A visit to that well known Viking city of Dubh Linn

I bet you are saying what the heck is he talking about? Writing a blog post after all those free samples at the Jameson Distillery and the Guinness Storehouse?
     
Well no, that isn’t the case.  In 759 A.D. the Vikings established a walled city and named it Dubh Linn which we now know it as Dublin, Ireland. I found out today that Dublin is short for “City with more beer, whiskey and pubs than any other city in Ireland” (or maybe the world)!
We took a shuttle from the ship into the main part of the city.  Once there we purchased tickets for the hop on hop off tour bus.  This is done to see the highlights of the city and take photos of people’s heads we don’t know with unknown buildings in the background.
 
  
See how well I did, got all those heads of strangers with buildings in the background that I have no idea what they are (got my money’s worth)!
One unique thing about parts of Dublin, the row homes all have different color front doors:

I think that may come from too many pubs with all that beer and whiskey that is consumed. After you leave the pub and head down your street you just have to remember what color your front door is to get home safely!
We did have a chance to walk over the HA’ Penny (half penny) Bridge and have a few Irish coffees at O’Sullivan’s Pub. Looks like I had too many coffees at the Pub (what color was our cabin door? ):
             
I must add that the weather was great, the food and coffee were fantastic -- and it whetted our appetite to make sure we come back and enjoy Dublin on a longer stay.

A Walk in the Irish Sunshine

We had fabulous, sunny weather for our first ever visit to Ireland. Our ship docked in the harbor in Cobh -- pronounced Cove – once called Queenstown, and probably best known as the Titanic’s last port of call before it headed across the Atlantic.

                        

We took a walking tour along the Titanic Trail, which started right off the gangway of our ship. One of the highlights was seeing the remains of the pier that the Titanic passengers used. There was a replica of a sign that directed the passengers to the proper line for boarding the ship as they exited the White Star Lines building.

  

Cobh is a very interesting place, aside from the Titanic ties. There’s the story of Annie Moore and her two brothers who left Queenstown on the SS Nevada in December of 1891. On January 1st, 1892, after arriving in New York, Annie became the first emigrant to be processed at Ellis Island. A statue is on display here along the waterfront, and a similar one is also found at Ellis Island.

                                                    

The buildings along our walk were charming. Here are a few shots of this hilly port town:

  

a home covered with wisteria                     St. Colman’s Cathedral             hillside homes

Our walking tour ended on a high note – Irish coffee at a neighborhood pub!

                                       

Land Ho

After six and a half days on the open seas with no land or other ships in sight we finally woke up tied to Terra Firma! We left Fort Lauderdale on a sunny Friday afternoon:

                                     

Leaving Port Everglades on our transatlantic cruise on Friday 4/18/14

and arriving in Ponta Delgada in the Azores on Friday 4/25/14:

                                  

Kinda looks like the same place; are you sure we didn’t just sail in a big circle for those six days?? Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores (population 44,400) is on the island of Sao Miguel.  The island’s population is 140,000 people and over 300,000 cows. Well, we were on our bus tour and hit rush hour:

     

As you can see during rush hour cows still out number vehicles! Our tour took us to two side-by-side lakes that are in two extinct (I hope) volcanoes One lake is green and the other one is blue:

                      

Except when you get here on a foggy day. So just picture the one on the left as being green and the one on the right blue.

We did come across some interesting street signs when we were down in the city.

                      

We found the right street                                     & loaded up on sardines before we headed back to the ship.

By the way the ship was easy to find:

                        

                         Biggest thing in the harbor.  Now it’s off to Cork, Ireland after two days at sea . . .

Florida–The (Liquid) Sunshine State

We landed at the Ft Lauderdale airport late Wednesday night in the pouring rain. While we waited for the hotel shuttle, we heard loud claps of thunder – but there was no lightning. Before we even arrived at the hotel, the showers were light. Yesterday it rained on-and-off all day and night. If only we could have sent some of that precipitation back to California! This morning, we awoke to sunshine  . . . and lower humidity! Yay!

                                       

We’ll be leaving the hotel soon for the short drive over to Port Everglades where we’ll board the Emerald Princess. We’re both looking forward to an enjoyable transatlantic adventure!