The Gift of Gab

Alysha and I decided to go on another Paddywagon tour during the study week and we invited Claire to come along as well.  After almost missing the bus, we headed down to Cork with our fellow tourists and stopped just outside the English Market.  This market was basically a smaller scale version of la Boqueria which Claire and I visited in Barcelona, so we felt right at home.  It wasn't quite lunch time but our tummies were grumbling a bit being surrounded by all the delicious food, so we decided to all pitch in and get a fresh loaf of hazelnut soda bread.  It was divine!  We walked up and down one of the main streets of Cork peeking in shop windows and admiring the gardens before finally heading back to the bus.

Our next stop was the quaint town of Kinsale.  The tide was out an a few small boats were left leaning precariously on the exposed sea floor.  The streets were lined with brightly colored homes and shops, and as the three of us explored, we even stumbled upon a farmer's market set up in a small square.  On either side of the hills overlooking Kinsale, there are two forts, Charles Fort and James's Fort.  In the past a long, underwater chain was strung between the two forts to prevent hostile ships from entering the cove.  In more recent history, the Lusitania was sunk 11 miles off the coast of Kinsale and some of the survivors and the deceased were brought to the town.

As we drove towards the small town of Blarney, our bus driver started to tell us about the Irish language.  I had of course noticed how all of the road signs were written in both English and Irish all around the country, however I was surprised when our driver told us that even the laws were written in both English and Irish.  In fact, if a guard is trying to arrest you and you request that he tell you your rights or why you're being arrested in Irish and he fails, then he is not allowed to arrest you.  Apparently there have been a few people who have gotten away because a guard hasn't been fluent in Irish haha!

When we finally arrived in Blarney we headed straight to the castle.  I must say that Blarney is definitely the coolest castle I have seen in Ireland.  It was in pretty good condition and it seemed to me to be the nearest to a home.  When I say that it's like a home I mean that it had separate rooms for different members of the family.  It did not just have to bedrooms and forced everyone else to sleep in the great hall.  It actually seemed to have been built to house a family, their guests, and their servants.  Most of the other castles we have visited had large rooms that were shared and they seemed rather primitive in comparison.  We climbed up and explored all of the rooms floor by floor until we had finally reached the top.  This was it.  The moment we had all been waiting for.  Our chance to kiss the Blarney Stone.  Before we had arrived, I had imagined a large boulder that we would have to kiss.  I knew that you were supposed to kiss it upside down and I was confused as to why someone would have to go upside down just to kiss a big rock sitting in the middle of a room.  I soon found out that my expectations for the Blarney Stone were far from accurate.  The stone was not some rock but rather part of the wall of the castle.  To kiss it I had to lay down and bend backwards off the edge of the wall while a man held my legs and made sure that I didn't fall.  It was scary but now I have the gift of gab!  The rest of the grounds at Blarney were cool too. We went through the Poison Gardens after passing a sign warning us not to touch, smell, or eat any of the plants.  We also checked out the other gardens, a watchtower, and the large house near the castle.

Our final stop on the tour was Cobh, a larger harbor than Kinsale and home to a naval base.  This city was also the last stop the Titanic made before heading over to America.  On top of a hill in the middle of the city stands St. Colman's Cathedral.  It has a tower with a grand total of 42 bells in it!  The inside was quite beautiful as well.  Alysha, Claire, and I walked through the town and along the edge of the water before the cold air drove us into a small cafe where we drank tea until it was time to head back to Dublin.