I slept for a teeny bit, but was woken up by the MEANEST Irish woman train conductor ever, who did so by grabbing the foot that was touching the seat next to mine and yelling "We don't put our feet on the seats", and then walked away. I was HIGHLY affronted, and decided that she had to be the meanest person in all of Ireland. We arrived in Cork a bit before 11am, and took Bus #5 to Cork International Youth Hostel on Western Road. Cork is a really hilly city with small cobble stone streets and colorful buildings. It was spread out and really quaint. However, it is the second largest city in Ireland, with a population of 120,000 people. We dropped our stuff off before catching another Bus, #8, into city center to Catch the Bus to Blarney.
Blarney is about a 20 min drive outside Cork. The drive was hilly and bumpy, but ever so green. Blarney the village is also really quaint, and the whole thing looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. It was super medieval and so darn green. The castle is easily the biggest thing in the village, standing atop a hill, and build on a bulk of limestone to make it even taller. Blarney's grounds were just as magical as the castle was. A beautiful river snaked through the primeval forest and the shamrock green fields. The walk up towards the castle is a small dirt road, and you have to cross a wooden bridge. The first thing you see is a dog kennel and a guard stand, which is conveniently located next to the castle dungeons, which we decided to explore last. Working our was up and around the castle to the entrance, we passed the old guard tower. We finally reached the entrance to the castle.
This entire experience was cool because they basically just let you roam the castle. You do everything at your own pace. I felt like I was stepping back in time as I walked through narrow doorways and stone spiral staircases. It was literally like stepping into a fairy tale. Passages were small and narrow, and the stone was at the very top. What made me even more delighted was that Winston Churchill kissed the stone; so we're basically linked through the Blarney stone. In all seriousness, I was a bit hesitant after I saw the old Irish guy who would be holding me on the castle, but I kissed the stone anyway, and now I hope I'll be more eloquent :).
After we climbed down from the top of the castle, we walked along the stone battlements, through a forest to the Badger's Cave, explored the castle's dungeons, and then explored the grounds in the Rock Glen. There were waterfalls, the wishing steps, which if you walk up them and back down with your eyes closed, the witch grants you a wish. We also saw the Witch's stone and her kitchen, as well as Druid tombs, Druid caves, fairy rings, and Stone Circles and Druid sacrificial alters. SO COOL.
We walked the village of BLarney while we waited for our bus, and did a bit of shopping, as well as explored an old graveyard. We arrived back in Cork and walked up St. Patrick's Street and found a little place to eat, called the Liberty Cafe. We then headed back to the hostel to get some sleep and pack, as we needed to be up early to leave for Galway.
So far, this whole backpacking this is AWESOME!
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