After breakfast we packed up and lugged our luggage down the three flights of stairs, since we had energy and we were all secretly afraid of the elevator. It became very apparent to us that we were not in America anymore when we walked down the "main drag" on a Sunday morning in Europe. In America by 9, maybe 10, all of the stores on the "main drag" would have been open since we're the blood-sucking capitalists that we are. But of course the stores weren't open. Especially since there were quite a few that we wanted to go to. None of them even had hours posted. I guess that it's actually quite true when they say Europeans take time to enjoy life.
We were headed to Blarney, but we wanted to mail some postcards since the map said we were close to a drop box. However, we got the map turned upside down and ended up at St. Finbarre's Cathedral instead, which was, coincidently, the exact opposite of the post box.
Since it was Sunday they weren't allowing any visitors until after mass, but we still got some pretty cool shots of the outside. After deciding that it was too far away to walk to the postal drop box we were originally trying to get to, we just walked back to the car and headed for Blarney.
St. Finbarre's Cathedral, Cork, Co. Cork
Blarney Castle, as I'm sure you've heard of it, is quite famous for the "Blarney Stone". If you kiss it, it gives the gift of eloquence (not luck, as is mistakenly believed). And, since it's such a tourist hot spot, it was actually well pointed out on the road so we didn't have any trouble with finding it.
After paying the 8 euro admission, you are faced with some of the castle grounds before you even glimpse the castle. There's a small stream with a bridge to cross as well as a somewhat long but very enjoyable walk. And, just to sum up what took about an hour or two: We entered the queue at the very bottom of the castle in the basement but the upper floor/basement ceiling has been rotted away so it's one two-story room. There's also a fireplace floating in the middle of the wall, which is kind of odd if you didn't read the sign to realize what was going on. After that room you move through the master bedroom, around a corner, and up a very narrow, steep staircase all the way to the top of the castle. There are side rooms that you can walk through, if people would be nice enough to let you back in line, but mostly you just look at them. Once you're at the top of the castle, you wind around the outside walls because the entire center floors of the castle have been rotted away.
Blarney Castle
Floating fireplace. It would have been located in the Great Hall.
A shot of the beginning of the queue
While waiting in line to get to the stone, a guy a few people in front of us went to look over the top of the stone wall. He stumbled and dropped his camera from the top of the castle. It fell 4 stories. After they kissed the stone he quickly ran down to retrieve it. Lauren and I were almost to the Blarney Stone when the guy who holds onto people said he would be right back and he rushed off down the other spiral staircase. About 8 minutes later he emerged again, wheezing and winded. The Australian man in front of us said "Don't get weak on us now!" and we laughed. Kissing the Blarney Stone consists of laying on your back and holding onto the bars and kissing the stone upside down. Lauren kissed the stone, I couldn't. I couldn't stomach all the germs (it was a really long queue).
Lauren kissing the Blarney Stone
After the kiss, we were free to wander down to the bottom again on the down staircase. The top of the castle also provides awesome sights of Blarney and the surrounding countryside as well as the Blarney estate house. While Philip and Alicia were kissing the stone, Lauren and I headed down to the dungeons, which is where they kept water as well as the prisoners. We entered the dark casm to sounds of screaming and whining and both Italian and French. Apparently a group of teenagers had dared two girls to climb back under the rocks, which were still part of the dungeons, but there was absolutely no light whatsoever. There was also water dripping off the moss on the ceiling. I also found a staircase carved into the rock that literally lead into the ceiling, just like in the Winchester House in San Jose, California.
One of the two stairways. The stone supports itself. (Look closely).
The middle of the castle where the floors used to be.
A view of the Irish countryside.
Me in the dungeons on the staircase that leads into the ceiling.
After we met up with Phil and Alicia again we headed to the Blarney estate house, which wasn't terribly exciting, since it was closed for the winter and wouldn't open until June. The outside was impressive, and we did find a magnolia tree that was absolutely beautiful.
Blarney Estate House
Magnolia Tree
We wandered into the town of Blarney to the grocery store for some lunch. We sat on a park bench to eat. I had strawberry yogurt, Lauren had blueberry yogurt, Alicia had some sort of toffee yogurt, and I can't remember what kind of yogurt Phil had. We also finally found a post box in Blarney.
This was found in the grocery store in Blarney. I HAD to take a picture of it.
It was on the park bench that we decided that we wanted to find a beach because none of us had been to the Atlantic ocean. We then headed south, with no real plan as to where to stay or where to go. We were driving along the N71 and got closer to the coast, somewhere around Clonakilty we passed at least 30 rally cars heading the opposite direction. Around Rosscarbery we found a little inlet so we decided to stop. There was an enormous mansion off the road so we got some pictures of it and were about to head out again until we saw a little, faded, bent up, metal metal sign that said "BEACH". We followed the winding one-lane road about a quarter mile and came upon a parking lot and some dunes and the Atlantic Ocean, via Rosscarbery Bay. Pictures will follow, but I will say one thing... up to that point the coldest water I had ever been in was the Mediterranean off the coast of France.
