Youghal, Y'all!

We had another long weekend - the October bank holiday weekend.  So we explored the South of Ireland (as FABJ called it) to a place in the county of Cork called Youghal.  The best part of the town is how it is pronounced, which is very close to "y'all".  So I knew that we had to go!

The town is beautiful.  It's near the mouth of a bay, so it has a great location.  It has a bunch of historic buildings, and you can take a self-guided walk with lots of signs and explanations.  Although FABJ and ORBJ didn't have the patience to take the full tour, LBJ and I enjoyed the sites we were able to see (such as the old town walls).  Plus, thanks to a tip from a tennis-playing friend, we had a great lunch in the pub part of a nice seafood restaurant.

We stayed in essentially a town house, i.e. a holiday home.  It had three bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen (and even 3 bathrooms).  It had an indoor pool within walking distance, as well as being walkable to the sea (and a sandy beach).  The water was way too cold to get in, but the girls enjoyed building a few sand castles (as well as playing among the rocks).

OJ on the rocks

We also enjoyed two outings.  The first was to Cobh, a harbor just outside the city of Cork.  It is well known for being the last port of call for the Titanic, as well as the nearest port to where the Lisutania was sunk in 1915.  Plus, it has lots of well preserved Victorian buildlings, not to mention a scenic harbor.

A sunny morning in Cobh

The second was a wild animal park called Fota (also near Cork).  It had a lot of animals around the grounds, and we could explore along a 2km walking path.  The highlight by far was the feeding of the cheetahs.  Basically, they put meat on a zip line and have the animals chase after it (to maintain hunting instincts).  They are definitely fast (and hungry)!

Cheetah version of lunch on a stick

FABJ also got to attend a Halloween party (as our visit was a few days before Halloween).

Does this even need a caption?