Ireland Redeems Itself (Includes Photographic Evidence)

I finally managed to have the magic combination of camera, charged battery, and memory card today!

I spent most of the morning moping around the hostel - sitting in the lounge room, which is overall nice (leather couches, wireless internet, tables, posters, etc) but is literally lit by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. If you're looking for a place to pout about hating Ireland, I highly recommend it.

However, I chatted with Mom on Skype and then suddenly felt that I really couldn't just spend the whole day there, so I roused myself to walk to the bus station and figure out how to get to Blarney Castle. I arrived a few minutes before the next bus to Blarney, so I purchased a ticket and hopped on.

I was still cranky about having to go out in the rain when I took this picture:

One funny thing to note: look at the bus logo on the back of the seat. This is the logo of Bus Eireann, the Irish national bus service. It made me think of Greyhound... except it's an Irish Setter!! When did dogs become synonymous with bus services?

I arrived in Blarney and walked towards the castle...

And then a sign greeted me, of course!!

Actually, this sign did not greet me. If any of you are Blarney Castle experts, you can see from the "You Are Here" arrow that this sign is actually BEHIND the castle - I saw it at the end but figured this was a good places to insert it in the story. [Clicking on any of these pictures will allow you to see a larger image.] I suggest you take a closer look at this picture so you can marvel at the high quality of my photography. :) Also, closer inspection of the map reveals that it is covered in raindrops - which really made the map a highly accurate portrayal of the grounds.

Rather than going into the castle right away, I wandered down into the "Rock Close" on the castle grounds - a wonderful little area with signs pointing out the remains of an ancient Druid settlement. This is when I began to really enjoy myself and had a lot of fun exploring. I finally got to see "gunnera" which I have read about previously but never seen. The plant life was very impressive. Here are some pictures from the Rock Close:

Waterfall and giant rocks:

Self portrait with rock and ferns:

A red tree:

I spent quite a bit of time exploring around here. Then I exited out behind the castle, and decided to explore the grounds further. I walked across a pasture and then through some other interesting spots - the "fern garden", the horse graveyard, along a pond, and past "Blarney House".

I was happy to discover that my shoes held up remarkably well. While on my walking tour of Dublin, I determined that every pair of shoes I had brought along were not really that appropriate for wet weather. I was wearing sneakers on the walk and they did okay but my feet were definitely wet by the end. I looked around to see what others were wearing, and the consensus was: brown boots. Some people wore tall (knee high) boots, others wore soft (Ugg style) boots, and some wore lace up ankle boots, but very few people were in sneakers.

So, on my way home, I ducked into a store called "Penneys" - seemed like a Irish Marshalls or something; carries discount clothes - and managed to pick up a pair of the ugliest shoes I have ever owned. They were only 17 Euro though, so I figured, Why not? I wore them all day today and my feet didn't get wet at all! And they stayed comfortable! I will forgive these shoes for being ridiculous looking since they are doing a good job of being shoes:

After a lot of exploring, I finally went in the castle. It was terrifying. Up an incredibly narrow spiral staircase - all soaking wet. Then to the Blarney Stone itself. You sit down on a ledge and lean backwards and upside down - and it's way further down than you think!!

Here is a view out a castle window:

Lastly, I got to walk through the most interesting garden I've ever been in:

It was all poisonous plants! They had the most dangerous ones in cages. My favorite cage was actually empty. The sign indicated that it was supposed to be a marijuana plant, and there was a computer typed sign taped to it which said that the garda (Irish police) have confiscated the plant but they will have it back soon, or get another one. I sense a lengthy battle of wills is happening here.

Overall, despite the wet, I really enjoyed doing a bit of light hiking. Gave me a great idea about where to go next!