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Published: March 23rd 2008
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Today was the big one for us; Blarney Castle! And it was not a disappointment. On the way out of town, we hit some rain and thought it might be another rainy, windy day. But, luckily, it cleared up as we got outside the city and the drive turned out to be incredible. The Irish country side never disappoints. Passed through several small towns which each had it's own magnificent cathedrals, no matter how small the town. The driving was nerve-racking as always, but passing through hillsides and seeing the view, the ruins, the cathedrals, and even the sheep, makes the near collisions worth it. Our first stop of the day was Blarney Castle. It is just outside the town of Blarney and located on a beautiful track of land which also has picnic areas, a rock garden (called the Rock Close) and several smaller buildings that compliment the castle. As we went in, we over heard some older American ladies who said the line to get up to the Blarney Stone was very long and the path extremely steep, so they decided not to go. Can you believe we actually contemplated not going up? Thankfully, that bit of craziness passed
and we headed up. The ladies were half-right; the path was steep. I can't believe I fit. What kept me going was the fact that I knew the Tuttles (the father and two sons from the show "American Chopper") have been up there and those are some big guys. So, if they could make it, I could make it. I just had to fight back the waves of claustrophobia that kept creeping up. The line was only about 20-25 minutes long and offered some views into some of the rooms of the castle on the way up. As I mentioned earlier, it had turned out to be a beautiful day, but one thing that had remained constant from the previous day was the wind force. The wind was strong and it was cold! And yet again, the openings (window, door, etc) of the castle acted as wind funnels concentrating the strength of the wind at certain points. Kind of scary as you're heading to the top of the Castle which is open air. But all of it came to nothing as we landed on the top of stairs and walked out to the top of the castle with only a
short wait to get to the Blarney Stone. For something so simple, it was amazing how incredible it felt to actually be in the Blarney Castle about to kiss one of the most famous stones in the world, knowing the millions of people had been here before us (including the Tuttles of course). Once we completed our trek and kissed the stone, Marisa and I turned to each other and could not believe that we actually paused for a second and thought about not coming up. We could not believe those women who, like us, had come thousands of miles to get there and could not spare 30 minutes of time to make the climb up the castle. It was a fantastic feeling. I knew we had planned on coming to the castle from the get go, but I never gave it that much importance. Even driving up, it was just another stop and then on to the next. But, walking down and through the rest of the grounds, we knew that we had just done and visited something amazing. Something that could not be described in words with any justice to the experience. All I can say is plan
a trip up here and make the trek up the steps, no matter the wait. If I can do it, anyone can do it.
Once we were done at the castle, then we made a quick stop at the Blarney Woolen Mills to pick up some authentic Irish wool products (ask me about my hat next time you see me). From there, we headed back into Cork to go inside the St. Finn Barre's cathedral. After all the cathedrals that we had stopped at or passed by, this was the first that we were actually able to take the time to go inside. It was an amazing cathedral that did not lose any of its luster knowing that it had only been built 100 years ago; a small amount of time, compared to the other cathedrals that we had already seen.
From there, we headed to the Charles Fort located about 20 minutes south of Cork right along the southern coast. Everytime I had thought about this trip, I always imagined the high sea-side cliffs and the ruins of castles located on some those cliffs. With Charles Fort, I would hopefully get to see exactly that. The drive
over, though short, was crazy as we once again got lost, drove through small towns with even smaller roads, and witnessed majestic views that just caught our breath. This time, the view was of the coast and the small inlets the dotted the seacoast. Driving into and then around Kinsale, which was right before the fort, was amazing. At one point we were coming down through the hills in to this small town and then we were, all of a sudden, driving along a road that lined the coast. Just incredible. I think I actually hit the side of the road several times trying to take in the view of the sea and small islands that seemed to guard the opening of the bay. When we got to the fort, we were almost disappointed as the inside of the fort was closed for the day. But we were able to walk around the grounds of the fort and that was good enough for me. The fort is located right on the edge of the coast on a cliff, but not a very high cliff. Oh well! Maybe that was for the best. My claustrophobia had been severely tested with the
climb up the Blarney Castle, I do not think my psyche could have handled the vertigo I would have inevitably put myself through by standing right at the edge of the cliff. As it was, I walked around the fort and followed a path that took me to the edge of the small cliff. I could see another path that led from a gate at the side of the fort down to the sea. Once again, we took many, many, many pictures that one day soon will end up here. But for now, my fingers are tired and the plane will be boarding soon, so I will close for now. One more day left as we head back to Dublin to prepare for the journey back home. See everyone soon!
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