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Cork and Blarney Castle

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Cork and Blarney Castle

June 24, 2007
Blarney Castle
We arrived in Cork yesterday afternoon. After driving around the city lost for a couple of hours we finally found our hotel and got settled in. Our hotel room is awesome, Dad really did a great job. We are right up the street from the River Lee and City Centre and right at the based of the clock tower famously known as the "four-faced liar". It is called that because it has four clock faces that each tell a slightly different time.

Jeff and I went out on the town last night while Dad caught up on some much needed sleep. We went to a couple of pubs and drank a considerable amount of Guinness. The second pub was extremely Americanized; we both felt like we were in Pasadena instead of Cork. The bar played all American music and even served Coronas with lime wedges, which I was not strong enough to resist :(.
Cork and the River Lee
Oh and side note, they loooooove Rihanna over here. We have heard that "Umbrella" song non-stop since we've been here. At first it was okay but now it seems that just when I get that song out of my head some car whips by, windows down, Rihanna blaring... yeah, it has become the anthem of the trip.

Today Jeff and I went to Blarney Castle while Dad explored the city. We caught Bus Eireann out to Blarney and spent all day crawling all over the castle and the rock close (garden) nearby. Jeff kissed the stone (I refrained since I kissed it a couple years ago on my backpacking trip with the girls and figured I don't need the gift of gab bestowed upon me a second time). I got a great picture of him kissing the rock and then we climbed back down the castle, stopping to explore and take pictures in the various chambers on our way down.
Cork
We had packed sandwiches so once we reached the bottom, we sat on the castle walls and ate. It had actually stopped raining and the sun was out, so we just relaxed there for a while; it was a gorgeous day.

After the castle we hopped the bus back to Cork and met my dad at the hotel. We hung out in our room watching Irish football on tv, then headed out into the city for dinner. Since it's Sunday, most places are closed, which limited our options. We decided to forego the Irish fare and grabbed some pasta at an Italian place. We then walked across the River Lee for the second time and up to St. Finnbare's Cathedral. On our way to Trinity Church we ran into some old Irish man who asked us if we were Americans. He then talked our ear off for about 20 minutes telling us that he wasn't from Cork but was from the country and was a "redneck" and a "real leprechaun". He was pretty amusing to say the least.

Tomorrow we are off to Kenmare and will be getting into some gorgeous countryside. Hopefully we'll make it out to the Skellig Islands. Well, I love and miss you all and keep your fingers crossed that this rain lets up!
maithanfear says:
It's not that we love Rihanna here, it's that we have a tendenacy to over play tracks on the radio. This summer it's Rihanna's Umbrella. It does get annoying even for us Irish.
Posted on: Jul 02, 2007
gbowe says:
First, no golf; now, no Blarney Stone? What kind of an Ireland tour is this turning out to be for your father? I hope he's feeling okay. Did the black pudding get to him?Sounds like you're keeping to schedule. You can keep all the Guinness you find, but I'm still green with envy! Keep posting. I can hardly wait to see the Waterford souveneir you got for me. :-O
Posted on: Jun 24, 2007
scarr says:
I cant wait to go in August. Reading your blog gets me excited to go.
Posted on: Jun 24, 2007
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Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle
Cork and the River Lee
Cork and the River Lee
Cork
Cork
Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle
670 km (416 miles) traveled
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