not just a stone in ireland...
that's right, we went to blarney. and blarney it indeed was. no, just kidding, it was actually a very nice town.
after our wonderful adventure with the hostels in dingle, steph and i decided to treat ourselves to a nice reserved stay in a B and B, with reservations. i know i said that twice, but it was a big deal at the time. so anyway, we got off the bus in blarney, and we knew we had a bit of a walk, but man was it worth it! ya see, we piced a random B and B out of the guide book, but we didn't know that we were going to pick the largest in blarney! it was huge! it was a 3 story brick house or something like that, with a huge yard and very nice green grass. we were in heaven. needless to say, we took off our shoes and tested the bed. (a nap, what did you think i meant?) then we took advantage of our private bathroom and took some glorious showers/baths (one apiece), and went down to the town to look for some dinner.
the town of blarney is very small indeed. there are two filling stations, one pub, the blarney woolen mill, and some souvineer shops. the rest is all hotels and B and Bs. that being said, it is a very delightful town. we wandered around looking for a decently nice restaurant that wasn't terribly expensive, but once again, like dingle, we found it was not to be. after not really finding anyplace (and hearing what sounded suspiciously like a gunshot in the nearby underbrush), we decided to dine at the pub. luckily, we found that the restaurant was upstairs, separate from the actual pub area, and it turned out to be very nice. we had some wine, and a most delicious meal. i had penne bolognese, and steph had some delightful salmon. then, we split the most amazing strawberry cheescake ever, and i mean ever! damn. it was good. talk to steph. amazing.
we spent the rest of the night hanging out in the pub (which, incidentally, was called the muskery arms. highly recommended for both dining and drinking if you are ever in blarney), and listening to good music. there was a live band, and although the jazz festival was in cork, we were treated to good old favorites such as van morrison, oasis and the dubliners. this is not meant to be sarcastic, it was very good stuff. we learned a new song by the dubliners that was immediately added to my repetoire and will be forever stuck in our heads. it's called seven drunken nights, and a most delightful romp it is.
after sleeping a very nice night, we awakened too early to promises of the latter B of our accommodations. breakfast was ok, not great, but we needed our strength for our later adventures in Blarney castle. after breakfast, and finding out once again that no one in ireland takes credit (luckily we had the cash on us), we headed down to the castle. that is, we swam down to the castle. it was raining quite hard, and so we bundled up all we could and had a jolly time making our way down the hill, dodging the muddy water begin splashed up by the passing traffic as it hit the all-too-frequent puddles. luckily, we made it down mostly unscathed (except from above), and headed to the castle. the lady at the ticket booth was kind enough to let us leave our bags in the storage room for the gift shop, and so with our burdens lifted from our backs (literally), we went to see what all the fuss was about.
upon entering the grounds, we decided to not go to the castle right away, and instead decided to simply walk around a bit. this turned out to be the right way to do things, as the grounds were exceedingly lovely, and (as we would find later) much better than the castle. but more on them later. we ended up going to the castle the back way, and coming upon from the battlements. as seen here, with steph casting her glance at the battles of yesteryears.
we continued on through the battlements, marvelling at the changing scenery merely from gap to gap, and finally came upon the castle, as seen here.
upon entering the castle, right next to the giant sign saying "THIS WAY TO THE STONE!!!!" we came upon...a gift shop. the bastard demons of commercialism have decided that the chance to spend money at the gates was not enough, and you needed to actually buy something when you were physically inside the castle, including authentic certificates saying that you really did kiss the stone. ugh.
we went on bravely, hoping the commercialism would not persist throughout a potentially fascinating ruin. luckily, that was the end, and we made our way up the castle, through many a room and up some very steep spiraling stairs to the top. the castle was very cool on the interior, but it was mostly that, just a castle. nothing out of the ordinary if you have seen one. that is not to say it wasn't cool, though.
so we got to the top, and were initially a little comfused about where the actual stone was. when we finally found out, it was a little interesting. the stone is actually part of the wall, and below the walkway, and so a tour guide has to hold you as you lean over backwards to kiss the stone. if you want proof, here is steph and myself kissing the actual stone. check it out!
yes, we did it. we kissed the stone. that's why i've been able to ramble on as i have just now. so, anyway, after that, we headed back down through the castle and headed onto the grounds, not really knowing what to expect.
to be continued...
