A Night At Sea Is A Bad Night

Well, the weather that kept us from Newfoundland chased us across the Atlantic and landed a direct hit on the ship last night.  I'm not usually affected by a rocking boat, but mmmaaaaaannnnnnn did we rock!

The wind howled and whistled through our balcony door, the pitch (when the ship dips forward to back) caused our closet door to slide open and shut (turning on the automatic light with each opening), I damn near came off of the bed with each roll.  No sleep.  The hull juttered and creaked.  The shampoo fell out of its tray in the bathroom.  There was a pen on the desk that rolled back and forth until it finally made its way to the floor...I have no idea where it is.

It was terrible.  To top it off, we'd had quite a bit of wine earlier in the evening.  Ugh.  No racing for the bathroom, just a general queasiness that WOULD NOT STOP!

At about 5am, I could tell we were pulling into the harbor...we'd slowed down (which made the situation worse) and the tugs were bumping along the side of the ship to help it into the berth/dock.  We had an early excursion, and I almost cried when the alarm went off.

The best thing about the day was finally walking around on dry land - remember, we'd been aboard for five days.  It just felt good to be able to walk on solid ground.

Today we were in Cobh (pronounced Cove), with a side trip to Blarney and its famous castle and stone.  No, I didn't kiss it...I already possess the gift of gab!

The wet cloudy day provided a perfect backdrop for the brooding castle.

It's completely empty now and 110 spiral staircase steps take you to the top.  

Little bitty slippery narrow stairs.

Overlooking the valley and river below

That's where everyone kisses the stone.  You lie on your back, drop your head and kiss it upside down.  Hard pass.

Old stones; new life.

This is Annie Moore and her children.  They left Ireland and were the first people to pass through Ellis Island.  There is a similar statue in New York.

Of course, Cobh was Titanic's last port of call.

Unfortunately Cobh will be our last port of call in Ireland, too.  The weather is just too bad for us to sail through and get to Dublin tomorrow.  

Yikes!

Instead, we'll stay in Cobh for another day.  We were really really looking forward to Dublin and the Guinness experience, but now, we'll get to explore Cork more...I hear they have a pretty good craft beer scene!  We'll just have to come back to Dublin another time.  Tomorrow night we'll head out toward France and Saint Malo.  Until then, Slainte!