Blarney and Beyond!!!
Ok, so when we were planning this trip to Ireland, I told Marty I wanted to go to Blarney. His response was an unequivical "No." Now, as you know from previous posts, he did agree to leave Cork; in fact, we went to Cashel at his decree. When I broached the subject of Blarney once we got here, he was cautiously accepting. "But I'm not kissing no damn Blarney Stone," was his caveat.
Today, we got up, headed to the bus station, and found the bus to Blarney. Got off a stop early (still in Blarney, just not as close as we could have been), and wandered toward the old part of town. Meandered through the gardens of Blarney Castle, say the Dolmen they have (2 standing stones with a stone on top of them), saw the "Druids' Circle", and the "Faerie Glen". Also saw the "Sacrifice Stone" which was so tall, I don't how you would have gotten anyone up there without a ladder, let alone sacrifice anything. Then we headed toward the castle. I had gotten a stone for Teresa, and dirt for Robert already. We went up the stairs, and up and up. When we hit the top, Marty reaffirmed he wasn't kissing the stone. Then we got over to where it's at. The gentleman who helps hold you while you kiss the Stone sat down. I gave in, and kissed the Stone. And then Marty, who absolutely refused to entertain the possibility of kissing the Stone, KISSED THE BLARNEY STONE!
I have pictures to prove it.
Cashel, Cork and Cabbies...
So, yesterday morning, after a night of drunken revelery for Marty, he announced we were going to visit more of Munster (one of the old kingdoms of Ireland) by visiting Cashel. Now, I had no idea where this place was, but figured it'd be fun. We figured out what line we needed for the bus, to get to Cashel, got our tickets, and climbed on for the ride. About an hour and a half later, we arrived in the same town of Cashel, which hosts the ruins of 3 monasteries, the ruins of a cathedral, which was itself built on earlier ruins, and an in-use cathedral. It was great! Took a tour of the "Rock of Cashel" which used to be the cathedral. It is in mid-rennovation, but still amazing to look at. We took pictures of one of the monasteries on the way to the Rock of Cashel, through town. One of the other monasteries was visible from the Rock, and we got pictures, but couldn't actually walk out to it. We never did find the third. We did visit the in-use cathedral, as well as wandering the cemetary. Surprisingly, not too many really old gravestones; I'm not sure I saw anything earlier than the mid-18th century.
We got back to Cork, and stopped at the room for a bit, before going to Hillbilly Fried Chicken for dinner. I'm not kidding, I'll post the pictures later. It's an actually, KFC-style fast food joint. After that, we hit a pub, and watched rugby, which still doesn't make any bloody sense. We decided the only rule we could see in both rugby and Irish football was no elbows to the face. That's it. Aside from that, I'm lost.
Minor heart attack at the hotel this morning. When I booked the room, I was quite positive that the 110 Euros/night was total, not per person. However, when I looked at the pricing on the back of the door in the room, it listed it at 130 euros/person/night. Yikes!!! I was doing some quick mental math to figure out how that was going to work into my budget for the trip! Thankfully, when we checked out, we paid 220 euros for the room, so I felt much better.
Today, I think we're just going to take it easy. The cabbie who took us from the hotel to the second B&B plays traditional Irish music, and will be playing in a pub tomorrow. So we're planning on hitting that. And tomorrow, we'll go to Blarney, and see the sights there. Supposed to be a lovely, sunny warm day.
Ireland, Day 2.5
Alright then, 2nd full day of Ireland. Less walking, thankfully, and no real hills. Lots of time spent wandering 'round looking for stuff (internet access with coffee/tea, the bus tour we wanted to take). We found the bus tour, and took a lovely no walking tour of the "key points" in Cork, as defined by the Tourism Board. Saw St. Finbarr, the Anglican church that the city was founded around (yes, it was originally Catholic, converted when it was illegal, and punishable by death to be Catholic, and apparently never converted back). The current church was built on the ruins of an earlier church. Per local legend, Cork is the place to be on the day before Judgement Day, as the angel on top of the church, with the 2 horned trumpet, will sound to warn the faithful. So, note to self, be in Cork on the day before Judgement Day! I would say we walked past 2/3 of what was on the tour, yesterday on the "Let's See All of Cork on Foot" that we did. We did visit the Cork Gaol, which began as the women's prison, and then became the main prison during The Troubles. That was interesting, 'though disturbing.
