January 27th- Pucker up Blarney Stone

Town of Cobh

Inside Saint Colman's Cathedral.

Blarney Castle

Almost there...

Kissing the Blarney!

After..

View from the top of the castle

    Started the day off by going to the town of Cobh.  This is a delightful little town that is adjacent to the river.  The church of Saint Colman is in Cobh, which was a massive church that was absolutely magnificent inside and out.  It sits on top of a hill that overlooks the town and the water.  The inside was enormous and had amazing stained glass.  After Cobh we left to go to Blarney, to finally see what all the hype about this stone is about.

      Blarney Castle, which is in Cork city, was a different type of castle from what I've seen so far.  It is set in a wooded countryside with a river that runs through the park, unlike other castles where the water surrounds the castle acting as a moat. After walking up over 100 little stairs I finally made it to the top of the castle where the Blarney Stone was located.  There are many different stories as to why the stone is so significant, but it is said that if you kiss the stone it endows the kisser with the gift of eloquence or skill of flattery.  Over 200,000 people kiss the stone every year, meaning I kissed the most unsanitary tourist attraction in the world...oh well!  When I finally made it to the top of the castle there was no way I was going to pass it up.  To reach the stone you have to lay on your back and grab two poles, while you lean back and lower your body over the edge to kiss the stone.  I conquered my fear of heights and did it!  But in a sense it is kind of the like the Mona Lisa, you see the stone and say, "That's it??".  Afterward I was really glad I did it because people usually ask if you've kissed the Blarney when you tell them you visited Ireland.   Overall, great day.