint at the Voyager, and were invited to a birthday party later that night (but we took a pass).
50 A memorial to those who were lost on the Lusitania, whose last port-of-call was Cobh, just like the Titanic.
51 Beautiful garden leading the way up a private drive in Cobh.
52 The entrance to the water-front park.
53 The left side view of the entrance to the port of Cobh...
54 ...and the right side view.
55 A US Navy ship (missle-destroyer) docked while we watched...
56 ... what a huge ship! A local guy we talked to said USN vessels come in often for liberty.
57 We ran down to the dock for a closer look at the flag-raising ceremony. A young man near us (from Florida) was greeting his sister, who serves on the ship.
58 She's named the "Leyte Gulf", can barely make out the name on the transom.
59 The technology on the ship is amazing... how many radar towers are there?
60 The ceremonial raising of the colors. It put a knot in my throat, seeing US sailors raise our flag in a foreign port.
61 One of many silly pictures of road signs that I took. But I like the stone "fort" along side the highway.
