Blarney Castle

The weather forecast says that we have five full days of rain over the time we are in Ireland.  This isn't anything unexpected or abnormal.  It just means that we have to plan our days around any break in the clouds.  So, when I was checking the weather last night (Monday), I noticed that tomorrow (Tuesday) was the only day showing a party sunny icon for Blarney, and since we wanted to visit Blarney castle, I convinced everyone to get up early yet again so that we could make a visit.

I've been to Blarney Castle three times now.  The first time was when the kids were young, and I remembered that I hated it.  Not knowing anything, I had pictured the Blarney Stone being some large boulder perched precariously on the edge of the ocean.  I thought people would walk up to the boulder and kiss it, so when I discovered it was something completely different, I think I was disappointed.  Too, I remember everyone in the family being incredibly tired (read whiny) that day, and John wanted to walk and walk and walk.  We ended up getting lost in the gardens which is a really bad thing with tired kids.

The second time, I did it solely because it's something you MUST do in Ireland, and Rebecca was along for her first visit.  The second time, I ended up loving the place, and swore that I would continue to come back again and again.  Being a walker now, and having only adult kids, I spent several hours walking around the grounds and loving every minute of it.  The only thing that turned me off was the hour-long wait to get to the top of the castle (to kiss the stone).  The line seriously snaked through the castle, down several flights of stairs in the garden and down to the ticket booth.  And of course it started raining while I was standing in line.

So, with the break in the rainy forecast, we headed out, and Ireland pulled out all the stops for us.

And in some kind of Irish luck, there was not one tour bus in sight, nor did one pull up in the four hours we were there.  I'm thinking that maybe it was because of the off-season that it wasn't busy.  Whatever the case, I enjoyed it once again.

This is the "fern garden".  It looks like a combination of palm-tree looking ferns, and Jurassic Park.  It's really beautiful.

I love these panoramic photos.  And considering this was the "family room" of the castle, it seemed appropriate to take a picture of the family :-)

Look at these two beautiful people.  In front of the castle, and next to the POISON GARDEN.
Trust me, I have a lot more knowledge now if I ever want to off someone....

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I just love the explanations of the term "blarney".  I had always equated it with "baloney", but I now stand corrected!

My silly family.  Always breaking the rules and climbing where people aren't supposed to climb.  Mark actually had to hide up there while other people came through.  And you'll notice that John is headed in the opposite direction after hoisting Glo up there.

Finally, the Blarney Stone.  It says that in the old days there were (naturally) no bars to grab onto, nor to keep you from falling to your death.  All I have to say is that I'm glad I live in the modern age!

I absolutely adore the little old man who sits there all day long, making sure that people don't fall.  He says the funniest things, especially to the ladies, calling them "lovie" and commenting on their feminine wiles.  We were happy to go beyond the euro or two that most people leave him, and handed him a bill for his troubles :-)

Ahh, the plunge.  You think you can't possibly lean any further back, and yet you do to kiss that darn stone.

Supposedly, kissing the stone gives you the gift of gab, or more nicely put, it gives you eloquence.
Trust me, we Kennedys need no help in the gab department!

A large part of the castle is being worked on at the moment (and is covered with giant sheets of white plastic).  This was a different angle from the normal one, but it turned out really well!

We ended up walking almost five miles and climbed 18 floors.  However, we explored every nook and cranny of the grounds, and we climbed a lot of trees!  Well, that's a royal "we"--I climbed no trees, but volunteered to take pictures of everyone else who did :-)

And in American Ninja Warrior style, we climbed some walls too :-)

John was really struck by this avenue of daffodils.  We could hardly believe that here we are, at the beginning of March, and some of the daffodils had already bloomed and died.  Thankfully, there were still a bunch of them to admire.  We took a picture for him :-)









You know there are those people who offer to take your picture, and you think, "Oh good, we'll finally have all of us in one picture!" and then you see the picture and within seconds, you have deleted it off of your phone?  Well, this one is a gem, and I am so glad the guy offered to take it!  Maybe he can just follow us around our entire vacation?



It was really lovely to see how much Glo loved the gardens.  As urban as she dresses, and as obsessed as she is with tv, movies and memes, she remains my nature girl.  She appreciated the ferns, and the poison plants, and the trees, and the lichens.  She wished she could have brought Dr. Klindienst, her environmental science teacher, to the gardens, because she knew he would especially appreciate them.

Afterwards, it was fun to stop in at Blarney Woolen Mills for some of their hearty Irish stew.  The broth has the most amazing depth to it, and I wish I knew their recipe.  Maybe it has something to do with some famous Irish alcohol?