We also discovered that I wouldn't have made a very good prisoner...prisoners are locked up in dungeons, and dungeons are very dark, and I apparently run into things in the dark. Cormac and I were exploring a bit, and the tunnel we were in kept getting darker and darker. From around the corner, Cormac was insisting he saw light and to "keep coming, keep coming!" Cormac sailed right out into the light...I sailed right into a very low doorway, nose first! Ouch...entirely possible I will be showing everyone the proof of that with my black and blue nose for the next few days!
Brief history lesson from Miss Huddle - Blarney Castle was built nearly 600 years ago, by Cormac MacCarthy, a name that has become familiar to me as I've been browsing through books on Ireland's sights and history. Okay...that's enough for today, class, you may close your books. = ) Actually, http://www.blarneycastle.ie/ is a very fun website that has absolutely loads of information, both fact and myths, on Blarney Castle and its surrounding grounds. It even talks about famous visitors who have kissed the Blarney Stone. Blarney is definitely more "touristy" than a lot of the places I've visited in Ireland, but it really is a grand place. (Now..."grand" is a word used a lot in Ireland. I also like it because it is a synonym for "beautiful", which I know is a word getting used an awful lot on this blog!)
First look at Blarney Castle
Another view
See way up at the top?? There and on the opposite side...that's where the Blarney Stone is! A bit high, isn't it?!?
Olwyn and Rhia, who really doesn't want to stay in her buggy any longer!
There were lots of very interesting (weird!) trees all over the grounds!
Picnic time - Olwyn with Cormac, Harvey and Rhia (Shirley is asleep in the buggy.)
Harvey and Cormac
Rhia, our little intrepid explorer! No fear, this one!
Blarney House - built in 1874 (the "new" part of Blarney Estate!)
Yes, that is Olwyn and I peering in the windows! = ) - The best part of this is that this part of Blarney closed earlier than we realized, and we weren't supposed to be out this far. We had kind of marveled at how wonderfully quiet and peaceful it was! We discovered this when we went to walk back to the castle and all the gates from Blarney House and gardens were locked! Oops! We ended up walking through a little lane that ran through some poor unsuspecting farmer's field and through an unlatched gate...I'm sure it was quite the sight, with buggys and all!
Cormac inside the castle
This room was labeled "Ladies Bedroom" - luxurious, isn't it?!
View from the very top of the castle!
More view from the top
Well, what do you know! I kissed the Blarney Stone! For someone not so excited about heights, this was quite the feat! Cormac got to be official photographer, and he did a great job! Apparently, at some point in history, to kiss the Blarney Stone, one had to be held upside by the ankles and lowered head first over the battlements - pretty certain I wouldn't have been kissing it is that was the case. Now, the stone itself is still set into the wall of the battlements, and you have to lean over backwards from the parapet walk. Once kissed, the stone bestows the gift of eloquence.
The parapet (very top of the castle, and where the stone is located)
On the way back down...check out the stairs! We went up and then back down A LOT of these, around and around!
2 comments:
Whew, those stairs make me dizzy!!!
Well dear girl, you already ARE eloquent and that is very different than being full of "blarney"!! We're enjoying our "Irish" education...thanks for sharing it so "eloquently".....I think the teacher in you is showing!
Donna
Post a Comment