Our first stop was for a picture of the Rock of Cashel. My best friend sent me a replica of the Rock of Cashel years ago and I was so excited to see the real thing. We stopped far enough away so that we could get good pictures of it and then we hurried back on the bus. Well, maybe only I hurried. But we didn't go up to the Rock. I was very disappointed (apparently not part of the tour), but at least I got a picture.
Blarney Castle was our next stop. The castle and grounds were beautiful, but climbing the steps up to the top was frightening!
They were small, triangular steps that formed a spiral staircase. I held onto the railing for dear life, especially when I started getting dizzy! But I did it and I managed to kiss the Blarney Stone! Sadly, I don't think I've gotten the gift of eloquence though. Oh, and kissing this stone is no easy feat. You have to lie on your back, hold onto railings, drop your head back while some old guy (couldn't even be some hot Irishman!) holds onto you.
These shots are the view from the top of the Castle, which were taken while I waited to kiss the stone.
When we came down out of the castle, fine, drizzly rain started. My friends and I went shopping, had some lunch and got back on the bus. Sadly, one of the other people on the tour had a heart attack before we left Blarney's parking lot. We gave him some aspirin and drove him to a clinic. Our guide left the man and his wife there with a promise to keep us all informed. (He was rushed to a hospital and had emergency surgery, but was expected to fully recover.)
From there, we drove through some more beautiful villages to Killarney. The scenery reminded me of the Scottish Highlands-rolling hills, sheep, a house here and there, more sheep. Our hotel (an upgrade, we found out) was a 4-star with loads of room and beautiful furnishings. The dinner was phenomenal. After our late dinner, my friends went shopping and I stayed in to watch TV because I wasn't feeling well. It was neat though just to sit back, relax and watch soap operas in another country. All I needed was a good night's sleep and boy did I get it in that hotel!
On a side note, I took my film to get the pictures put on a computer disc. You may be seeing pictures sooner than I thought!
6 comments:
Sounds like such a fabulous trip - I'm living vicariously thru you until I can get there myself!
Thanks, Kelly, and stay tuned! I've got plenty more to share!
Did you get to see the manor house at Blarney? To me, it looked like it was a haunted house. :)
Sounds like it was an amazing trip! :)
The pictures are so cool! The castle is awesome. I'm going to see that someday. It may be a while, but I'll get there. :)
Cool! I had to laugh about your hot Irishman comment (when you kissed the Blarney Stone). But sorry to hear about the man who had a heart attack. How terrible. I don't know much about Ireland so I'm learning lots.
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