Blogs from Blarney, County Cork, Ireland, Europe - page 2

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Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney July 16th 2015

(I should have proper wifi tomorrow so pictures will go up on the later blogs... it drives me insane when I can't add them because it would take 30min to do one photo.) I'm writing half of this entry sitting in a stable at Blarney Castle. I don't mind mist, I don't mind rain, but I do mind downpours and what they do to my camera. Anyway, just getting to Blarney was amusing. I had purchased my bus ticket online and the machine on the bus was having nothing of it. It took the bus driver, a bus director and some head honcho guy from inside the bus station to get it to work. Ahhhhh, even funnier when you realize by booking online I saved maybe 50 cents. I laugh at my frugality. Blarney Castle is ... read more

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney November 9th 2014

This morning, my hostess recommended I drive the Ring of Beara instead of go straight to Blarney. So I did, but with the recommended shorter version cutting across the middle instead of doing the entire coast. It was beautiful of course, but still didn't quite match my drive through the mountains yesterday. Once I made it to town, I headed straight for the Blarney Castle. I had no idea it was such an attraction! I expected just a castle, but there were acres of land turned into gardens and walking paths and so much to see. I climbed up to the top of the castle right away and was so scared out of my mind I was shaking all the way down. Those stairs. Holy crap. Being afraid of heights, I wanted to just cower in ... read more
Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle
Stairs to the Blarney Stone

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney August 19th 2014

Blarney Castle is one of Ireland's most famous attractions. In this small town of Blarney sit's this castle that caused some much trouble for the MacCarthy family and the Queen of England. The Irish did not want to lose the castle and the Queen wanted the castle. More history later. As you enter Blarney town you find a small beautiful little town with very friendly people waiting to greet you. The castle is €10 for students and €12 for adults. As you enter the grounds of the castle you are meet with these amazing gardens. Standing massive tree's bright with green and leaves. The gardens themselves offer an amazing picnic location. While the flowers bloom around you and the sun is beating down on you. One could get lost in all the amazement that the castle ... read more

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney November 4th 2013

Photos we will miss ireland. Phillip agnew's 50th surprise party... read more
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Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney October 22nd 2012

Leaving my castle this morning was indescribably difficult. I thought really hard about grabbing a coat of armor or marble lion statue on my way out as a little souvenir. Today was a looong day tour to Cork and Blarney Castle. We started at 6:50am and drove for an hour, through Leish County and over the Three Sisters rivers before stopping for some breakfast rolls at a little convenience store in Kilkenny. The tour "mascots" are a bunch of donkeys near this store named Jack, Jenny, and Pier. The group fed these little guys all sorts of junk until we set out again for Cork. Dave, our tour guide, probably knows more about Ireland than any other person in this entire world. He talked, and talked, and talked about Irish history the entire 12 hour tour. ... read more
Isn't he cute?
Jack, Jenny, and Pier.
So curious.

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney June 13th 2012

We decided there was only one thing for it. When we went down to Blarney, to the castle, we took the big, golfing umbrella with us on the scooter and it worked. Not a drop of rain today. The umbrella also proved useful for mounting and dismounting but a bit tricky to hold as we were riding along. We had been warned that Blarney Castle gets a lot of visitors and there were indeed quite a number of coach parties there. The Castle is set in beautiful and extensive grounds so no hardship to walk up to the castle. Bob decided (sensibly as it proved but then he generally is) not to join the very long queue to get to the Blarney stone on the roof of the castle as the queue stretched from the ground ... read more
Kissing the Blarney Stone
I thought I had found one of the little people it was just my reflection in a big puddle
Woodland walk at Blarney Castle

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney June 12th 2012

Today’s drive started with a lovely scenic route along the Copper Coast. Some beautiful views as we drove along of cliffs and deep inlets. The sea looked surprisingly calm and there were patches of blue in the sky which looked promising – “enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers” which my mother always said meant it was going to be fine. Alas, must have been too big a sailor, not enough of the blue as a big black cloud came and gobbled it all up. There were a couple of interesting places en route to Cork, Dungarvan and Youghal but didn’t stop because of the dratted rain. When we got to Cobh (Cove) we had a minor moment of panic when Bob couldn’t find his wallet and we wondered if it had ... read more
Lovely views across the cliffs of the Copper Coast
Rain about to fall on our coastal drivev
Cobh a lovely harbour

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney April 6th 2012

When I was a kid, I read about Blarney Castle and its famous Blarney Stone in an "around the world" type book for children. All I really remembered was the phrase "full of Blarney" and a picture of a person being dangled by the ankles to kiss a stone on the side of a Castle. Even so, the prospect of visiting a place I had read about as a kid was very exciting. If nothing else, the town of Blarney is fully aware of the number of tourists, especially American tourists, that it gets. Everything is overpriced and signposted, the student discounts are tiny and in order to leave the castle grounds, you have to walk through a gift shop. They also have a professional photographer at the top of the castle so they can sell ... read more

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney September 18th 2011

We decided last night to book another nights accommodation and do a day trip down to Blarney Castle and Cork. We figured if local tours could do it... so could we! We were up at about 8am and left for Blarney/Cork at about 9.30am. We stopped off at a superette to buy some lunch along the way, we have taken to 'make-your-own' lunches which is quite nice. We arrived at Blarney Castle at about 2pm and went straight in. The grounds are massive for this place. It has a castle as well as big walking tracks, gardens, caves and another house where people still live in. We walked up Blarney Castle and on each of the levels we were able to stop and read about what used to be there. There was a place called the ... read more
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Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney August 23rd 2011

After arriving in Waterford by rail, we checked into our hotel and headed straight to the pub recommended by the fellow who picked us up at the side of the road and took us to the train station. What started out as a rough day turned into a great afternoon and evening. Waterford is another great town, rich in history with invasions by Vikings, Anglo-Normans, and various British monarchs over the centuries. The people are also amazing, as, we are discovering, they seem to be throughout this country. We hung around the town for a couple of days, while a new vehicle was transported to us. Once we finally got it, we headed toward the southwest coast, via Cork and Blarney. Of course, I just had to kiss that Blarney Stone. Other than being a bit ... read more
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