Blarney Castle

16November 2008

Today Kyle and I woke up at 0730 and headed down to the lobby for breakfast. We discussed our plans for the day and decided to take our car and head out to Cork and see the Blarney Castle.

The drive was about 2 hours, and the scenery was amazing. We finally pulled up to the castle and got our tickets to enter. It was 10 euros a person for an all day pass to the castle. Immediately after getting inside the gate, I started taking pictures. I can see the castle off in a distance peeking through the fire red and yellow trees, begging to be seen. There is a river that runs below the castle, called River Martin, that we walk along as we head up.

We finally get to the front of the castle, and begin our challenging journey up to the top so we can kiss the Blarney Stone! The stairs that led up through the center of the castle were extremely frightening. I am not kidding when I say these stone stairs couldn't have been wider than a couple feet, and they slippery from moisture and it was dark! Not to mention, they were insanely steep, and while climbing them, I started to get very claustrophobic, It felt as though they were never ending, and they were spiral so you couldn't see up them to see where the end was. Finally after climbing them for about 5 minutes, we reached the very top. We stopped to take some pictures. We then headed over to the opposite side to where the Blarney Stone was. After a climb like that, I couldn't leave without kissing the famous stone. I stood there watching people, and encouraged Kyle to go before me. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous.

The Blarney Stone is a stone, about a foot or so wide, set into the walls of the castle. The stone was set in 1446. It is about 75-100 feet off the ground, at the peak of the castle. According to Irish legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab, or great eloquence and the gift of flattery.

To kiss the stone, you sit your tush down on this block of cement, and you lean backwards, upside down, along the outside castle walls, so your head is dangling upside down. There is an Irish man holding your waist, and you are grabbing onto two cast iron bars. As I sat down, the little old Irish man said, " Let's see how you kiss this afternoon, darlin'" and backwards I went. While upside down, you have to reach your head out into mid air to reach the Blarney Stone, and kiss it! It was frightening, but so cool! Millions of people from all around the world have come to kiss this stone, and now I too, have kissed it!

We headed back down to discover the beautiful and extensive gardens surrounding the castle. There were ponds, with waterfalls spilling into them, flowers, rivers running through them, it was breathtaking. They had "Wishing Steps" centered in the middle of the garden. I decided to do as the legend tells. It is said that if you walk up the steps backward, and back down, with your eyes closed and thinking only of your wish, that it will come true.

Overall, I loved this castle! It was so beautiful! Our next adventure, the Celtic Sea and Cliffs of Moher! Toodles!