Our second stop on the bus tour was Blarney Castle. This was my favorite part of the day.
Murder Hole!
View at the top
To kiss the Blarney Stone (after an hour’s wait, that included winding around through the castle and up a *very* narrow and low-ceilinged staircase where the “stumble steps” became smaller and smaller), I had to lay on my back and scoot my rear to near the end of the ledge, while holding on to the iron bars. Then, I had to lean my head down (you can’t lay just flat) to actually reach the stone to give it a kiss. I felt like I was going to slide down! It was terrifying, especially knowing that how far down it is, even though there are some bars there and a person helps hold you.
For an idea of how up the Blarney Stone is, here is a view from the ground. The Blarney Stone is up at the top right under the ledge!
I remember learning about the Blarney Stone as a kid and thinking it was a fun story. So to actually be in Ireland and get to see it for myself was a dream. Which was also why I just HAD to follow through and kiss it, in spite of my fear of heights. Of all the countries I’ve been interested in visiting *someday*, Ireland was one that topped the list so this has been so amazing to be here.
The grounds around Blarney Castle are so beautiful. I didn’t have time to see everything!
Druid’s Cave
The Wishing Steps. You close your eyes and walk backwards down them while making a wish.
“Sing me a song of a lass that is gone. Say, could that lass be I?” I made sure to not get to close to the stones, just in case!
Nothing really to see in this video; I was just fascinated by the overall peacefulness and the sound of many unfamiliar (to me) bird songs, so I took a quick video to try to capture it.