Let me just tell you, my car was just a barrel of energy on our drive from Northern Ireland down to the southern region. My guess is that it had to something to do with the chitlin's nightlife. I was just hoping that their car-ride beauty sleep would help to energize them as both were sound asleep majority of the drive. They in fact had no idea until we got close that we were not actually going straight to Kinsale, rather we were taking a slight detour through Cork & then to Blarney.
Driving through Cork was frustrating as traffic was heavy, but we made it to Blarney. What I found amazing is that this is a big flippin castle and we still failed to find it immediately. I'll admit that in Blarney I got a wee bit upset with Joe. You see Tracy was finding it difficult to navigate as there were no really clear signs as to where we needed to go and everything there seems to have had Blarney in its name. After an unscheduled detour thanks to a wrong turn we had flipped a u-turn & headed back to town. It was at this point that Joseph decided to take a right turn in an area where right turns were not allowed. He nearly got himself hit by another car & I was forced to follow where traffic was meant to go. This was after countless requests by me that I'd rather they make a wrong turn and we flip a U-turn to correct it then to make a last second decision that I can't follow in suit due to the traffic I have following me. It was the last straw & I was pissed off. For any of you who knew my mom, then you know what my temper can be like. Joe for the first time in our friendship learned how my temper can rage sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand that due to the road signs vs the map that sometimes the lead car literally didn't know until last second which way to go. All I was asking was that the commit to a safe turn one way or another. What I' don't think they realized until this boiling point for me is that the cars behind us were not traveling with us, therefore they didn't have the patience for the literal stopping at a round about, or the last second turn that cuts off traffic. Oh no, until this point they were blissfully unaware that their driving habit had my car nearly hit multiple times from the rear. The straw the broke the camel's back was the last second turn this time that nearly had my car rear ended by a lorie (no, not by a woman....by their version of a semi!)
After having a spat at the Blarney gift shop we calmly (with a few looks of relief by the store staff) make our way onto the actual Blarney grounds. Within a few short minutes our spat was forgotten as we were transported back into awe-filled sight seeing. We have heard so much about this place before we left..."don't waste your time on this tourist trap", "who would want to kiss a stone that has been pissed on", "the stone is covered in lipstick & gum" etc. Well I'm here to say that I am happy we went anyway. The beauty of the castle as you approach from the walk is amazing. I'm guessing you have to kiss the blarney stone to get the gift of blarney just to regain your power of speech after your first glimpse from afar. I can only imagine what this place must have looked like in its hay-day. As you get closer there is an exploratory area where you can climb in and out of the caves at the base of the castle itself. We definitely took advantage of this to act like the children we are :)
The signs take you around the castle to the front to gain entry and as you slowly begin the climb to the top of the castle walls there are a few stops for the views & explanations about the family that didn't think the grounds were fit to be lived on etc (really those people were clearly out of their minds...) but lets get real, people just stop to read those signs so they don't appear too excited to reach the summit & the lore filled stone that bestows a gift to its visitors. It is here that I'd like to point out that despite the death-trap like spiral "staircase" that takes you to the top I made it safely...if one defines safely as slipping and falling only 1x. Bettina, Joe and I reach the top first because we opted to go straight up vs stopping in empty areas that used to be rooms for blah blah blah blah....give us the blarney!! Bettina was up first & all I could think of while watching her was 1. I hope she doesn't fall 2. I hope she can reach the bottom stone (aka the Blarney Stone) & 3. I hope when its my turn that the old man assisting everyone has enough strength to hold me as I am shorter & thus have to scootch majority of my weight over the edge.
After snapping a picture of Bettina's lips making contact with the stone it is my turn. Its now or never & they way I see things, when in Ireland...so I sat my bum down & leaned back. By "leaned back" I mean I practically did a back bend while having a death grip on the bars they have installed for assistance. Thanks to watching Bettina I knew I had to lean back further in order to kiss the stone so I was quick about my business. I didn't trust that the old (but nice) man helping out could hold me for more than a few second. Unfortunately I was too fast for Joe so no picture for me. Joe decided that he didn't need to kiss the stone, not sure if its because he realized we were about 3 stories up or because he didn't want some old man holding him up over the edge of the wall. At any rate, by the time we were done the rest of the group had reached the wall & were in line themselves to give her a go. I became the official photographer-o-the kiss & got multiple shots of the rest of our group.
As we made our way down to the ground level we found that to the back of the castle is a gorgeous but deadly garden. I mean that literally. It was beautiful but every plant had a warning sign about not touching/eating the plant due to its unfortunate effects. You see it was a "poison garden". Used for various reasons by those back in the day who may or may not choose to do things that may or may not cause others to be temporarily ill or worse. Most of the plants didn't seem to be so bad, like poison ivy, but there were a few plants that were literally inside cages so nobody could accidentally come into contact with them.
Rick Steve's warns against visiting this landmark, but I have to say that after experiencing the beauty this castle and the fun that this castle has to offer I say he got it wrong on this one. Yes it is a tourist trap to a degree, but it is a tourist hot-spot for a reason!! I mean the place gives you a gift for crying out loud...you leave with the gift of Blarney!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment