GOHOs Hit The Irish Roads

We set the alarm for 0930 this morning and had a bit of slow start.  However, Carrie was awake from 0500am again while Claire has managed to not be affected by jet lag at all.

We eventually got up and packed our cases and got a taxi to the Hertz car hire depot to collect our vehicle for the next 6 days.  We firstly got a Toyota Corolla Hybrid sedan however the passenger window wouldn't  go all the way down and asked to swap over the vehicle so instead of the silver we got a red one which of course goes faster.  We're now working out what we're going to name her - here are some of the options: 

1. Riona 
2. Orla
3. Roisin
4. Niamh
5. Maeve
6. Paddy
7. Clover
8. Guinness

Please let us know what you reckon it should be?

We then made our way to Cork which is South Ireland - it took approximately 2 3/4 hrs.  We left sunny Dublin and got up to 24 degrees before it dropped down to 18 degrees and drove through a few rain showers (true Irish weather).  Claire took the lead and drove us down here while Carrie took part in some eyelid research and did poorly in her co-pilot role. 

We arrived into Cork just after 1500 and made our way to our accommodation.  After checking in and taking our bags to the room we decided to partake in a self guided tour of the city.

We found this tour on Viator (app) and then took off hovering around one phone looking like crazy people around Cork.  Carrie relinquished the phone to Claire as she was sending us in the wrong direction (as per usual).  

Some cool facts about Cork that we found out on our tour:

• The centre of Cork City is built on a number of marshy islands at the lowest fording point of the River Lee. 
• Grand Parade which is one of the main streets in Cork, used to be a channel of the River Lee.
• Cork is the second largest city in Ireland. 
• The city centre of Cork is an island settled between two channels of the River Lee. 
• Cork Harbour is one of the largest natural habours in the world.
• Cork was once a fully walled city, and you can still find some remnants of this around the place.

The Coat of Arms of Cork City features a ship sailing between two towers, all set on a background of waves. The motto is "Statio Bene Fida Carinis," which translates to "a safe harbour for ships."

Left: in stone on foot bridge

Right: mural on wall in street

How ironic is the photo to the right? A sober lane in Ireland? I think not!

Part of a French protestant burial ground from 1733

We then opted for a pensioner hour dinner (1730) at a Mexican restaurant Tequila Jacks and shared some guacamole, fish taco sand chicken tacos and indulged in some margaritas.  Which were all delicious.  

We've opted for an early night tonight so we can get on the road earlier as we have a few locations we want to get to tomorrow.

Until then... catch you tomorrow in the next blog entry.