Blarney, Killarney, and the Ring of Kerry

This weekend was my very first weekend trip in Ireland! A group of girls and I decided to go to the Cork/Killarney area, and see several attractions along the way. While this was initially a source of great debate where we would go and see because there are so many cool things, we finally narrowed it down to Blarney castle and the Blarney Stone (a must see in Ireland), and the Ring of Kerry tour, a six hour bus ride in Co. Kerry, known for it's incredible scenery.

We left for Cork in a bus from Dublin at 7AM, and arrived in Cork around 1:30. From there we took another bus to Blarney Castle. The castle itself was actually pretty neat, and they let you explore for yourself, which I enjoyed. I crawled through caves in the dungeon, walked up and down a narrow stone spiral staircase in the rain, and generally tried to picture what the castle would have been like at it's prime (anything wood being now gone unfortunately).

Blarney Castle

Trying to imagine the inside of the castle with a floor right below the fireplace!

More Blarney castle and the view

After climbing several hills and 100 steps to the top, we finally got to the Blarney Stone (which, of course, they save for the very last thing you do). Set in the castle in the 1400s, this stone is rumored to give whoever kisses it "the gift of the gab" or of eloquence in speaking. Numerous famous people have kissed it, including Winston Churchill, Bono of U2, and of course, me. To actually kiss it though is pretty scary, because it includes about a three foot drop headfirst. There are rails to hold onto and someone to grab onto you, but still, it's a little scary!!

Kissing the stone!

After that, we wandered through the castle grounds for a while, and came across a site where the ancient druids had once worshiped and lived. I even got to stand in a druid circle and sit on the ancient alter. By that point though, the rain had gotten to be too much, so we headed inside for some soup and shopping at the Blarney Woolen Mills.

After that, we caught the bus back to Cork, and then another to Killarney, a really cool tourist town a couple hours out of Cork. I really really liked Killarney! They had good food and plenty of shops to look around in, including an Irish candy store, a Claddagh jewelry store, and the European equivalent of a dollar store (which is not as cheap given the exchange rate unfortunately).  We went out that night and wandered until we heard good music coming from a local pub. Although the musician played primarily American music, he was still very good and it was a good night! I even stayed in my first hostel ever, which was pretty exciting, sharing one room with seven other people, including two random, but very nice, French guys.

The next morning, we woke up pretty early to go on the Ring of Kerry tour. Our bus driver was a very interesting person, and drove the bus a little scarily on the narrow mountain roads. Still, despite some pretty awful fog and rain blocking some of the views, I really enjoyed the tour and stopping in small towns along the way.

Some of the views from various Ring of Kerry locations

After this weekend, coming back to Dublin was a very welcome return to reality, although I would highly recommend both the Ring of Kerry and Blarney Castle to any visitors wanting to go to Ireland!