Blarney Castle and Cobh

So this week, I took my first couple day trips with some friends. On Thursday, we went to Blarney Castle, which is about a half hour away from Cork. It was wonderful to see a little bit of the countryside. The weather was beautiful in the morning, which turned out to be a good thing as we climbed to the top to kiss the Blarney stone. The castle itself is basically the ruins of an old castle, and in order to get to the top (which is extraordinarily high up from the ground) we had to climb a tiny, narrow, uneven set of spiral stairs, with only a rope to hold onto. It was worth it to see the wonderful view from the top, where you could see for miles around. As for kissing the stone...I was absolutely terrified to do it, but I somehow got the courage to do so. In order to do it, you have to lean backwards over the ledge of the castle while an attendant holds your waist to make sure you don't fall. It was really scary, but I did it, and I was rewarded with the gift of eloquence, as the legend goes. After a very slow journey down the formidable steps, we walked around the castle grounds, which felt strangely like we had been transported to the rainforest, with pathways surrounded by waterfalls and huge, beautiful trees.

This morning, we ventured out to Cobh, which is the seaside town from which the Titanic set sail for the last time. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries so I wasn't able to get any pictures, but I should get them from my friends sooner or later. The town was really adorable, and we went to mass in a church that was absolutely beautiful. It was one of the biggest cathedrals I have ever seen, filled with stained glass windows and carved archways. We also saw the port where both the Titanic and the Lusitania took off from, and walked through a virtual tour of what it was like to emigrate from Ireland to America back in the day.

I'm still really loving Ireland. During the week, there are lots of pubs that have local musicians come in and play traditional Irish music, which is a lot of fun to listen to. I'm taking a class about it, so hopefully I'll be an expert by the end of the semster! The one thing I doubt I will ever get used to is the fact that you can experience all four seasons in one day. When we left this morning, it was bright and sunny, proceeded to downpour, got sunny again...etc for about two hours. Then on the walk home we were soaked to the bone in a hailstorm...go figure. Other than that, I'm completely loving Ireland, and looking forward to seeing Dublin and Tipperary, which are the weekend trips coming up soon.

I included some pictures from Blarney Castle below, and hopefully I'll be able to steal some pictures from Cobh before too long. I hope you're all doing well :)


Blarney Castle from far away

Closer view

View from the bottom

Okay, you see that hole in the top of the castle? That's what you have to lean out of to kiss the stone

The view from about halfway up

The stairs we have to climb to get up to the top

Me at the top

I kissed it!

Random waterfall in the middle of Ireland


Walking up the Wishing Steps. Supposedly if you can walk up these steps with your eyes closed while making a wish, your wish will come true. We'll see...

Me in a cave