Blarney Castle and Killarney

 Blarney Castle was a trip worthy of its own post...

This is another one of those places that I've heard about all my life. The mystical "Blarney Stone" and the legends surrounding it are stories I've heard for so long that I literally don't remember the first time. I probably never would've put this on my "must see/do" list, but I was delighted to see it was included in the tour, which was a factor when we picked it.

We arrived at the entrance to the castle, were given the time and location to meet up with the tour group, and then we were left to explore on our own for a couple of hours. The castle is nothing more than a shell, here, but the grounds surrounding it are a beautifully maintained "garden", with cafes, a druid circle, fairy stairs, a poison garden, and about 50 other things to explore. It reminded me of our local Longwood Gardens a bit.

Given the limited time, we had to make the choice to skip seeing the Blarney Stone to see everything else, or see the Stone, but miss part of the grounds. We prioritized the "must dos" as:

1. N and I kiss the stone, with Curt and S joining us just to see the view from the top
2. Find the druid circle
3. explore the poison garden
4. visit anything "fairy" or "dragon" related if we still had time

The line for the chance to kiss the Blarney stone was all the way down to the bottom of the castle. 

Yes, all the way up there...

It took us about 45 minutes to wind our way up the circular staircases, tight corridors, and teeny doorways to finally get to the top. 

Then a few brief seconds to get into position, but your life in the hands of some stranger holding on to your legs, lean out over a several-hundred-foot straight drop to your death, upside-down, and kiss a rock that is literally black and smooth from the millions of people who've done this before you.

After climbing allllll the way back down (someone told me it was 132 steps), we walked around and explored the grounds, which were beautiful of course.

Turns out most of the plants I grow are poisonous...who knew?

Artax! No! 😭

While exploring around the gardens, at one point N went one way and we went another and lost sight/sound of each other. That was when we realized we hadn't made a plan on where to meet up, and we had no internet or phones to get in touch. Whoops! Luckily, it was just a few minutes of wandering in the general direction of the exit when we ran into her again and finished our explorations. We remembered (mostly) to always have an "in case of separation" plan everywhere after that. Another lesson learned! 

And thanks to our efficient use of time, we got to see all our priorities and made it back to the bus in time to grab a quick snack before heading off to our hotel in Killarney for a quick rest before the evening's adventures.

After checking in at the hotel and grabbing dinner, a small set of us headed out for another Optional Activity, a show called "Celtic Steps". This show was indescribably great. The music, banter, dancing, and story-telling were a delightful way to celebrate Irish culture and finish our amazing day. Plus, we had front-row seats.

I love our "selfie with the band"! LOL