Ireland Blarney castle and Cork

Day 6: Friday June 10th
We headed out that morning for County Cork to see Blarney Castle and grounds. We made it there just as the park was opening. The timing was great! No line at all at the top of the castle to kiss the stone. Only Ryan and Meri actually kissed it. The rest of us had done it 7 years ago and it wasn't a priority for us. Meri didn't want to when she finally sat down, but with everyone's encouragement, she went through with it. We got her a commemorative t-shirt to celebrate!
When we finished letting the girls pick out their rooms in the castle for when they live there, we visited the gift shop. Maddy purchased several post cards and I found the last poster of Toilets of Ireland. Since it was their only one and taped to the wall, they gave it to me for free. It was perfect for my one of my friends back home. Ryan bought more Guinness stuff.
We hadn't explored the grounds last time, so we took advantage of the opportunity. The woods were beautiful as well as the plants that look like rhubarb, but aren't. After the woods were the witches kitchen and the druids cave. The kids climbed all over both and even stood in the chimney. There is an interesting stone shaped like a witches face at the top of the hill and some druid circles. Lots of huge rocks and formations sitting around. So beautiful!
Then we drove into Cork City. What a mess in both traffic congestion and general construction! After driving and not finding anything resembling fun, we stopped at the mall and let the kids walk around some. Meri had a great time on the escalator and elevator. I bought some candy and Meri some new pink shoes. We had a lunch in a little restaurant there. Meri got the waitress to dance.
Ryan started keeping count of all the cute girls in Ireland on Wednesday and by this day, he was already in the hundreds. He kept his eyes peeled.
We drove to Kilmallock and got some take away food for a picnic in Bruree. We sat at the picnic tables on the other side of the river overlooking the Mill and our cottage. After we ate, Meri & Maddy ran down the hill to get close to the edge. There were some kids playing on little rafts in the river waterfall. Meri fell and looked like she hurt herself. As I ran to her, I slid down the hill, bending my leg back. So my leg was sore for a couple days after that. Meri was just fine.
Getting back to the cottage, I decided to take the girls and attend a variety show that we saw advertised in Kilmallock. Robb and Ryan didn't want to go. After getting lost just a little, we found it... a block away from the take away place. It turned out that the local community club for kids puts this show on once a year. This year it was at the local Catholiear it was at the local Catholic school. The girls and I sat there on the benches feeling very out of place. People from the town sat all around us and Meri kept asking why they were staring at her. As soon as it finally started (a half hour late) we realized Ryan would have loved this show! There were lots of cute girls on the stage singing and dancing. We had some trouble understanding their accents and humor, but enjoyed it none the less. There was a young girl dressed like Dolly Parton and singing "9 to 5". Hilarious! Meri whispered, "I think those are fake!". I think she was right! We left at intermission because we had an early start the next day. Too bad.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• blarney
• castle
• stone
• kiss
• cork
• ireland
• ruins

[Snoopy1983]

i finally visited the blarney castle last saturday. it was great. the view from the top is stunning. i bet it must be even better in summer.

[MCVALKRIE]

Did you take any pictures from the top last Saturday? I'd love to see them!

[Snoopy1983]

i love the song, it's so cute. is that just "normal" traditional irish folk music or where did you get it from? i'm going to live there for 3 months from jan to march.

[MCVALKRIE]

The song is "Siamsa" from the Lord of the Dance cd. The whole cd is wonderful!

I'm so jealous that you get to live there for 3 months! What a fabulous opportunity!

[Icetitan777]

The picture at 1:15 i took the exact picture!!!!!!!!!!!! Cool!

[MCVALKRIE]

I LOVE that picture! I found a puzzle company that makes puzzles out of any photo you send in and had that one made. It's glued together poster size for my office wall now. Gorgeous!

[bananaeatinmonkey]

what an awesome video I was then just over a week ago

[bigkittysmile]

very nice vid. i got to go to ire some day.

[LoquaciousByNature]

My great-great-great gandfather was a McMullen. He came from County Cork 20 years after the potato famine. I hope to go there some day, it looks like a worthwhile trip.

[thezouks]

@kolarscy You're lucky :)

[vallgron]

that place is only a half an hour walk form my house its a great place and if you people go you cant leave with out kissing the stone

[kolarscy]

my house 5 min..from blarney:)))))))))))))

[Odenpiper]

Thank you for posting this, I hope some day I can take my family their. You must of had an unforgetable moment.

Kind regards. troybond@yahoo.com

[thenorthmon]

Blarney is a great place

[gmbhischild]

Thanks for sharing. We'll be making our first trip to Ireland soon and your vid gives me more to be excited about.

[SueMarvin]

@bally10irish

I didn't either, looked germy.