Christy'S Hotel Blarney

During a chance telephone conversation with my life long friend Donal McClement, he told me that the recession in Ireland was not doing much for his sales as a yacht broker and that he was going away next year for up to six months with Cork architect Stephen Hyde on his beautiful Oyster 56 yacht 'A Lady' to participate in part of the World ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers).<br><br>I fortunately knew Stephen quite ...

... 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 ...

... We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the cave, but the massive formations have been transforming since the 1800s! Finally, we stopped at the massive Rock of Cashel. This fortress sits high above Munster on several huge boulders. I scaled the rock wall to get a peak at the view, not realizing there was a path on the side!

... It turns out that the O'Connor's are prolific business people. Not only do they own the pub, restaurant and hotel in Blarney but they have relatives in the States. And we learned that the brothers who live over here run not one but soon-to-be two pubs near us! Bobbie O'Connor runs a pub in Brewster and brother Sean is about to open another in Mt ...

Today we drove to Blarney on the way to Killarney. We visited Blarney Castle and kissed the famous Blarney Stone. Because there's a gap between the stone and the castle wall, you have to lay on your back and bend your head and neck backwards in order to kiss it. There are handle bars and and a man that hold's your waist as you lean back, so I felt very ...

I am a 22 year old drifter, without job or career, and I have embarked on world travel partly due to an inability (so far) to find a niche for myself, and partly due to curiousity about world cultures. I am travelling with three other girls - my cousins Mary and Fran, and Anne, a friend of Fran's from Dublin. In case you're wondering, by the way, my username "sundowner" is an australian term for "wanderer", so I ...

... and good luck. There for people come from all over to kiss the stone which is placed just above the entrance and in order to kiss it you must lie on your back, lean your head even further and kiss the stone while a spotter, an old man, holds your legs so you don't slip down...you'll see the pictures. Blarney was great and I got some awesome shots of the area around the castle, I totally recommend seeing it if you're in the area.

... and strolling Cobh&#8217;s steep streets we rounded off our time by checking out St Colman&#8217;s Cathedral, where co-incidentally one of the architects was also named Coleman. <br><br>We spent most of the afternoon walking around the city centre of Cork. Other than it being a busy Saturday afternoon for locals going shopping, the only other noteworthy thing was seeing Nanna walk along for hours without too much trouble after we&#8217;d ...

... amp;B (supposed to take the tube back to our B&amp;B from the airport and then back again when we need to fly out). So alternate transportation will need to be sought when we arrive in London, I'm sure. Please pray for us for our final week being over here...and our time in London....thanks. Please pray for what's happening in London. The news is saying it was Al Queda attacks. I love you guys...Lisa

The drive to Cork took about an hour and lucky girl that I am, I got the complete audio tour with miscellaneous factoids by our good friend Joe. He is a plethora of information which leads me to believe somehow fate had it that I would meet up with Irelands most friendly and informed ambassador. Ireland is known for its great storytellers and matchmakers. Its very good to see that the gift has been passed down through the generations. Before I came to Ireland I ...