Cobh

Today Aiyana and I took the train to a small town called Cobh (pronounced COVE). We split up and did our own things all day. Cobh was the departure point for over 2.5 million Irish immigrants, and Annie Moore left from Cobh and was the first immigrant to be addmitted to the United States at Ellis Island. Cobh is the last port that the Titanic stopped at before it sank and as a result, there are many memorials and buildings related to the ship. The Lusitania also sank off the coast of Cobh and the survivors were brought to Cobh, as well as many of the people who died on the ship. I walked around the harbor and found a small farmers market. I noticed that many of the bakeries were selling gluten free bars, cookies and scones. I stopped to talk to a woman about this because I have been seeing many menus that have gluten free options. I asked the woman if there was a higher rate of celiac (spelled coeliac here) or just more awareness, hence more catering to them. She said it was a combination of both and also many people who do not have a wheat intolerance try to avoid gluten for general health reasons. I found this very interesting and told her about the black bean brownie recipe that my mom makes for my sister. She was such a lovely woman and I wish Anne could have been there to enjoy some of her treats!
Nest I went on a guided tour of the Titanic Trail. Our tour guide, Bill has been featured on many shows on CBS and ABC. (I put a picture up of Bill, he is the man in the hat). He was a great tour guide and explained the town in much detail. Cobh was originally named Cove, then changed to Queenstown when Queen Victoria visited and then changed back to the Gaelic name of Cobh. The Cobh harbor is the second largest harbor in the World and many ships and sea liners dock here every year. There was a huge cruise ship in the port today. St. Colman Cathedral overlooks the small town and is in the background of many of my pictures.
On the Titanic trail tour, I was able to see where passengers bought their tickets for the ship, the dock that the left from to take small boats to the ship, and many other interesting landmarks. The tour concluded at O'Doyles Pub where we were given a complimentary half pint of Beamish, a stout made in Cork. At the pub, I met a few people who were on the tour and talked with them for a while. They were in their late 60's and were so nice to me! One of the women wanted to take a picture with me, I also put this one up.
After the tour, I went to a coffee shop and had a delicious Carmel, chocolate, shortbread type bar :) I spent the afternoon reading a book down by the water. It was a nice day out and there were many school children (in their matching uniforms) eating lunch and playing in the park. Before I hoped on the train back to Cork, I went to an art exhibit done by a man in Minnesota....his work was insanely beautiful.

Just got back from dinner, Aiyana and I split a Greek pizza and veggie lasagna. One of the best meals I have had thus far. I also went to Dunnes (a Target/walmart type store) determined to find a cheap pillow. The pillow in my bed is not much better than sleeping on a rock, it took me forever to fall asleep and I woke up with a stiff neck......SOOOOOO I found a bright purple pillow on clearance for 4 euro. I think I will leave it at the hostel as a gift :)

Titanic Memorial
The Titanic ticket building. The first class passangers were allowed to use the blue doors way on the right while the steerage passangers were not allow inside and were crammed into the area with the two round windows.
Lutsitania Memorial

Annie Moore Memorial
The dock where the Titanic passengers departed from. The Titanic was too large to come to this dock, so they took small boats to the ship.


A row of houses called the deck of cards, if one house falls, they all go down
The tour guide for the Titanic Trail

Where the steerage passangers had to wait
Kelly's Pub, taken just for you Kelly Warren!
The Cobh Harbor, where I spent my afternoon reading!