Silver Cloud (17 July- 4 Aug, London, Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, England

[WesW]

Mr. Luxury/John; Sakaara, Keith1010/Keith & Anne Marie, Spinnaker2, all, Y'all are very very welcome. Our sincere pleasure to share our voyage in pix & posts. John, will pass your smile msg along; Sakaara we love Guinness now (meaning more exercise too :), Keith--the Bravo belongs to CC and posters like Anne Marie and you and many others who selfless give back simply cuz they have a passion for cruising and willingly give their resources to share this passion. Spnnaker2, we also can't wait for our Spirit fall crossing, we look fwd to meeting & sailing with Y'all.

 

 

This morning in rainy Cobh (Cork) Ireland we visited (and kissed) the Blarney Stone in Blarney Castle. Fodor’s says, “In the center of Blarney is Blarney Castle, or what remains of it: the ruined central keep is all that’s left of this mid 15th century stronghold. It’s 127 steeps steps to the battlements. To kiss the stone, you must lie down on the battlements, hold on to the guardrail, and lean you head way back. Kissing the stone endows the kisser with the fabled "gift of gab." Pls join us on our trip to the Blarney Castle:

 

TxLadyCruiser/Karen (foreground) and Wayne (back) walking in the rain to the Blarney Castle:

 

The Blarney Castle:

 

Blarney Castle map

 

 

 

Ida climbs up the narrow steps to reach the coveted Blarney Stone :

 

 

 

 

Ida and the Blarney stone smacker:

 

[RosseauGirl]

What a hoot, Wes! We have the exact same plans for Dublin - HOHO bus and a tour of the Guiness storehouse - and a visit to the Blarney Castle in Cork! The pictures are amazing. I am not a real Guiness fan, but I am looking forward to my own Guiness moustache!!

 

Michele

[PRWeezer]

More great pictures, it's been fun following you along on your cruise! The last two days are bringing back many fond memories of my visits to Ireland, I need to get another trip on the calendar soon. Although I inherited the gift of gab from my Irish ancestors, I kissed the Blarney Stone for insurance. :)

 

RosseauGirl Guinness truly tastes different in Ireland, much better in my opinion, do give it a try. It is said to be a relatively 'light' choice in terms of comparable calories in other types of beer. And as their long-standing ad campaign tells us: Guinness is good for you, gives you strength! :D

[txladycruiser]

Rainy day in Cobh today!!

 

The blog entry:

 

http://www.travelpod.com/z/thewrens/5/1375376674

 

 

Karen & Wayne

[WesW]

RoseauGirl/Michele, PRWeezer, all; Thank you again for your gracious pix compliments.

 

Pls enjoy some more pix from our visit to the Blarney Castle and Cork, Ireland:

 

 

 

 

 

[WesW]

Highlights of our Visit to Cork, Ireland:

 

 

 

 

Farbster/Lawrence in front of St. Fin’s Barre’s Cathedral (note the spires)

 

 

 

[WesW]

Afternoon jogging run pix taken at Cobh Harbour:

 

West View of Titanic in Cobb:

 

 

Pack of Cards:

 

 

St. Colman’s Cathedral

 

 

Lusitania Monument:

 

 

[WesW]

Cobh/Cork Harbour Tragedy:

 

 

 

Kennedy Park at Cork Harbour (our morning tour guide to the Blarney castle let us know the Kennedy’s come to Cork regulary during the summer for family get togethers) this park is named after JFK:

 

 

 

 

Annie Moore Statute at Cork Harbour (First Immigrant to US)

 

 

[gf]

Fabulous pix, as always, Wes! Great shopping at Blarney Woolen Mills; did y'all partake?

[RachelG]

Great jogging area in Cobh. Did you run up the hill? That is a nice workout.

[WesW]

gf/Kathy, RachelG/Rachel & George, All; Thank You.

 

Kathy; yes, Ida did some shopping (some nice/small Ireland gifts for friends/family), even I bought a Guinness Coffee mug for a good Army friend/neighbor) who loves Guinness.

 

Rachel; Yes, (even in blustery/light rainy conditions) Cobh Harbour, did run/jog the Harbour hill and about 53 steps to St. Colgan’s Cathedral as well as further up the hill to the West View—you feel as tho you are running (up) in this small harbor town’s shipping history.

 

Today, is our last port call (Fowey, England located in Fowey England, located on the country’s southwestern peninsula, and nestled in the mouth of a wooded estuary). This morning we are tendering in to Fowey and plan to enjoy a newly added Silversea excursion (adventure tour), Eden Project—an Eco Adventure. This is described as a stunning ecological project that has a global garden that also focuses on the inner-relationship of plants and humans.

