Ireland Trip Day 4

Yo! Woke up at a decent time this morning, though we did get a bit of a late start because of Mythbusters on TV during breakfast. (My fault :D).

It got cold last night, everything was frosty this morning, but it warmed up after an hour or so.

We first went to Blarney Castle, Blarney, which is about 8 miles from Cork. It was a bit of a drive but the scenery like everywhere else in Ireland is beautiful. The Blarney stone is said to gift eloquence to whoever kisses it. What they don't tell you is that it is at the very top of the Blarney Castle, which sits on top of a decent hill. On the approach to the castle, there is a lot to see. There is a cave that the defenders used to escape the castle one time during a siege. We went a pretty good ways into the cave, it's very tight and pretty cool.

After climbing the hill to the castle proper, you proceed inside and begin to climb. Another windy spiral staircase going up about 6 or 7 floors, and it get's tighter and steeper the higher you climb. You reach the very top, and are looking out over the parapets, where the view is breathtaking. After walking halfway around the top you come to a couple of guys sitting with their legs dangling over the edge of the parapet. The Blarney stone is the bottom stone from the outer edge of the parapet. In order to kiss it, you sit down with your back to the stone. then you lay down and grab these two metal bars with your hands. One of the guys sitting there then grabs your legs so that you don't fall down through hole to the ground. After you take hold of the bars, you slide backwards, and head down about 2 maybe 3 feet, then lean out and brush your lips to the very bottom stone. It's over in seconds, but it's worth the effort.
Climb back down and pick-up our certificates and photos that prove we kissed the stone.

Next stop, the Drombeg Standing stones, which is near Glandore, on the southern coast of Ireland. The stones date from 945-830 BC. It was very cool, seeing such history.

Side note, while driving to there from Blarney, we passed through a town that is celebrating 600 years of existence. Wow!

From there we started making our way back to Adare, but we took a different route through some beautiful land, and a national forest.

I am so blessed to have been able to make this trip. It has been amazing!