R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 36

Jewel of the Seas — Voyage 2; Greenock, Scotland

Greenock, Scotland

Today I present our next U.K. destination aboard Jewel of the Seas during our second of three back-to-back cruises. Welcome to the Greenock, a small picturesque town in Scotland about 20 miles/33 kilometers from Glasgow. The first views are, of course, from the Jewel, and provide you with some outstanding shots of the skyline with its many churches:

Nelson Street church towers

Interestingly, the most prominent church tower is the old St George North Church (built in 18...

Fun Photo Friday — Inverness and Invergordon Favorites

Invergordon offered up a lot of murals for me to photograph. And I love local color. So, today’s Fun Photo Friday will be heavy on Invergordon, but will also offer up some favorites of Inverness as well. Next week I’ll take you to our next Voyage 2 Scotland destination, Greenock.

Jewel of the Seas — Inverness; Ness Bridge Area

Inverness Castle overlooking the east bank of River Ness

We’re now along the west bank of River Ness, having crossed over that Greig Street Bridge I showed you on Monday’s article. We turned onto Huntly Street and headed south. If you turn around and look back from whence you came, you’ll get this great shot of both Free North Church and the Junction Church:

Free North Church (left) and the Junction Church

After spending about an hour hitting various stores along Huntly, and including Hi...

Jewel of the Seas — Voyage 2; Inverness and Invergordon, Scotland

Jewel of the Seas left Cobh, Ireland on 6 June 2022. We arrived back in Amsterdam two days later, and on 10 June during the second of three voyages, we made port in Invergordon, Scotland. From Invergordon Ursula and I took the bus into Inverness for a self-guided foot tour. On this week’s Fun Photo Friday, I’ll show favorites of both Invergordon and Inverness, but today and Wednesday I’ll be concentrating on the city of Inverness. We alighted from the bus at the bus station on Margaret S...

Fun Photo/Food Friday — Cobh Area Favorites and Titanic Bar and Grill

Cobh — The High Rent District

I mentioned in Monday’s article that it was lunch time. We asked about fish and chips, and were directed by the locals toward several possibilities. In the end, we decided upon the Titanic Bar and Grill, which just so happens to be located in…

… wait for it…

… the Titanic Experience Cobh, a museum on some ship disaster back over a hundred years ago.

Titanic Bar and Grill

This place was so good that, when we returned to Cobh of Voyage 2 (covering beginning next...

Jewel of the Seas — Cobh: Heading Back to the Ship via Westbourne Pl

Cobh native Olympian Gold Medalist Sonia O’Sullivan

Today let’s just enjoy the scenery down along Casement Square and Westbourne as Ursula and I headed back to the ship for our return trip to Amsterdam, and Voyage 2 aboard Jewel of the Seas.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Back into Cobh’s city center

Titanic Experience Cobh

Leaving St. Coleman’s Cathedral behind, Ursula and I next headed downhill via West View and Casement Square. As you head south down West View, you’ll find a nifty little photographic gallery that is well worth a brief visit. This is Kieron O’Connor Photography. Mr. O’Connor does some very good work.

Kieron O’Connor Photography on West View near Casement Square

Turning back onto where Casement Square joins up with Westbourne Place (west) and West Beach (east), here...

Fun Photo Friday — Cobh Favorites 2

Rust, Weathered Wood, and Flaking Paint

Here is Part 2 of Fun Photo Friday Cobh favorites:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Cobh: St. Colman’s Cathedral Interior

St. Colman’s Cathedral

Today I’m going to treat you to a photo gallery/slide show of St. Colman’s Cathedral. Ground broke for this incredible structure in 1868, but the cathedral wasn’t completed until fifty-one years later. Enjoy:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Cobh: West Beach, East Beach, and Cathedral Place

Old Cunard offices on West Beach

There is a lot of seagoing history here in Cobh, and a much of it tragic. One such tragedy involved ocean liner RMS Lusitania, which belonged to the Cunard Steamship Company. Lusitania was torpedoed on 7 May 1915 by U-20, a U-boat belonging to the Imperial German Navy. This World War I tragedy resulted in 1,198 of the 1,959 passengers and crew perishing in the waters of the Atlantic. Survivors and discovered remains were brought here, to Cobh.

Cunard Lines ...