WELCOME TO MY TRAVEL BLOG

I have always enjoyed traveling, even if it meant sleeping in a tent when I was younger. I prefer hotels and cruise cabins now, but the motivation is the same...an adventure waiting to happen. Sometimes you will find me traveling with my husband and/or family. Sometimes I will travel alone, and sometimes I will travel with friends. I hope you find it entertaining to keep up to date with me as I explore the world around me. Warning...I like to take pictures of food so don't read if you're hungry. More adventures await...see ya soon...Amy.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Ireland 2019: Blarney Castle and Cobh Heritage Centre

Today was a busy and fun filled day. We checked out of our hotel and boarded the bus for Blarney Castle. I have said for years that I would never kiss the Blarney Stone and even said it right up until....I kissed the darn thing. Actually I was more afraid of getting some kind of disease from all of the people that kiss it than from the act of actually doing it. So, going backwards, we arrived at Blarney castle and immediately headed toward the Blarney Stone. Our guide had told us they hoped to get us there before a cruise ship emptied out its tour buses there and we made it before them. The Blarney Stone is a piece of limestone built into the tower of Blarney castle in 1446. The legend states that the person who kisses it is forever given the gift of gab. There are a lot of guesses as to where the Blarney Stone came from and legends surrounding it, but there is no set truth to the legends. We climbed up and around a very narrow staircase in the castle to the top. Once we reached the point of kissing the stone, Danny held true to his decision not to kiss it but I followed the crowd and laid down on my back and slid downwards to the stone and planted a kiss on it. There are metal bars to hand onto and a person who holds onto you so you don't slide down to your death! After kissing the stone, we toured the Blarney Castle property, which is pretty immense. We walked over to the Blarney Woollen Mills to have lunch and do a little "wool garment" shopping. I look forward to wearing the sweater I purchased when it is no longer summer in Alabama! After lunch we boarded the bus to go to Cobh. We spent some time in the Cobh Heritage Center (which I didn't really enjoy) and Danny and I left to find the Cobh Cathedral known as St. Colman's Cathedral. It is gorgeous!!!! We took the long way I believe but arrived just in time to hear an organ recital that was just beautiful. We quickly walked through before heading back to the bus. We then took a nice long drive, and opportunity for a nap, to Waterford, home of Waterford Crystal. After checking into our hotel, we met for dinner in the hotel. I was not impressed with my dinner there but did not go away hungry. After dinner we met a guide who took us around and explained the Viking history in Waterford. It was very interesting and we enjoyed the after dinner walk.

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