The buses here are very nice and are much nicer than the MTS buses back home. They're clean and the seats are comfy. Instead of the yellow pull cords, there are "STOP" buttons on the poles by each seat, which made me feel a bit like I shouldn't press it since it's a big square red button and all...Luckily for me, the bus drivers usually announce the stop since you have to tell them where you want to stop prior to boarding the bus.
The entrance fee to the castle was ten euros, which wasn't too bad. We all got sucked into the touristy visitor's shop before even getting to the castle, but thanks to our limited funds, I only got a souvenir penny (I collect those wherever I go).
As we approached the castle, I noticed how green the grounds of the castle/estate was. There were giant grass lawns and trees everywhere. We first entered the dungeon of the castle, which was literally carved into the rock. The total opening was only about 4 feet tall, so we all had to crouch to get through to the end. Inside the dungeon/cave was colder air and some leftover puddles from an earlier rain shower. After the dungeon we got out and went into the actual castle, which was much bigger than I had expected. Perhaps the coolest feature of the castle for me was the stone staircase that was carved out of stone. The steps were polished and slippery from the usage by visitors. There were many bedrooms and out-jutting of windows and the occasional bedroom.
After much stair-climbing that got narrower as we went up, we finally arrived at the blarney stone! The story of the blarney stone is that whoever kisses the stone will be blessed with eloquence- I certainly hope this comes true for me! Luckily for my group, there was no line when we arrived, most likely due the fact that it was close to closing time.
Alex went first, followed by me and then Jason. We all placed aside loose articles of clothing/pocket accessories/etc before kissing the stone in case it fell down the 3 or 4 stories down. We lied on the rubber mat that was placed right before the opening facing up at the sky, grabbed the two metal bars attached to the wall behind us and was lowered down by an elderly gentleman. It doesn't seem far when others are doing it, but when I did it, I was oddly surprised by how low I had to reach before I could get close enough to kiss the stone. Good thing there was someone holding onto me!
We later went to the Rock Close, the name of one of the grounds by the castle. I must say that this is by far one of the prettiest places I've seen since being in Ireland. There were waterfalls, streams, trees galore, flowers, moss, water lillies, walkways and wooden bridges. Words cannot describe how breathtaking this place was. I felt like I could stay there forever, taking it all in, and secretly wished I didn't have to return to California where everything was yellow/brown and dried up. Hopefully the following pictures will help your imagination along!
After the Rock Close, we realized we had barely missed the 215 bus that had just left as we were crossing the street. Since we were all pretty hungry by now, we stopped by the Muskerry Arms Restaurant. I had the roast of the day, which was beef that day. Jason and I tried our first Beamish that night, and I think I like Beamish more than Murphy's. Though maybe it was just because I was hungry and thirsty... We all shared dessert afterwards, consisting of chocolate cake with ice cream and a Bailey's cheesecake (both were very delicious). Hope you enjoy the pictures :) Once again, I am quite behind on blogging and feels like I am leaving out a lot of adventures, but maybe I will write all the random tidbits up in a separate blog sometime. :)
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