Well, we’ve all heard of the Blarney Stone, I suppose. But little did I know that it is located at the very top of Blarney Castle in the village called Blarney in County Cork, Ireland. Lovely, isn’t it?
Okay, this is what it looked like this morning. I guess a building built in 1446 might be in need of a face-lift. I just tried to photograph the OTHER side most of the time.
If there is one thing the Irish are, it’s quite clear in their ability to give directions.
I appreciate that.
Okay, so on this particular morning, our “coach” (we don’t call them buses) arrived at Blarney along with about 20 other coaches, creating a very long “queue” (we don’t call them lines) to kiss the legendary rock. Luckily, musicians were on hand to entertain us. Paige and Jesse were convinced they should dance.
And dance they did!
Finally, we entered the castle and began the 122 step climb to the top.
Now, here’s the thing. You don’t bend over to kiss this stone. You lie on your back, lean over an opening that is a hundred feet above the ground, and hold on tight to kiss this stone backwards. There’s a nice gentleman there to make sure you don’t slip to your death. I don’t know what they pay this guy, but it’s not enough.
Olivia puckered up and gave it good smooch.
So, why do we go to such lengths? Eternal wealth? wisdom? health?
Nope.
You’re not going to believe this. We kiss the stone in order to acquire the Gift of the Gab, the ability to talk incessantly about not much of anything at all. Really? Do Olivia and I need this gift? That’s a rhetorical question.
So, to end, I will tell you this. Wednesday morning we drove through the town of Limerick. A charming town with brightly colored Georgian doors. Just being there inspired our group to become poets.
Here’s the fruit of our labor:
This morning we left Killarney,
To visit a castle called Blarney,
We did kiss the stone,
But we were not alone,
More germs than kissing a carnie!
Ew, yuck, right? Germophobes need not participate.