The only thing on the agenda for today was Blarney Castle. Gram was insisting that she was going to go to the top of the castle... and she did!
This was our second day staying at Fountain House B&B. Our hostess, Breda, was very kind and accommodating. The B&B could have stood a little updating, but, like we all decided, it was a nice, clean place to sleep.
Breakfast at Fountain House
Breda kindly offered to take a picture of us during breakfast.
Black Pudding... YUCK!!!
We were telling Breda that we wanted to try black pudding, but hadn't gotten up the nerve yet. So, she hospitably (maybe with a hint or more of monkey business up her sleeve) cooked us up a mess of black and white pudding. Aunt Carol, Abi and I tried it. Aunt Carol thought it tasted like a dead animal smells, Abi didn't really try a big enough piece to be able to taste, I thought it was ok, but I wouldn't eat it everyday.
You can read about black pudding here.
SLOW
A road picture for every post! This is on our way to Blarney.
Stone Bridge
Checking in at Blarney Castle!
Hamming it Up
Abi was trying to get a picture of Gram, but I was feeling slightly facetious and got in her way. :)
Sober (not)
Ok, now I'm cooperating.
First Glimpse
There it Is!
Pause
Abi had us pause at the foot of the castle for a photo shoot.
Cave
We saw a sign for a cave, so Aunt Carol and I (and Abi and TJ.) had to go see it!
Slime
The cave was part of an escape route for soldiers just in case the castle was invaded. The cave went all the way to a secret door in the castle at one point, but that part of the cave has since collapsed. It was very interesting; we had to stoop down at some points, the floor was covered in slimy mud and puddles of murky water, while the walls dripped, who knows what on your head. We all enjoyed it, though!
Stepping into Blarney Castle
Bars
Young Ladies Bedroom
We all stopped for a break in this room from stair climbing. TJ. happened to sit down right under that sign. :)
Graceful
Winding Stairs
There are 100 stone steps winding up to the top of Blarney. It was a pretty stiff climb even for young people, but Gram made it all the way to the top! Thankfully, there were rooms to explore on the way up so one could step aside to rest and explore on a level surface.
Frustrating
We could see the top floor, but we still had another story or so to go!
90' Up!
We made it, 100 stairs and 90' later!
Helloooo, Down There!
That little blue spot on the sidewalk is Mom. :) We were pretty high up...
Blarney Mansion
You can see Blarney Mansion in the distance. We didn't end up going to see it, unfortunately.
Crumbling
Back Down!
The stairs going down were a lot nicer... much wider, smoother and with a better railing. Going up, the stairs got rougher and narrower as you got closer to the top.
Hole
Notice the patch of light right above the top window? That is the place where people lay down to kiss the Blarney Stone... with only bars to catch you from falling 90' to the ground. I think I can can live without the gift of eloquence!
Poison Garden
Do not touch, smell or eat any plant!
Children must be accompanied at all times.
This was a garden on the grounds. Most of the stuff wasn't growing at that time, but it was still interesting.
Helleborus spp., Hellebore
If you want to read the description, click on the picture to make it bigger.
Rising out of the Trees
Wall Trench
This was a trench built beside the wall for soldiers to stand in. There were arrow slits all along the wall, which is over on the left of the picture.
Brilliant Colors
The Conqueror
She did it!
Tower
This is looking straight up into a tower.
Oops!
Shortly after this picture, Abi informed us that we were in the way! :)
Tired
A lady offered to take our picture for us, and while she was taking it, a young man walked up and gave her his phone. He asked her to take a picture of him. We thought, "ok, no big deal," until he walked up to us and wedged himself in between Gram and Mom. He wanted his picture taken with us!
Slug
The slugs in Ireland are about 3 1/2- 4" long. These are the real deal!
Majestic
Glorious Light
Stopping for a Rest
Caught!
TJ. was our handyman on the trip. He was invaluable when it came to outlet converters, electronics, internet, etc. I don't know what we would have done without him! :)
Massive Tree
Aunt Carol posed for us to show how big this tree was. It looked a lot bigger in real life.
ICE CREAM!!!
A small shop inside Blarney's grounds sold refreshments for weary people. Some of us got ice cream and some got cappuccinos. For how much we paid for them, they weren't very good. :(
Blarney Woolen Mills
We stopped at Blarney Woolen Mills after we left Blarney Castle. This place makes woolen things (obviously) from Irish sheep's wool (it's actually made IN IRELAND, not China). Everything there is quite expensive, but we still found some things to purchase. Gram was finally able to get her woolen Irish sweater! Abi and I got matching pull over sweaters that were on the clearance table. TJ. also found a cheaper sweater. We really enjoyed being able to go since this had been a place that we had been wanting to go to.
Griffin's Garden Center and Gift Shop
I saw the sign for this place on the way to Blarney and we made good use of it on the way back.
The Spinning Wheel
We had lunch at a tea shop called, "The Spinning Wheel", that was inside the garden center.
Yummy!
This was my gluten free meal. If you're celiac or gluten intolerant, Ireland is a good place to travel in. They sell GF things just about everywhere.
It was so much fun eating there! If you ordered tea, they gave you your own little teapot and cream pitcher. This was everything that we'd imagined in an Irish tea shop!
Strawberry Cream Puff
This looks so good, but the Irish don't use a lot of sugar, so to the dismay of our sugar expectant palate, this dessert ground our expectations into the dirt! It tasted like unsweetened cream and puff pastry. Yuck!
Gift Shop
The gift shop in the garden center was very nice! Most of it was fairly inexpensive, so we got most of our gifts for people back home from there.
We stopped to look at this small fortress that was built in a river with a bridge alongside it.
Overgrown
The roof was all gone and nature had taken over.
Safety
Mom reading the Plaque
Stone Wall
Ancient
Window Box
After we had rested awhile back at our B&B, we went into the town of Macroom to shop. Now, that was an experience and a half! None of us were too impressed with that town, people weren't very friendly. Most people just stared at us without smiling, or else they just asked, "Are you nuns?" or said, "Hello, Sisters."
So concludes our very full day in county Cork!
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