Sunburned in Ireland

Yesterday Travalon and I took the train from Dublin to Cork, and then we took a commuter train to Cobh (pronounced "cove"), a beautiful harbor town on a hillside. An enormous cathedral towers over the whole town, and the houses are painted in pastel colors. I took a photo, to be posted later, called "Everything that's right about Ireland," with a palm tree in front of shanties just like the ones on Lake Mendota. We stayed at the Ardeen B&B, overlooking the cove, and last night we had an amazing seafood dinner and then explored the town. Today was a gorgeous, sunny day in southern Ireland, and I actually got sunburned! We had a traditional Irish breakfast at the B&B, went to the cathedral for Mass, and then went to the Titanic Museum, where we followed in the footsteps of actual people who got on the Titanic at that port (then known as Queenstown). I was a third-class woman named Julia Smyth who actually survived. It was very harrowing watching a video of what they thought the survivors would have seen, with the ship splitting in half and sinking. After that we went to the museum's overpriced cafe and sat in the sun for hours, which is why our next stop after this internet cafe will be a pharmacy to get some sunburn cream for me. Even in my ancestral homeland, I still get fried! Then we took a very stuffy train back to Dublin, which is more overcast like it was yesterday. The countryside for most of the ride resembles Wisconsin a great deal, with green rolling hills and lots of cows, but around Cork and Cobh it is very hilly and maritime. I would recommend anyone who visits Ireland should check out Cobh - it's gorgeous! And they have good coffee there too, so it's not just something you can find in Dublin. We talked on the train to a young couple, an Irishman and his Thai wife (and their adorable three-year-old son), and the husband was telling us the coffee culture in Ireland really took off about a decade ago; before that, they drank tea. Of course, the tea here is really good too. On the train we had Barry's Gold Blend, just like we were at Richard Bonomo's house. It was a little bit of home over here, although I'm not feeling any culture shock. Irish people like to talk and laugh, just like Americans.

Famous Hat