Got done with the tour, and started looking for the internet cafe, complete with tea/coffee earlier, but that came up as a loss. So, we found one of the places on Marty's list with wireless access, and had dinner. We're going to head back to the B&B for a bit, and then off to a pub with traditional music tonight. Should be fun.
Got Marty to agree to go to Blarney, and we're going to go on a coach tour that visits a few castles, and ends at Jamieson Distillery. We also move to the hotel tomorrow, and we're planning on reserving cabs for the move from the first B&B to the hotel; from the hotel to the 2nd B&B, and for both of us to the airport.
Marty posted the pics he's taken on Flickr; if you go to Flickr's website, search for user name officergleason, and you should be able to see his pics.
More later, promise!
Cork City, Ireland
Ok, so the flight over was an experience. Sat in the last row of the plane, which seemed good, but wasn't so fantastic. Everytime someone wanted something to drink, they slammed the storage doors behind my chair. Same when they prepared meals. And after they turned the lights off to sleep, everytime someone used the lavatory, the lights got bright when they opened the door. I gave up after 2.5 of trying to sleep. Watched the new Pride and Prejudice (which was ok), and the new version of the Producers, which was HILARIOUS!!!
Plane got into Heathrow .5 hours early; then we sat on the runway 'til we ended up being almost an hour late getting in. So I walked very fast across the terminal to the bus going to terminal 1 (I landed at 4), crammed onto the bus, and then fast walked to my gate, in time to load onto the plane. Add to this that I'd had to pee since before my London bound plane landed, and it was bad. Finally got to go after I'd landed in Cork.
Cab was waiting, and the driver was fantastic! Got to see some of Cork before we got to our B&B. Got in, dropped stuff off, and then went out to find dinner. Marty and I were both so tired, we didn't even bother with trying to find a pub. Then back, and to sleep!
This morning, after breakfast, we headed out, and wandered around Cork. Saw more churches then you would think. Lots of nifty old buildings and such. Pictures we'll try to send from the hotel, and it will have wifi.
It's great to be in Cork!
Second Update!
Derek, my cousin the Marine, who was in Iraq, is home! He got home about a week ago; called his folks at 4:30 am PDT (8:30am EDT), to let them know he'd landed in Maine. I know he got to spend Easter in Los Osos, with his family. We're all incredibly relieved he's home, and carefully avoiding the fact the country's at war, and as such, he isn't allowed to leave the military until the war's over, or he's injured badly enough they honorably discharge him. So, everybody has fingers crossed he gets to stay home for awhile. Nathan and Kim are flying out early part of May to see him, and visit my aunt and uncle, cousin Erin and my dad's mom and Aunt Beth. Mom, Dad and I are flying out at the end of June (we hope) to see him. Plane tickets have been purchased, we just haven't heard how long Derek will be in the States.
Off To Ireland Tomorrow!
So, I don't know if anyone is actually still reading this. With the frequency I post, likely not. In the, however unlikely, event anyone is checking, tomorrow I'm off to Ireland for 10 days! Go to work early, and then on to the airport. Direct flight, Denver to Heathrow, and then Heathrow to Cork, Ireland! It's been 6 years since I travelled internationally, and I can't wait. Work should be a treat tomorrow, since I'm having a hard time sitting still now!
Will try and post updates while I'm in Ireland; Marty's bringing his laptop, so I'm hoping I'll have pretty regular internet access. Taking my digital camera, but I don't think I'll download the pics to Marty's laptop, so it won't be 'til some time after 1 May that I get photos up.
We'll be staying 3 nights in one B&B, 2 nights in a hotel, and 3 nights in another B&B. Reason? 25 April was Marty's dad's birthday. Pat died 3 years ago; Marty's mom Judy died 2 years ago. So, Marty wanted to stay in a nice hotel for his dad's birthday and the day after. Since we were going to move mid-week anyway, and I was making the reservations, I thought it would be fun to see some different B&Bs.
Hope to write Saturday, after I get into Ireland.
