Ireland Day 3

Ireland day three began at where else but McDonald's! I so wish I had taken a picture of the Mickey-D's in Europe. We left Waterford after breakfast and headed south to Cork.

On the way to cork we stopped at Ardmore Cross which was another site of Christian ruins. It was hyped up a little too much in Frommer's considering what was actually there (which wasn't a whole heck of a lot), but it made for a few nice pictures.

Here's our rental car leaving Ardmore Cross.

We made it to downtown Cork, found a map of the city and then headed to the Old English Market. The Old English Market is a giant outdoor/indoor market that seriously has everything you could possibly want - from produce to slabs of meat. I'm pretty sure we saw some kind of intestine behind a glass counter. Yuck.

We had a lunch at the market (I passed on the cow intestines) and then made our way to Blarney Castle. That's right. Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone!

Here are some shots of the view along the way.

Ah, Blarney Castle. My favorite castle of all.

The Blarney Stone is actually located at the very top of the castle. To get there, you have to climb a very long, steep and narrow staircase of stone stairs. I have some decent video of it, but I still haven't been able to get my cord from school. Anyway, once you get to the top you walk around the edge of the castle to the Blarney Stone. I was picturing a big stone in the middle of a room or something, but that's not at all what it is. It's this stone on the bottom of a wall of the castle. To kiss it, you have to lie down on your back and grab onto these metal bars, lean backward (there's nothing under your head except a whole bunch of air and a view of the ground). There's a nice guy there who holds onto you to make sure you don't die. We made sure to tip him. My dad wasn't interested in the process, but all three of us girls weren't going to pass up this opportunity!

Here's the proof! (Not terribly attractive, I know.)

Post-kissing picture:

We managed to climb back down the steep staircase (actually down was easier than up) and decided to walk the extensive castle grounds. We found a rock garden that my mom wanted to explore. She and my dad walked around (while Meredith and I parked it on a rock to wait), and they found these HUGE trees.

Okay, so I LOVED Blarney Castle, but now it was time to go on a search for our Bed and Breakfast. With the help of a stranger on the street of Cork that literally walked my mom across town to the Bed and Breakfast, we found the MAGNIFICENT Garnish House. Ms. Lucy, the owner, was there to greet us at the door with freshly made scones (delicious!!!) and tea. By the time our visit was over, we all wanted to move in with Ms. Lucy. I decided I wanted to make her my grandma.

We headed to our room and relaxed for a bit/checked email before heading out to search for a place to eat dinner. After dinner we stopped at a local pub to watch a bit of World Cup and then went back to crash at our B&B.

Ms. Lucy continued to be a wonderful hostess in the morning and had a full hot breakfast and buffet for us before we set off. She even wrapped up some delicious scones for us to take with us on the road.

Day 4 Coming Soon...