[WesW]

Pls enjoy some pix of our sail-in to beautiful Fowey, England:

 

 

 

[Nigella]

Thanks for the Fowey pics Wes. The weather isn't too great today in Cornwall, but luckily you're visiting the Eden Project so weather shouldn't impact on your plans today.

Thanks again for your trip report which really has been like a breath of fresh air on the board under current circumstances.

[spinnaker2]

looking forward to learning about the eco adventure and the inner relationship between plants and humans...the village looks picturesque from the ship as you are sailing in...

[rosepark]

And make sure you have time to taste a proper Cornish pasty followed by a cream tea whilst you are in Fowey. Now is it cream first or jam first in Cornwall? Clogged arteries optional.

Rp

[suir maid]

Pls enjoy some pix of our sail-in to beautiful Fowey, England:

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your great report and pictures, have really enjoyed reading of your experiences. What a pity you were not in Dublin and Cork about a week ago, as we had glorious sunshine( very rare) but maybe you will get to visit Ireland again in the future. Delighted to see that you enjoyed your Guinness and the views from the viewing area.

 

Suir Maid

[WesW]

Nigella, Spinnaker2, Rosepark, Suir Maid, All; You're welcome--weather is breataking here in Fowey, sunny--harbour is gorgeous, but first some pix of Eden before afternoon run to Fowey (via Tender).

 

This morning in Cornwall, Fowey (England) we visited the Eden Project—this spectacularly beautiful garden presents the world’s major plant systems –more than 70,000 plants. We visited South America, Malaysia, the Seychelles then hopped over to the Med, California and even South Africa. Pls enjoy a few pix, will post more after jogging around Fowey this afternoon. Be sure to note Ida doing the Waggle dance as a bee  below

 

 

 

Drinks for the first CCr to correctly name this plant (when on the same Silversea cruise with Ida and I)

 

 

 

 

 

[txladycruiser]

Here comes the sun . . . . delightful day in Fowey, England!

 

 

Great day today!

 

 

Today's blog:

http://www.travelpod.com/z/thewrens/5/1375463090

 

 

Karen & Wayne

[Threechicks]

Thank you Wes and Karen for the beautiful photos of Cornwall. I used to spend a lot of time there but haven't visited for a number of years so enjoyed the pictures. Sorry your trip is almost over but it looks as though you all had a wonderful time.

[Nigella]

Here comes the sun . . . . delightful day in Fowey, England!

 

 

Great day today!

 

 

Today's blog:

http://www.travelpod.com/z/thewrens/5/1375463090

 

 

Karen & Wayne

 

Glad to see the weather brightened up considerably, it was very grim and murky first thing this morning.

[Mr Luxury]

Wes, not long now before they throw you off the ship,brace yourself.

 

Are you spending any more time in London or are you going straight back home?

[Scott1sh]

Wes - thanks for the great updates.

 

If you get a chance, please remember us to Judie and Myra.

 

Four of us were Judie's "youngies" on a transatlantic in 2011...we loved her style and she is still referred to amongst our group as Dame Judie!

 

My DH and I "helped" Myra close the bar a couple of times on The Spirit on the 3 day Monte Carlo mini cruise back in May... Tell her I still can't quite face another Amaretto Sours!

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip. As a native Scot, I hope you appreciate you lucky you were to visit our country with warm weather and blue skies.

[WesW]

Threechicks/Elsie, Mr. Luxury/John, Scott1sh, ;all. Thank you.

 

Elsie, yes we had an exceptional time in Cornwall and Fowey.

 

Mr. Luxury/John; alas we fly out a tad after noon on Sunday, we leave the Cloud at 3:30am (due to Big Ride road closures) then we will spend half dozen hours in the Concorde Room/Flagship lounge before flying back to Atlanta.

 

Scott1sh; did pass your warm note to Myra via her facebook account and will let both Mrya and Judie know you warmly remembered them face-to-face tomorrow.

 

Last formal nite on board, pls enjoy some pix:

 

Capt. Luigi and Hotel Director Gianni recognizing Cloud top crew members for the month of July:

 

 

TxLadycruiser (Wayne standing, Karen seated) and us (Wes standing, Ida seated) in the main bar, intuitively served by Faye and main bar staff:

 

 

The gals (Karen, Myra (Head Bartendar on the Cloud) and Ida, smiling as usual, they bring sunshine to our cruise days minute by minute:

 

 

We dined in La Terraza tonight at the welcome invite of Julie (international hostess), counter clockwise (LtoR) Julie, Wes, Jorge (Restaurant Mgr), Ida, Karen, and Wayne:

 

[Rally]

Wes, i know the last day is busy, busy, busy, but if you get a chance, please remember us (the Ferraris) to Jorge. In addition to everything else, he did me a wonderful favor on the exact same voyage you are finishing and i will never forget it. Thanks.

[RachelG]

Lovely pics. That garden looks really interesting. Tell Ida I love the silver dress.