after our wonderful adventure with the hostels in dingle, steph and i decided to treat ourselves to a nice reserved stay in a B and B, with reservations. i know i said that twice, but it was a big deal at the time. so anyway, we got off the bus in blarney, and we knew we had a bit of a walk, but man was it worth it! ya see, we piced a random B and B out of the guide book, but we didn't know that we were going to pick the largest in blarney! it was huge! it was a 3 story brick house or something like that, with a huge yard and very nice green grass. we were in heaven. needless to say, we took off our shoes and tested the bed. (a nap, what did you think i meant?) then we took advantage of our private bathroom and took some glorious showers/baths (one apiece), and went down to the town to look for some dinner.
the town of blarney is very small indeed. there are two filling stations, one pub, the blarney woolen mill, and some souvineer shops. the rest is all hotels and B and Bs. that being said, it is a very delightful town. we wandered around looking for a decently nice restaurant that wasn't terribly expensive, but once again, like dingle, we found it was not to be. after not really finding anyplace (and hearing what sounded suspiciously like a gunshot in the nearby underbrush), we decided to dine at the pub. luckily, we found that the restaurant was upstairs, separate from the actual pub area, and it turned out to be very nice. we had some wine, and a most delicious meal. i had penne bolognese, and steph had some delightful salmon. then, we split the most amazing strawberry cheescake ever, and i mean ever! damn. it was good. talk to steph. amazing.
we spent the rest of the night hanging out in the pub (which, incidentally, was called the muskery arms. highly recommended for both dining and drinking if you are ever in blarney), and listening to good music. there was a live band, and although the jazz festival was in cork, we were treated to good old favorites such as van morrison, oasis and the dubliners. this is not meant to be sarcastic, it was very good stuff. we learned a new song by the dubliners that was immediately added to my repetoire and will be forever stuck in our heads. it's called seven drunken nights, and a most delightful romp it is.
after sleeping a very nice night, we awakened too early to promises of the latter B of our accommodations. breakfast was ok, not great, but we needed our strength for our later adventures in Blarney castle. after breakfast, and finding out once again that no one in ireland takes credit (luckily we had the cash on us), we headed down to the castle. that is, we swam down to the castle. it was raining quite hard, and so we bundled up all we could and had a jolly time making our way down the hill, dodging the muddy water begin splashed up by the passing traffic as it hit the all-too-frequent puddles. luckily, we made it down mostly unscathed (except from above), and headed to the castle. the lady at the ticket booth was kind enough to let us leave our bags in the storage room for the gift shop, and so with our burdens lifted from our backs (literally), we went to see what all the fuss was about.
upon entering the grounds, we decided to not go to the castle right away, and instead decided to simply walk around a bit. this turned out to be the right way to do things, as the grounds were exceedingly lovely, and (as we would find later) much better than the castle. but more on them later. we ended up going to the castle the back way, and coming upon from the battlements. as seen here, with steph casting her glance at the battles of yesteryears.
we continued on through the battlements, marvelling at the changing scenery merely from gap to gap, and finally came upon the castle, as seen here.
upon entering the castle, right next to the giant sign saying "THIS WAY TO THE STONE!!!!" we came upon...a gift shop. the bastard demons of commercialism have decided that the chance to spend money at the gates was not enough, and you needed to actually buy something when you were physically inside the castle, including authentic certificates saying that you really did kiss the stone. ugh.
we went on bravely, hoping the commercialism would not persist throughout a potentially fascinating ruin. luckily, that was the end, and we made our way up the castle, through many a room and up some very steep spiraling stairs to the top. the castle was very cool on the interior, but it was mostly that, just a castle. nothing out of the ordinary if you have seen one. that is not to say it wasn't cool, though.
so we got to the top, and were initially a little comfused about where the actual stone was. when we finally found out, it was a little interesting. the stone is actually part of the wall, and below the walkway, and so a tour guide has to hold you as you lean over backwards to kiss the stone. if you want proof, here is steph and myself kissing the actual stone. check it out!
yes, we did it. we kissed the stone. that's why i've been able to ramble on as i have just now. so, anyway, after that, we headed back down through the castle and headed onto the grounds, not really knowing what to expect.
to be continued...
posted by Scott | 12:43 PM
1 Comments:
Hullo, love!
Here is your comment for this particular post: DAMN WAS THAT CHEESECAKE GOOD!
More to come from the corporate world later, I'm sure.
I love you! :)
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