Blarney

Blarney Castle

The view from a window

Dale climbing the spiral staircase

After the lovely lie-in, Dale and I decided to have some lunch and then catch a bus to Blarney Castle. We went to a cute sushi place first (Sakura), where I practically drooled over my crab roll that the hostel got us for 10% off. The bus cost us almost 7 euros each for a less than 20 minute trip, but we decided to go ahead, and I’m glad that we did. Blarney Castle was by far my favourite part of Cork, and it technically isn’t even part of Cork. I couldn’t figure out if I had been there before as a kid, but there was certainly something familiar about the castle. We walked the gardens with hot chocolate and coffee, and enjoyed the path of white blossoms that lead to the tall fortress, making it picturesque with the green fields stretching out around it. The castle itself cost 12 euros to get into, but there was room after room to explore, which really sparks the imagination. The building was not altered for safety, so it is as close to an original castle as it could get, and you bet I bumped my head. We climbed the spiral staircase up five stories, meeting a woman who was dizzy from the height along the way. At the top it was time to bend over the edge, below the battlements, to kiss the Blarney Stone and receive “The Gift of the Gab.” It looked scarier than it was, but I was also surprised by how far the assistant made me crawl over the edge upside down (almost past my butt!).

Dale kissing the Blarney Stone

Me kissing the Blarney Stone

Brave little kids in line to kiss the stone

The lady and her husband made it up by this point and congratulated us on our bravery. The husband had once kissed the Blarney Stone as a young man, and he said he couldn’t believe he’d ever managed it. Altogether there were few people there. One family with kids was fun when we reached the Wishing Steps—a tunnelled staircase in the garden that you walk down backwards with your eyes shut, then up again while focusing on your wish. If you manage it, the wish will come true within the year. One of the little boys and I read the instructions together while everyone was at the top, then proceeded to take turns following them. As the boy reached the top, his dad and siblings started throwing pebbles at his back to make us all laugh. Dale and I also entered the dungeon beneath the castle, which included creeping through very low, dripping tunnels with a couple we kept running into all day. We also enjoyed reading the graffiti on the castle, which included carefully engraved names and dates from the 1700s.

"Sniffing" in the Poison Garden

Goofing around

The castle from on top of the Rock Close

Having a look into the Witch's Kitchen

Back inside the castle there was also a “Murder Hole,” where, if enemies entered the castle, boiling water or oil could be dropped on them. Outside there was a  “Druid’s Cave,” a “Witch’s Kitchen,” an ancient circle and sacrificial altar, an old monolithic tomb. It just went to show how ancient the area really was. The day was perfectly mild for wandering outside. We even wandered the Poison Garden, where we found references to Harry Potter by the Mandrakes and Wolfsbane plants. Dale and I also made ourselves sick on a fantastic tire-swing and quickly felt the pangs of getting old at only 24 and 25.

Ughhh...

When we got back we collected pizza at the same place as the night before (Four Star Pizza). Overall we did very well on food because of the hostel’s discounts. We decided to have a night in and just enjoy “Game of Thrones” and “Community.” The next day we had been planning on catching a bus to the Ring of Kerry, but I wasn’t done with sleeping yet. The whole weekend really felt like a recovery period. So we postponed our bus home for the next day and then wandered around town after having a long chat over lunch and mochas in the Shelbourne. Cork was surprisingly small. We bought some candy at an Irish sweets shop, and I bought a bright blue purse from Penneys because it had a side-strap unlike the annoying one I’ve been carrying around all year, for only 9 euros. However, I soon got bored with the shopping. We liked the sushi place so much that we went back there for dinner, then tried to find the nightlife, which seemed nonexistent even though we’d heard it was supposed to be good. We settled on a fairly quiet pub called Gallaghers, where a guy was playing folk rock on a large harp.

Cork

The next day we realized we had gotten the Ring of Kerry bus times wrong and wouldn’t be able to make it. So we slept in, which I can’t complain about. We wandered into a different section of town after eating a full Irish breakfast in a little tea shop, but were still unimpressed with how little there was to do, so we got on our original bus without any problems in the afternoon and headed home to Dublin.

Not so dainty with a cup of tea

I also found out that I’m waitlisted for the Teacher Education Program in July. I have to admit, I never even considered being waitlisted, and I feel a little ripped off. I was hoping to receive the “accepted” letter and feel relief, or at least the “rejected” letter so I could start making alternate plans, albeit disappointedly. Now I’m still stuck in the “who knows” phase, and feel a little bit like the decision-makers don’t think I’m good enough to be a “yes.” But that’s life, I suppose. I will wait and see, but Dale has suggested that if I don’t get in I focus on my writing, which sounds like a great opportunity to me. As one of my co-workers phrased it, “What better time than now to invest in yourself.” For Dale's part, he says he's never been more excited about the future, and is really looking forward to France...and Canada.

We both worked the weekend. One day as Heather and I were walking home we ran into Irena on her way out, which showed us just close together we live now! But one of my days was terribly busy and pretty miserable with a customer complaining, even having the gall to ask where I was from and then say, “My brother lives in Canada, and we’ve been there several times. You would not get this kind of service in Canada.” Did I really let down my country by not getting you your eggs within ten minutes? Sometimes people should really think before they open their mouths. I think I handled the situation with a good deal of grace, apart from raising my voice behind the scenes when one of the supervisors stalled me pointlessly and without a calm head while I was rushing to improve the situation. When I talked to them afterwards I could feel my adrenaline pumping and I remembered how it felt to break my cheekbone. I calmed down almost immediately, thinking to myself, “I’ve faced worse than you.” Then I was able to handle that situation with much more dignity and humility than they were able to muster. I have to say that, after the fact, I was quite proud of myself.

Balancing 12 wine glasses—never thought I'd see the day!

USIT has started doing movie nights on Fitz Monday, so Dale and I didn’t go this week because we’d already watched "Michael Collins." I was eager to edit my first book with the prospect of spending so much time writing in the future, so I spent my two days off doing that. I have a full week ahead of me, and then only one more before I’m finished at the hotel and we head off to France! In other news, Aunt Jemima's Syrup, Reese's Pieces cereal, and a 2 litre of Clamato juice each cost 7.99 euros here.