Wednesday April 30

Cobh, Ireland

We had arrived in Cobh, Ireland by the time we got up this morning. Cobh is in County Cork and not too far from the town of Cork. My grandmother Cousins always said that her fore fathers came from County Cork in Ireland. There are lots of Collins's in the area but could find any Staceys.

After breakfast we walked around the downtown area of Cobh(the Irish spelling for Cove) and took in the sights as seen in some of the photos below. Cobh was the last port of call for the Titanic before it left for North America. The Titanic didn't dock in Cobh as it anchored a little offshore and took on 120+ passengers as well as a lot of mail for America. There is a little museum to the Titanic in Cobh too.

There is a beautiful Catholic church called St. Colman's Cathedral which we visited before mass started at 10:00am as we had an excursion scheduled for 11:00am to Spike Island which is the site of an old Castle or Fort that was used for centuries to protect against attack from outsiders. Throughout the years it has served as not only a military fort but as a jail as well. You can see that in the photos below.

We had a really busy day and arrived back on board at around 4:00 and got ready for dinner at 6:00. This evening we had pea soup with ham as an appetizer and beef bolognese as the main course. For desert I had creme brule while Gladys had bananas foster. The server also brought along a kind of coffee rule for us to they too. And the waiter brought us a serving of pasta with gorgonzola cheese and dried tomatoes to try as well. It was all good and we are quite full now as we wait for our show to start at 9:00pm.

Photo taken from high up in the town with the Cruise ship in the background.

Cobh from the ship.

Cobh from Spike Island.

Streets of Cobh. Kind of reminds you of St. John's with the many coloured town houses.

Monument to the Titanic. Notice the wreaths from the recent memorial service.

Mural to the Titanic.

The Navigator

A monument to both the Merchant Marine and Royal Navy - one that both our fathers would have appreciated. 

St. Colman's Cathedral

Cathedral from another angle.

Inside the church - middle aisle.

Inside the church - a side aisle.

Spike Island

These are a few photos taken from inside the fort which covered 23 acres. It's difficult to know that it is a fort because of the way it was designed. The ground was built up to the height of the walls so it took any impact from shelling.

Getting her prisoner mug shot taken.

In trouble again!

Ferry to Spike Island.

Over view of Spike Island.

View of one side of the compound!

View from the other side of the compound.

One of 2 large cannons which has been restored!

Prison cell!

Aother cell!

 Tuesday April 29

At Sea

Today was our first day at sea as we travelled from Amsterdam to Cobh in Ireland. It was a smooth sail and we just went around the ship taking part in some activities there. We had dinner at the restaurant and then took in a Cher show at the theatre. The girl who was English was very good and put on a great show. After the show there was an ABBA singlalong which we took part in. 

Of course dinner is always 3 course so I had salmon tartare, seared duck and apple crumble with ice cream all washed down with a Corona while Gladys had a cold pear soup, lamb as well as the apple crumble with ice cream. Living like kings!

Will try to find a couple of photos. Not much happening today!

Monday April 28

Joined the Cruise Ship Celebrity Eclipse

in Amsterdam

Today we boarded our cruise ship at Amsterdam port around 1:00pm with the ship sailing at around 6:00pm. We took the afternoon to pack away once we got our luggage. We went to dinner and the took in a show called Rock City where the band played some of the great rock songs.

Not too many photos but there are a couple below. 

Gladys with welcome aboard champagne. I had one too!

Dinner - Chicken Cordonne Bleu

Dinner with steak & veggies.

We finished off the night with a martini. Gladys had a cosmopolitan while had an expresso.

We walked through the casino but didn't stop.

Lots of different games here to try your luck.

The following photos are taken from the Cruise ship in Amsterdam port.

 Sunday April 27

Amsterdam

Today we managed to take in a canal cruise in the morning and then took the train to The Hague to visit Gladys's niece Julianne, her husband Rodney and sons Ryan & Leo. It was great to see them and we had a lovely visit to a new part of the world for us.

These are a few photos taken from the canal cruise as well as on the train to The Hague and in Amsterdam. Sorry I don't have time to caption them all.

L to R: Ryan, Julianne, Gladys, Leo

Rodney, Leo & Gladys

Moving furniture into an apartment in Amsterdam.

Tulip fields taken from the train to The Hague. It looked amazing.

Saturday April 26

Amsterdam

These are a few photos we took during Saturday in Amsterdam. It was King's Day which is a big holiday and celebration in the city. The city is one big block party with streets closed to traffic but open to lots of partying and music. As well the canals are full of party boats and cruises where drinking and loud music are the norm. 

These photos will give a bit of an idea of what goes on. We did visit the Anne Frank Museum in the morning and then met with Erin in the afternoon. After enjoying some of the fanfare of King's Day we went for a lunch of pancakes. It was a beautiful warm day with the most people I have ever seen partying the streets.

Erin's Dutch Waffles

Gladys's American Waffles