Between the parking lot and the beach
Rosscarbery Bay
After successfully acheiving our goal of finding the beach, we were then left with the question of "now where?" Our options were limited as it was now around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and we definitely didn't want to drive in the dark. There was Skibbereen, Dunmanway, or Bantry. I was really hoping for Bantry but I didn't want to be a bitch and dictate the trip so I was really glad when Alicia said "Oh! Bantry! I wanted to go there!" Apparently Bantry has one of the Great Houses of Ireland. Then we were off to Bantry, which was about a 2 hour drive. On the way there, we spotted a cool landscape photo op, so Philip slammed on the brakes onto the side of the road and put the hazard lights on. He was getting the hang of Irish driving. I didn't have my shoes on becasue my feet had sand all over them from the beach so I had to walk back to the spot with bare feet. Luckily I didn't cut my feet on glass or something. But the picture was worth it, and I made a friend.
My friend. I named him Brody (like from P.S. I Love You). He wanted to go with us.
The sun was set and was lingering on twilight by the time we finally reached the outset of Bantry where we found this sign:
"NOTICE: This anchor was taken in a trawl by the motor trawler "Saoirse", skippered by Pat Deasy on the 11th September, 1964. Experts believe that it is one of those anchors left behind when the French fleet under Wolfe Tone, which was coming to assist Irish Rebels in 1796 were forced to cut their anchors in a gale and retire. The anchor weighs 17 CWT. Not quite so historical but equally as interesting if you are dying of thirst is the Anchor Bar which erected this sign."
Twilight was dimming by the time we reached Bantry, which is situated on a bay. We stopped to get a couple of pictures of the grey bay when Alicia noticed a massive cemetary behind us with hundreds upon hundreds of old and interesting tombstones. Right at this point the music we had been listening to (an odd classical station) had turned into something similar of the Jaws theme with deep and foreboding sounds. We joked that it would surprise none of us if a giant sea monster rose out of the water right in front of us.
Awesome cemetary just outside of Bantry.
We continued into town and parked in the main square. We asked three teenage girls if there was a hostel around and one pointed it out to us, since it was right by. We walked over and were met with a sign on the door saying to inquire at the B&B next door. We walked over and didn't even get into the door when we were met with an old lady who then showed us the way through the hostel. She was going to put us in a room with 10 metal bunk beds but when we asked if the door locked she said no, but the small room down the hall did. To our dismay (well, mine at least, since I'm pretty sure I noticed it before anyone else did) there were two wooden bunks that looked like they could barely support the mattress on top, let alone a 100+ lb body. After paying her 12.50 euro (which was a great price, since our room faced the bay), she went on her way and we went to dinner.
Walking to the hostel in Bantry
Swans in Bantry Bay
Dinner in Bantry
We then walked to our car and drove back to the hostel to bring our luggage closer. We lugged it up the stairs and by then Alicia decided that she wanted to stay in for the night but insisted that the rest of us go out. We left her there and walked up one of the streets and stopped outside "The Anchor Bar". The sounds coming from the inside sounded a lot like Pirates' Tortuga. We were interested in something a little less busier. So we walked another two blocks (which were all the way completely deserted) until Lauren said she didn't want to go anymore. I made her walk a little farther until we saw a "Guinness" sign and found Ma Murphys.
There was laughing so we walked in. Not being used to the way the off-license stores in Ireland work, we walked into a deserted room with a counter and another door. It was seriously odd what with all the laughing. However we braved the second door and walked right into the pub.
The scene was this: A group of friends sitting and talking and laughing, an old guy manning the bar (who Lauren still insists was drunk, but I'm not so sure), a couple of older guys sitting around, about three guys in their 20s trying to make a bet over something or other with the bartender, and Jake O'Connor. Now, Jake was in with the group of friends, but he was so significant that he gets to be mentioned seperately.
As soon as he saw Lauren enter (she was first), he saw her and must have thought "fresh meat" or something because he wouldn't leave her alone the entire time we were there. Truly, the retelling can't do the story justice. Just look at the picture:
Jake O'Connor and Lauren. Notice the dribble on his shirt.
After the old man, whose name is Bill, disappeared for a while, his daughter took over bartending. She told us the story of the guns on the wall. Apparently about 16years ago a man from Virginia was in the bar and got to talking to Bill about some war in America (I can't remember which one it was... I think Civil). He told Bill he collected relics from the beach from that war and when he got back he'd send him some. Her dad never thought much of it until about 2 months later the guns and relics arrived in boxes.
We were getting tired (I opted to not drink anything tonight to try to get a decent night's sleep) but we had to escape Jake who kept trying to get Lauren to go to the bar "across the street" with him. He eventually left with his friends to go there. In truth, there was no bar across the street, or anywhere else in sight aside from the Anchor Bar down by the square. So we hurried back to the hostel, constantly looking around for Jake. We got back to find Alicia still awake and recounted the whole tale to her.
Leaving Ma Murphy's
We got ready for bed, and we were the only ones in the entire two-story hostel. Apparently Lauren saw someone's stuff in one of the rooms downstairs, but there was no one in sight. We slept with the window open to the bay so we could feel the breeze and smell the saltwater.
I got the bunk above Alicia, and Philip got the one above Lauren (the wobblier of the two).
There was no side rail to prevent anyone from falling off so every single time I wanted to roll over, my mind woke itself up enough to consciously roll over without rolling off the bed. Which is a good thing I suppose, but my "decent night's sleep" was shot. And apparently soon after I fell asleep (Alicia was awake still) I stirred enough to hear someone or something tearing through all the rooms in the hostel, opening and slamming doors (like, literally slamming them). I didn't hear it, but Alicia said they tried our door but it was locked thankfully. The next morning the stuff in the room on the first floor was still there, untouched. And the front door was locked by a combination, so we had no idea what had gone on the previous night.
