Blarney Castle

... having taken architectural photography for him, a couple of phone calls later I was fortunate enough to be invited to join him as crew with his wife Aileen and Donal.<br><br>My wife Fie and three children Samantha, Jayme and Julie have been very supportive and have encouraged me sail away.<br><br>The overall rally consists of a fleet of 38 yachts which will depart from Rodney Bay St Lucia on 6 January 2010 ...

... very big but is known for a few monuments that were recognizable such as St. Anne Shandon Cathedral. Not too far away is Blarney which contains the Blarney Castle and the Blarney Stone. We took yet again another bus into Blarney and hiked up to the Castle. This was the first castle I have seen so it was pretty amazing that something that grand could still be standing and everything in tact. It looked out over fields and fields of green ...

... top, and after some prodding by 2 ladies, she was talked into kissing the blarney stone, so now she will have the gift of gab - as if she needed some help there! So, what is the deal with this? The stone is way up at the top of the castle and you have to lean out of a window backwards and while someone you don't know is holding you in the air, you kiss the stone. Um, ok? Well, anyway, Pat was sitting on the bench ...

... getting their journey kick-started. Everything happens for a reason! Keira also needed a visit from the Dream Catcher and she needed to chat with O-Hi-O. On the road again and the weather isn't that nice. Still cloudy, but no rain. My "shortest" route takes me up and through this amazing forested region. Hardly any traffic. I drive through Limerick and stop for lunch. Just before stopping I had noticed this guy on a motorcycle a couple of vehicles behind me ...

... was absolutely amazing, we got to go in rooms like the kitchen, the pastor's room, the little girl's room and stuff. At the top I went to kiss the stone and the guy was being super pushy and telling me hurry and do it, so Alina missed the picture. I at least got a picture of Alina though. When we got to the bottom I bought a picture of me doing ti because I wanted one real bad, so I ended up paying 10 Euro for one. We then went into the ...

... since my departure! I didn't really talk to my roommate because she came back at 4:25 (in the morning, yes). But I still told her that "I don't mind you coming back in the middle of the night, but could you please try not to wake me up?". She seemed surprised and answered "I woke you up?" and yeah, I complained about her turning on the light. She finishes work at 10 tonight, so I might have a chance to talk to her, if she comes back here before going out ...

... talkative of all of them. Another Aussie bloke, an Italian lady, 3 Austrians and a happy go lucky German - Ollie. Well, they are all not named Ollie, just the last one. :) We have had a fun time and interesting things have happened. But, we have toured many sites, went to many a pub and swilled many, many, many pints of Guinness. We have toured distilleries which I taster 70% / alc whiskey... SMOOOTH... that stuff burned my belly for a good ...

... place for us in Kenmare over a scrumptious morning tea before we&#8217;d left Cobh. After leaving County Cork and heading west for County Kerry we had a bit of difficulty actually finding the place though, making quite a few passes along the road out of Kenmare before finding the right turn-off. Perhaps we weren&#8217;t the only ones having difficulty as the three of us turned out to be the only people staying there that night. But what a ...

... the fella Jack from the ferry after he read my last travel log, it really cheered me up and he too said that he never has seen so much rain. He is supposed to be coming to Cork, but he is MIA. Hello Jack?? On my way out to town to hit the pavement again and Maggie and her kids and two Italian exchange students hopped in the car to go to Blarney castle and kiss the stone, noone got a picture of it because even though my camera is so simple noone could figure it out not even a ...

... another level of the castle. I reckoned I could climb over the wall and clamber down there to retrieve it. Ricki gained permission from castle authorities for the venture, so over I went and down I climbed. Climbing back up, with the precious lens cap safely stowed in my jeans pocket, proved more of a challenge, but the thought of ...