Rain and Wind in Cobh

I peeled my eyes open this morning to the sound of my Irish phone telling me in its oh so comforting robotic voice "The time is 7:35, Time to get up!" This is a voice I can already tell I will come to dislike quite a bit in the coming months. I looked out the window and was greeted with the now familiar sight of a grey sky heavy with rain.  Today would not be ordinary however. Apparently I was, as of yet, unaware of  what Ireland's weather was really capable of but it would not take long to find out.  I put on my new waterproof boots, pants and raincoat and after a bit of debate with a few fellow travelers, decided we would spend the day in Cobh, another sea side town we were told we had to see. After a long wet walk on sidewalks strewn with the remains of broken umbrellas, we boarded the train and about 20 minutes later we had reached our destination.

The moment we stepped onto the platform we could tell the wind was really howling quite hard and the rain was coming down in sheets. We trudged on however through the streets and after a stop at a small coffee shop, we ventured up to a massive cathedral that sat atop the hill and overlooked the cove.  With no trees or other buildings on top of the hill, we were hit with the full force of the wind.  I was so strong that you could legitimately lean against it. The only comparison I can draw is to the wind that you feel as you exit the Metrodome and are swept out onto the sidewalk.  We finally entered the Cathedral and it was huge! There was incredible gothic architecture with ornate stonework and beautiful stained glass.  I apologize for the sub-par photography but I was running out of battery and couldn't really mess around to get things looking right. (I wish I brought the better camera).

Really the only useable outdoor shot from the day because of the weather showing some of the multicolored houses on the hill.

After that we had Lunch at the Supermac's which is basically an Irish McDonalds (classy, I know) and then proceeded to the Cobh museum.  Cobh was the Titanic's last port of call and so they had a really interesting exhibit about the history of the Irish emigration after the famine and the Titanic. This was a cool way to end the day and a great way to dry off a bit before our trip back.

Tomorrow promises to be another full day as I am getting up quite early again to go on a hike on some Irish mountain somewhere.  That is just about all I know but I'll do my best to post something again tomorrow night about the days adventures!