It was an early start; Everyone else in the car was heading for Gatwick, but I was flying out of Heathrow because I’d booked later due to being in Thailand, so I was very kindly dropped off along the way.
My flights were later than the other folks, so I was there well before check-in opened; Fortunately Terminal 2 has some “just hanging around” options, so I did that until I could get through to airside, then had an airport lunch.
Ireland turned on the good weather, so it was clear skies & scenic views from the sea onwards to Cork.
The Advance Party sent me some advice on which bus to get into Cork City, so that I didn’t have to wander about until I found the “here’s how to buy a bus ticket” sign. Wish more airports had that sort of thing.
I got to the overnight hotel in Cork just as a couple of the Advance Party got back to check in; They’d gone for a wander around the city, as had the other half of the group. We met up in a bar, then headed for a restaurant where the last two members of the group joined us.
Jetlag is still kicking me around at times, and I had a fairly early night as a result.
Cork was being very scenic the next morning when we went to breakfast at a tiny little café with great food. It had good reviews, but looked like a classic greasy spoon, and it was surprisingly good.
Travelled by car from Cork to Tipperary (well, five of us did, the Final Two took the train), and much like the flights, I was late to the party due to ‘overseas’, so was in a different location; In this case, the Great National Ballykisteen Golf Hotel, which turned out to be pretty damn nice.
I went with the other location because I couldn’t get one of the nights I needed at the guest house where the Advance Party & the Final Two were staying. Subsequent conversations with the owner of the guest house revealed that they did have room, so they’re not sure why the booking site said they didn’t.
The Final Two arrived after us, and I was re-collected when they were picked up. ( The station in Tipp isn’t the one that’s on the line to Cork, so they ended up at Limerick Junction, which was maybe 4km outside of town)
We went to a pub, than dinner, then another pub, & I got a taxi back to my hotel. The taxis here are odd compared to where I’ve been travelling; No apps, no websites, just phone the number & chat to the despatcher, or possibly to the driver directly. I’ve used taxis like that a bunch in the past, but the combination of not-great hearing, cellphones, and strong Irish accents does make it a challenge for me, and I’d find myself wondering whether the taxi would fail to arrive because one or both of us had misunderstood.
Not to worry; It turned up exactly when expected, and the driver was even pleased that I was waiting outside the pub. He said he often had to go in and get his passenger.
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