Blessed with the Luck of the Irish.

After a few failed attempts at trying to do tourist activities in Dublin, Sarah, Caitlin and myself decided to take an actual trip to another part of Ireland to part take in a touring ritual that one must do when in Ireland: The Blarney Stone. We bought our train tickets for a Sunday day trip and by 10am we were off on the three hour train from Dublin to Cork. At 1pm, we arrived to a gloomy, overcast, mild temperatured Cork. It was what I had hoped for; and bundled up in my pea coat and scarf I felt warm, not hot or cold, it was perfect. We took a 15 minute walk into the center of Cork city to get some lunch before we headed off to the Blarney Castle. (pictured: Parliament Bridge, Father Matthew statue, street in Cork).





A quick sandwich and a few 'posey' monument pictures later, we were at the bus station buying a round trip ticket to Blarney. The bus took about 20 minutes into the seemingly secluded, quaint town of Blarney. We spent about 10 minutes on a narrow, windy road with green hills and cows at every turn of a curve in the road. When we arrived at Blarney we were signaled to get off. The town itself is small, and adorable. There were fleets of people walking towards an information booth so we followed with the hopes they too, were going to the castle. The admission was 8euro, and clearly stated on the sign it comes with entry to the castle, the rock close gardens and the famous kiss. We walked in and roamed around the paths for a little taking pictures before we found our way across the small mote and on the castle grounds. The castle itself is stoic and beautiful. It sits back behind a large green lawn with trees and a small mote creating a barrier around the fortress. Around the perimeter of the castle, is the watch man's tower (self explanatory) and the gates to the dungeon which we stopped to pose for pictures in. Walking up to the entrance there are benches with the words 'Blarney Castle' written on the back, which puts them in the perfect spot to take a typical tourist picture, which is exactly what we did. (pictured: the castle, in the dungeon, the bench)






We walked in and hiked up the stairs of the castle, which would make anyone prone to claustrophobia extremely nervous. The spiral staircase was a one way climb to the top. The staircase is about four feet wide and only about 6 feet tall, so I was feeling the pressure to get up as fast as I can without freaking out. We stopped to breathe along with looking at the remnants of the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms of the castle before we got to the top. The view from the top of the castle is fantastic, you can seemingly see for miles and are above the treeline as well. The grass is amazingly green and the colors of the horticulture just seem to pop with contrast. While taking in the views, we waited in line to kiss the legendary stone. What you have to do to kiss the stone, is lay down, bend over the edge of castle while some random man you don't even know holds onto your torso so you don't fall to your death. He then tells you to scoot back way too far for comfort until your head is aligned with the stone. A quick kiss and you are hoisted up within a second. Sure, dangling almost to my death was riveting but knowing that I had kissed a stone that is supposed to bring me luck, I knew I wasn't going to fall to my demise, well because that would be unlucky. (pictured: view from the top, me on top of the castle, kissing the stone)





We began our descent down the stairs that seemed to never end, and on the way back out we stopped at the Rock Close gardens. There were gorgeous waterfalls, wishing ponds and beautiful trees all inside the gardens. It was a great way to wind down the adrenaline rush of being dangled. The day ended with dinner at a bistro, and a calm train ride home back to my crappy apartment on campus. Every time I have gone somewhere since being here, I am reminded how lucky I am, and am completely humbled by my experiences. I don't think I'll ever have an opportunity like this again, and it's truly amazing to me that I can go so many places and see so many things that will be with me forever. (pictured: waterfalls, wishing pond)