Day 17 Killarney, Ireland

We were all dreading having to carry all our bags and the food supplies down the four flights of stairs and out into the taxi, but actually seemed easier than first thought. We then headed to the Cork airport to pick up our rental car. It was a seamless process and we were on the road to Cobh before we knew it. Cobh is a beautiful, colourful town with a huge history as it was the one of the major transatlantic Irish ports and the town was the departure point for 2.5 million of the six million Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. Cobh is probably best known for being the ‘last port of call’ to the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Another ship to be associated with the town, the Cunard passenger liner RMS Lusitania, was sunk by a German U-boat off the Old Head of Kinsale while en route from the US to Liverpool on 7 May 1915. 1,198 passengers died, while 700 were rescued. The survivors and the dead alike were brought to Cobh, and the bodies of over 100 who perished in the disaster lie buried in the Old Church Cemetery just north of the town. We also visited the beautiful cathedral there and admired the colourful houses below which are called ‘ the deck of cards’. We finally found a restaurant that was open for lunch and enjoyed our slow walk back to the car. We made a stop at two supermarkets - not at all like ours- before finding our lovely accommodation in Killarney. We have the whole house to ourselves and it has everything we need. As it was dark when we arrived we are keen to explore the area in day light. We enjoyed our Christmas call to Brenna and Shaun and watched Pippa unwrapping our present. It felt very unusual not being there. We look forward to a relaxing few days here starting with Christmas Day tomorrow.Read more