hi everyone!
sorry it's taken so long, i have a whole list of excuses including a laundry fiasco, crappy internet, and a walking tour...
so let's backtrack - i went to Blarney on the 18th for the day. it was UNBELIEVABLE and definitely ranks in one of my top ten days of my life. we caught a bus in cork that took us right into the town center at Blarney. here's something to know about the weather in ireland... you NEVER know. the internet could tell you that it will be raining and you look outside... it's not. or, you could see a ten percent chance of rain for the day and as soon as you walk outside it pours. so, when i got up it was POURING torrentially, and if you heard the wind, you would have turned over and went right back to sleep. but, i let the weather deter me once, and it wasn't happening again. so i got up and got dressed - in your favorite outfit :) my spandex and hot pink rain boots. let me tell you, i looked hip. but the stares i got as a i walked through the city could tell you a different story. i wanted to be prepared nonetheless and when i walked out the door, the rain stopped.
mom- i had my awesome rain jacket anyway and it totally came in handy later in the day.
we picked up some breakfast on the way to the bus, it was only 9:30 so we got bagels and i was going to get a bacon egg and cheese, but the bacon here is SOOOOO not bacon. it's like really fatty ham, so i passed and went for cream cheese instead.
the town of Blarney seems so small when i look back, but i'm sure i couldn't have seen all of it. there were just a couple of restaurants and a hotel, aside from the tourist magnet of the castle.
the castle is not that big at all, not what i pictured a castle to be like at least.
but there were a lot of gardens and grounds around it.
there were some parts of the grounds, like this one...
that were almost torn apart because of the storm i mentioned before. there were branches all over the ground because of the wind and rain.
the castle looks almost like just a section of a larger castle, but there were a lot more rooms inside than you would have expected from the outside.
there were some cute spots for photo ops on the way up to the entrance, so i took advantage :)
once you get inside the castle walls there's a convenient gift shop that you have to pass going in and coming out. and just like 6 flags, when you get finished kissing the stone, you can buy a picture of yourself doing it on the way out.
... i did it... please don't judge me for it... but none of my friends got good pictures of me doing the actual kissing, so the one the staff took was the best i could get...
given my claustrophobia,
i led the way up the castle. the stairways were incredibly narrow and steep. there wasn't even room for a railing, you could grab onto a rope that was hung from the middle of the tower if you needed it. 
the windows along the way made the climb a little easier for me to handle, but i still couldn't breathe all the way in until we went into the rooms off of the staircase, and i took a big, deep breath once we reached the top.
along the way, there were rooms you could stop off in, like the kitchen, the dining hall, a few bedrooms. the signs that guide you along the way are really cute. they have witty sayings on them that keep you interested...
it had been raining on and off since we got the bus but when we emerged at the top of the castle it was clear and there were rainbows! i know it doesn't sound that exciting but in that moment, i was so caught up in the fact that i was at the top of a castle in the middle of ireland with rainbows all around it really was amazing. i had to stop for a minute just to look around and actually BE in the moment. there were sheep in the field in the distance, everything around was green and i was so caught up.
unfortunately, at this point, my camera started dying, i guess it was tired from taking 90 pictures in less than an hour.
this is me kissing the stone... i went too quickly ...so we went over to the kissing stone and an older man is there to help you lean over backwards and reach the stone. it was thrilling being upside down that high! there are bars under the opening so there's no way you're falling through but it is a little disorienting.
my friends said they were scared the whole time. i didn't mind it though. i had this feeling of like, just full happiness, at that moment, when we had all kissed the blarney stone at the top of a castle in rural ireland under rainbows, that i was filled up with joy and excitement, and that the moment couldn't get much better.
the walk back down through the castle was even more steep and narrow, if that's possible, and when we got out, it had started raining lightly again.
they had these really cool benches right outside the exit...
we decided that since we had already paid, we'd walk around the gardens anyway. we were all well equipped with raincoats and rainboots so we started touring the gardens.
at one point we got to this totally secluded area that seemed like a secret. it had a thick canopy from the trees so we could still hear the rain hitting the leaves but we weren't getting wet, there was a stone wall with a door behind us and it was darker in there because of the shade on such a cloudy day. we were surrounded by bushes and stone statues and we were totally alone. it was a magical moment because it was almost an out of body experience. i can remember telling all of them to just stop and listen for a second. take a minute to breathe it all in because it was a "check yourself minute". i literally had to stop in my tracks, close my eyes and appreciate EVERYTHING around me. it was unbelievable, what that moment felt like. it was so peaceful and beautiful and quiet.
after we appreciated our circumstances, we continued on through the gardens to see the waterfalls and pathways.
there were these weird dead things with leaves that were HUMONGOUS! i couldn't help but think of the children's books i read when i was younger that told about frogs and other animals who would float down streams and rivers on rafts of leaves. i'm pretty sure that if those things were real, these leaves would have made damn good boats.
behind this one waterfall there was a stairway built into the rock. the legend there says that the owners of blarney castle allowed a witch to come to the property and take some firewood, as long as she made the wishes of visitors come true. so what you have to do is climb the stairs up and back down, backwards, and think only of your wish, the whole time. then, she'll grant it.
sorry! i can't tell you my wish! otherwise it won't come true ;)
it started raining harder after that so we made our way to the giftshop!!!
this is where i ran into a problem, because the gift shop was called the Erin Giftshop...
since you all know me so well, you can probably see why this was an issue.
i wanted EVERYTHING ... i mean, how often do you come across a giftshop that shares your name??
i know now aunt cacky, that they're pretty common here, and my friend's haven't let me hear the end of it. they saw a bus the other day that was named erin and they all turned at the same time and said "WOULD YOU BUY THAT TOO????" and i turned right back and said, "YEP!"
:)
i got a few things there, i won't tell you everything but meg, caitie, and chelsea, you'll be pretty happy with what i got ;)
mom, i've honestly been trying to only get things that i can't find anywhere else, like in the blarney giftshop i got a mini blarney stone - hokey i know but i had to ... well not had to.. you know what i mean...
daddy, i promiseeeee i'm not going crazy, my account won't be empty too soon
deirdre, shauna, dec... i go into basically EVERY giftshop i pass trying to find awesome souvenirs for you guys, so basically, you'll be the reason i come home with no money because you make me go into these places that hold so much temptation for me.
after the shopping excursion we grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading back home to cork. yes, i had money left for lunch, even if it was just a salad.
it happened to be my friend from montana's birthday that day but she spent the weekend in Galway, so when she and her friends got back we had a mini birthday party for her
all in all, a TERRIFIC day.
now, since it's 1:30 am i'm going to bed... but i promise not to make you wait so long for my Belfast update. if everything goes well, i'll have it up on friday!
love you all! xoxo
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