Travel Inspiration: Cobh in Ireland

In acknowledgement of St Patrick's Day, and the fact I had Irish grandparents, I thought I'd post a couple of photos from a visit to Ireland a few years ago. Cobh was one of our favourite stops.

A pretty fishing and harbour town, the most impressive sight on the approach to Cobh is the 19^th century Gothic St Colman’s Cathedral which sits on the hill overlooking the harbour. Situated on the Great Island near Cork, the harbour town of Cobh has links with many famous ships, including the ill-fated Titanic.

Developed during the eighteenth century, when the natural harbour was used to assemble the fleets during the Napoleonic wars, Cobh (pronounced ‘Cove’) became a health resort during Victorian times. In honour of Queen Victoria’s visit to the town in 1849, Cobh was renamed Queenstown and thus it remained until it reverted to its Irish name in 1920.

 

Refugees

Cobh was in an ideal position for Irish emigrants who wanted to escape their poverty and sail to the new world across the Atlantic, in hope of a better life in America. The terrible potato famines between 1845 and the 1851 left many unable to survive and, during this period, over 1,500,000 Irish people emigrated to America. It was also one of the great ports for transatlantic liners at the turn of the 20^th century.

 

These days, Cobh provides a lovely walk along the sea front with an art gallery at one end and Heritage Centre at the other where you can learn about its interesting history. I'd love to go back and explore this pretty, colourful harbour town again one day.

 

If anyone is inspired by their travels, you could try entering the Telegraph 'Just Back' travel competition.

 

Rosemary

 

 

Travel Inspiration: Barcelona

I thought it was time for another travel inspiration post, since our weather up here has still not gone beyond a slightly sunny autumn type day - if we're lucky.

We've been to Barcelona a few times and it never ceases to delight and inspire me. Apart from the amazing Gaudi architecture and the bustling Ramblas with its myriad of stalls and people, there is an indefinable atmosphere in Barcelona - perhaps it's an air of enjoyment.

It's difficult to avoid their famous architect in the centre of town, as the unusual Gaudi designs and shapes are everywhere. The large bone coloured Casa Mila, or La Pedrera,  sits right on the corner of the main street, its twirly, 'ice cream cone' turrets just visible on the roof.

Then there's the stunning La Sagrada Familia which you can reach by the frequent metro or bus. Never quite completed, and almost always under some kind of construction at certain parts, it's one of the most ornate buildings I've ever seen, with its quirky little sculptures here and there.

Another famous Gaudi sight is the Parc Guell which is situated in a hilly part of town. It's advisable to take a bus as it's some way out of town and an uphill walk. It's well worth the visit. Gaudi's trademark ornate designs welcome visitors with a building at either side of the gate. The biggest attraction here is the colourful mosaic salamander which is always surrounded by tourists and their cameras.

The whole city of Barcelona is a delight and when you tire of busy sights and streets, the sea front provides a lovely long walk away from the buzz. Or take a cable car and enjoy an overview of this vibrant city.

While I'm talking travel, I must mention my dear husband, Simon, who has been a professional travel agent for more years than he wants to remember and now works with Designer Travel. A few weeks ago, he was at his company's conference in Teneriffe and he came home with this lovely award for Business Development! I think he very much deserves the recognition, although he was stunned. It's clear glass so it was difficult to get a good picture of it.

And as usual on a Monday, I'm featuring a children's author on Flights of Imagination - today it's American author, J.D. Pooker with her book for the 8+ age group, The Ifs.

Rosemary

Travel Inspiration: Amsterdam and Alkmaar

I finally got my Internet connection back late Thursday afternoon - five days without my own access was a lesson in patience! However, it gave me a little more time for writing and organising various things, and proved how much of my day is taken up with various social networking activities. Before moving on to today's post here, I must just mention my Flights of Imagination blog, where author Maggie Lyons is talking about the inspiration behind her two fun books for eight to twelve year olds.

Today, it's the next travel inspiration piece - and I think I'll stick to going through them from A to Z, although there might be several places under one initial letter. That should give me more of a focus for deciding on the places to feature.

Many years ago, when the children were teens and I used a film roll instead of digital, we had an unexpected holiday to Holland. We'd set off to visit relatives in England first, on our way to France, but the French lorry drivers were blocking all routes that summer and we changed plans at the last minute. Once in Holland, we kept driving until we reached a lovely small village towards the north, Bergen Am See, where we managed to rent a cute little holiday cottage. As often in these circumstances, it became one of our favourite holidays.

We took the double decker bus into Amsterdam where we wandered along by the canals, viewed ornate barrel organs, and visited the famous Rijksmuseum, dedicated to arts, crafts and history. Of course, we inadvertantly ended up walking along a certain famous street with interesting window displays!

Clog Whittling

One of the greatest pleasures of the holiday was being able to hire bikes for several days. The most interesting cycle ride took us some miles away into Alkmaar, where we were delighted to watch the fascinating cheese weighing at the annual market.

Our trusty bikes took us all over this beautiful area of North Holland, allowing us access to places we might otherwise have missed. And it was great exercise!

Rosemary

Travel Inspiration: Aruba

The bright morning sun must be inspiring me this morning, after the recent very cold weather - even yesterday, it was zero degrees when I drove from the house. As we wander gently into spring, many people's thoughts are probably turning to holidays now, whether at home or abroad, and it gave me a new idea for blog posts.

Since my husband has been a travel professional all his working life, we've been lucky enough to visit many countries around the world, even more from cruise ships. I love taking photographs and have amassed a huge number now that digital makes it so easy to keep snapping. So, I'm going to start a new occasional blog series, using photos to inspire creativity. Some will be scenic shots, some might be more quirky, but I hope they might spark an idea for a story, or poem, or just some dreams of far of lands, or even remind us of the beauty in our own country.

I'm beginning with the Caribbean island of Aruba, in the Lesser Antilles, partly because this notice I snapped at the entrance of a little garden came to my attention this morning and I love the sentiments. Hope you can read it as it was rather old and faded.

Aruba is a small island, only 33 kilometres long and is surrounded by beaches, but the most interesting sight for me was this stunning natural bridge down by the sea.

If anyone is ever looking for professional, personal travel advice or arrangements, by the way, you can find details of my husband's independent business and the company he works with on his website here. Many of my photos are on his site!

Rosemary