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The Day the Sun Shone in Cork

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The day began with rain, so we donned our coats and walked down to catch the Hop on Hop off bus into town before our 24 hour ticket expired at 11. This time, the bus was on time and stopped at the correct stop when we hailed it.  We began by wandering up the famous Oliver Plunkett street and exploring this pretty shopping and foodie precinct.  Back down near the river, we found a restaurant called Luigi Malones and couldn’t quite decide whether we were in Italy or Ireland, however we ventured in and found some pretty good food to suit all our tastes, across both cultures (Wallsy and I had pizza/Julie and Mark had soup). We emerged from lunch to find the sun out and some warmth in the air. Shedding our raincoats, we crossed the river and walked up a steep hill to St Anne’s Church and the Shandon Bells and Tower, which incongruously has a gold fish on top as the weather vane.  Inside, we donned ear defenders to protect our hearing against the sound of the bells and then cli...
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The Day it Rained in Cork

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  Lulled into a false sense of security by yesterday’s sunshine and mild temperatures, we were shocked (slight exaggeration!) to wake up to rain and muted views of the buildings across the River Lee, so we pondered what to do for the day.  We have to admit we were struggling to work out the idiosyncrasies of the heating and hot water systems, so much so, that Mark and Julie had been treated to cold showers last night. Stephen and I had declined cold showers this morning.  However, an angel called Maggie, who lives in the flat below, called in to see us, and competently answered all of our many questions. The upside of this was, Wallsy and I were able to have warm showers after breakfast.  We then decided to brave the weather and walk down to Wellington Bridge where we could hail the Hop on Hop off bus. Thinking we had plenty of time, we were surprised to see the bus arriving at the stop 14 minutes early. We flagged him down anyway, and he obligingly stopped on the br...
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The Day of Farewells and New Starts

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 Today we farewelled both our wonderful friends from Yorkshire, and the vibrant city of Dublin.  While Mark and Julie went off to the fantastic Irish Emigration Museum we had visited yesterday, the rest of us took another walk in Phoenix Park, this time visiting the Tea Rooms for a coffee and cake before our midday checkout from the Ashling Hotel.  Back at the hotel we met up with Mark and Julie and said our fond farewells to David and Carolyn. We then walked the short distance across the Liffey to Heuston Station, where we grabbed some food for the train trip and waited expectantly to learn which platform our train to Cork would depart from.  We enjoyed a smooth 2.5 hour journey, watching the green countryside pass by and arrived into Cork at about 15:30. Unfortunately we had an unpleasant encounter with the taxi driver from the station. Not only did he spray the car with air freshener while we were in it, on arriving at the very expansive complex of buildings that ...
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The Day of the EPIC Museum

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EPIC stands for Every Person Is Connected which is the theme of the Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin.  This was one of the places we visited today.  Mark and Julie had booked a tour to County Wicklow today and the rest of us had planned to have a quiet day in the city, beginning with a leisurely breakfast together.  Following breakfast in the hotel, Carolyn, David, Wallsy, and I set off for a walk to nearby Phoenix Park and the Wellington Monument. We didn’t see any of the famous Fallow Deer, but did find a little squirrel feasting on acorns.  After checking out the impressive and very tall Wellington Monument we caught the Hop on Hop off bus back up town to O’Connell Street and walked on a little further to the CHQ (Custom House Quay) building which houses the Irish Emigration Museum.  The museum deals with the diaspora of the Irish to many countries over the centuries for reasons which included famine, conflict, and economic migration. These and many other to...
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The Day of the Big Bus Tour

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 The sun was shining as Mark, Julie, Wallsy and I set out to forage for breakfast this morning. A nice little cafe in Dublin Heuston Railway Station provided exactly what we needed. Fuelled for the day, we returned to the hotel to meet up with Carolyn and David in the foyer, where we held protracted discussions about the plan for the day.  It was agreed that a Hop on Hop off bus tour would be a good way to start, but which company should we go with? Did we want the 24 or 48 hour ticket? Did we want to add a river cruise? Would we use the included night tour if we bought the 48 hour ticket? This, and many more questions kept us talking and debating the pros and cons for a good half an hour.  We finally decided on the Big Bus Tours option and set out for the bus stop near the hotel. On board, we enjoyed the live commentary of the young Irish driver. Unfortunately, before we had completed the full circuit, it was time for his break and we had to change buses and drivers. The...
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