The morning started out much the same as any other.  Up, breakfast – OK, that’s where the similarity ends.  Following breakfast we finished packing and hied ourselves hence to the airport shuttle.  Arriving at the airport we met others of our tour group and spent a couple of leisurly hours getting to know a few of them while we waited for the arrival of the final members of our group.  Then we moved, en mass, out to the curb where we waited for our bus.

Eventually it arrived and we were on our way from Dublin to Cork.

One more note about driving on the left.  It hadn’t occurred to me but I guess it makes sense.  On a freeway here the left lane is the slow lane and people routinely pass on the right.

Cork is on the south coast of Ireland.  It is Ireland’s second largest city and is a jumping off point for several important sites in the area.

On the way we stopped for lunch in Cashel, a quaint little medieval village

that sits at the base of the Rock of Cashel

The rock (actually a small limestone hill in the middle of a fairly flat area) is famous because in the 4th century the high king of Munster (one of the five kingdoms that made up the island at the time) built a fortress there and made it the seat of his government.  Over time the fortress was replaced by a formal castle and eventually was given to the church (making the king also a bishop). Of course that necessitated the construction of a cathedral on the site.

Today it is a magnificent ruin and our tour guide filled in some of the cracks with interesting information and stories.

Eventually the hearded us back onto the bus and we finished the drive to Cork. I should mention that the bus is a bit smaller than a standard “big bus” but there is still room to spread out.  Cheryl and I took advantage of the space and reclining seats and indulged in naps both before and after the stop at Cashel.  Billie reports that they didn’t sleep.

We arrived in Cork and got checked into our hotel

just after 5:00 which gave us most of 2 hours to kill before our 7:00 supper.  Steve put his feet up.  Billie swam in the hotel pool.  Cheryl and I ventured into the center of Cork.  We found some treasures.

We got lost.

We found ourselves again.

We returned to the hotel in time to get ready for dinner. This was a nice 3 course meal supplemented by complimentary wine.  We ate. We chatted with new friends from Virginia. We drank a bit more wine. We returned to our room to manage photos, update the BLOG, and rest.

Tomorrow we get oriented, learn some more about Cork, and head out into the countryside. Also tomorrow it appears that we will get our first exposure to Ireland’s famous rain.

Till then,

Cheers.