Back to France

In the morning we had a short stopover in Honfleur, in the Normandy. Honfleur is a little town located at the river mouth of the Seine and belongs to the French department of Calvados. The department got its name from the “Plateau du Calvados”, but none of us is thinking about a plateau when we hear the name Calvados. Most of us are thinking about the Calvados brandy, which is produced out of apples grown in this area and is so well known all over the world.

There are flowering more than 9 million apple trees in the Normandy in springtime and there are thousands of festivals belonging to the apples in spring and autumn. The inhabitants of the Normandy say that they are famous for their “three C”, the Calvados, the Cider (an apple wine) and of course the Camembert, this fantastic tasty and creamy cheese.

Some passengers choose an excursion to see the hinterland and the beaches of the “côte fleurie” in the Normandy. One of the great charms of this area lies in the diversity of its manors, which are generally countrified, pleasant to look at, and always perfectly adapted to the rural setting.

During a longer stop in Deauville, an important seaside resort, the passengers had the possibility for a short beach walk. 

Afterwards they took the opportunity to visit a calvados distillery where they could even test different vintage.

Honfleur itself is a picturesque fishing port characterized by its tall and narrow houses, many of them with slate-covered frontages, even a bit inclined and its narrow alleys. The little harbor is so charming that you can find many painters sitting next to the water front. They feel in the same way inspired from this silhouette like the famous painters Boudin and Monet before them. 

Dublin, the most vivid spot in Ireland

Do I have to mention the weather? Of course not, it is the same as last days. We arrived in the morning and the opening of the bridge looked a friendly welcome greeting. Our place was close to the beautiful Samuel Beckett Bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava. The other great point was we stayed until 10 pm.

Dublin the capital of the Republic of Ireland is an old city originally founded by the Vikings in 841. Most of the buildings are from the 18th century and they are constructed in the Georgian style.

On our excursions we saw several important buildings such as the Trinity College. It is the oldest university in Ireland and was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592, but the oldest surviving buildings are from 18th century. In the Old Library of the university is kept a treasure, the Book of Kells. It is a manuscript of the four gospels, written in Latin and illustrated with colourful illuminations. The Long Room of the Library houses around 200.000 very old books. On the tour through Dublin we saw Dublin Castle, Leinster House the seat of the Irish Parliament and we stopped at the beautiful park at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

There are several nice parks in Dublin most of them are public. Phoenix Park is a huge area, where you find the Zoo of Dublin, several sport grounds and a nice garden close to the Visitors center. We also passed the Guinness Brewery which one of the most important companies in town. After the morning excursions most of us strolled around in Dublin in the afternoon by ourselves and used the evening for having a pint – or two – of Guinness.

There is one Lady in town you we never forget especially her beautiful neckline, her name is Molly Malone, and she features in one of Ireland’s favourite songs.

The afternoon excursion went back in history as we visited the old Malahide Castle from the 12th century, which housed Kings for dinner and for marching off to war. After that we enjoyed a special Irish coffee in a pub at the seaside.

Again we spent another beautiful day at a wonderful place!

Looking for the Titanic and enjoying the sun

We are lucky – but I don’t mention it again. The sun was shining and we arrived in this nice little harbour town Cobh. The quay is right in the center just opposite the railway station. The coaches stood in line and as soon as possible the first groups left for their excursions. The others enjoyed the possibilities and amenities like shopping or just strolling around. Typical for the town are the many colourful small houses.

Cobh was first mentioned under the name of “Cove” and became a well-known health resort. After the visit of Queen Victoria the town was renamed to Queenstown and kept the name until 1920. Today it is a quiet popular point for cruising ships. In the 19th century many ships started to the USA from here, packed with emigrants looking for a better future in the “New World”. One of the most famous cruising ships of world stopped here in Cobh before it went on to New York: the Titanic.

In a lovely and very informative museum we learned about the construction of the ship, passengers, cabins and the last night. One group walked on a guided tour through the historic town that has unchanged for the last 100 years following the footsteps of the 123 Queenstown passengers who boarded the Titanic.

A landmark of Cobh is St. Colman’s Cathedral.

 

A full day excursion guided as through the southwest of Ireland. We visited Kinsale where we strolled through the colourful streets. Later we drove to the legendary Blarney Castle, one of the oldest and most intact medieval fortresses in Ireland. Of course we kissed the Blarney Stone, it is said the kiss gives you the power of eloquence.

Our third excursion was a trip to Cork, Ireland’s second largest city, and walked through the beautiful historic parts. Cork is rich in history and tradition and was founded between 500 and 600 as a monastery. Vikings used the place as a trading post from 846 AD. On we went to Midleton to visit the Jameson Whiskey Heritage Centre. It is still the most important distillery of Ireland.

To send us on our journey onward with perfect thoughts, a local tenor sang several songs to us in the comfort of the Panorama Lounge.