Blarney!

Sorry its been so long since my last post, but honestly the most exciting thing that happened during the week was eating mac'n'cheese and hot dogs lol. And yes, I did indeed take a picture of my mac'n'cheese (as evidenced by my Facebook page). I did manage to go into town by myself for the first time as well actually, since I had my appointment with immigration. The terrifying scenarios I had pictured in my mind beforehand - you know, the ones where you sit in a remarkably uncomfortable chair in a dingy little room where they ask you probing questions about your personal life and why you are staying in their country for more than three months - really had no place there and I think it took me all of ten minutes to get my shiny green Ireland ID and my passport signature. And to top it all off, my ID picture actually turned out really good which is probably a one time thing. You all know how you feel when you look at your driver's license, don't try to tell me you think you look fantastic because I'll know you're lying. So now I have a great picture and I officially live here (legally) until the end of May!

The most exciting part of my week was yesterday's trip to Blarney Castle and the city of Cork. For the first half of the day we managed to get good weather again, a fact which really puzzled our tour guides since two sunny and relatively warm weekends in a row during the winter time is pretty rare.

 Today's version of Blarney Castle is the third castle to be built upon this spot, the first being built sometime in the tenth century. In the early  1200s AD a stone castle replaced the older wooden structure but was later demolished. This latest structure was erected in 1446 by Dermot McCarthy who was at the time King of Munster.

  The gardens at Blarney Castle are extensive and amazingly beautiful. Many of the trees are centuries old, and there are several deposits of large rocks organized around what appear to be druid ruins. The gardens were revitalized during the 18th century by the Jefferyes family who purchased the estate. The grounds include over 60 acres of lush green.

 No one really knows the original origin of the Blarney Stone, but for more than 200 years celebrities and tourists from across the world have come to Blarney Castle to kiss it. In previous times people had to be held up by their ankles and lowered down to kiss it, however due to the obvious safety issues involved it is no longer the preferred method. While many people told me not to kiss the stone, which is supposed to give anyone who kisses it the gift of gab (eloquence), I must confess that I simply couldn't resist. I'm pretty sure I was shaking for ten minutes afterwards but I'm glad I did it. At least.....I'm glad NOW....after looking down from the top of the castle and realizing how high up I was kind of freaked me out.

 Seriously....what a view!!! Standing on the edge at the top of the castle, oh what a photographer will do for a good picture lol

 Blarney House, built in the Georgian gothic style during the beginning of the 18th century by the Jefferyes family, was built to improve the castle grounds and keep up with a custom during the reign of Queen Anne - which was to build a house up against the castle keep. Most of the house was accidentally destroyed in 1820 due to fire, and then it was rebuilt in the late 19th century in a Scottish baronial style. In the bottom right corner you can see the keep, which has been kept up by the descendants of the family who are the private owners of the Blarney House.

 For those of you don't know, I like to take really random pictures sometimes. This bird was sitting atop a bush in the castle gardens and let me stand right below him to take a picture. Look how adorable he is!

 This little port town near Cork city was formerly known as Queenstown until the Irish gained their independence from Great Britain in 1922, after which it was renamed Cobh. Built on a steep hill, the pretty seaside town holds a great deal of history. Approximately two and half million Irish emigrants departed from Cobh between 1848 and 1950 - one of which was Annie Moore, the first Irish immigrant to be passed through Ellis Island in New York City.

 Cobh Harbour, besides being a main port in Ireland is famous for being the final port of call for the Titanic. The ship officially began its tragic maiden voyage after leaving this harbour in 1912. Survivors of the Lusitania, the passenger boat sunk by the Germans during the first world war, were also brought here to Cobh.

 St. Colman's Cathedral sits atop the hill in Cobh, overlooking the harbour. Though relatively young compared to other examples of magnificent architecture throughout Ireland, built in 1868,  the neo-gothic architecture is simply magnificent and contains 42 bells. The highest bell is just over 200 feet above the ground and weighs approximately 3.6 tons. The organ inside the cathedral is also a sight to see with over 2,000 pipes.

 I don't really have pictures of Cork as it was pretty dark and rainy by the time we got there, and it really is quite hard to balance a camera and an umbrella. I spent an hour or so wandering some of the shops there and got a nice cup of white hot chocolate. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, preceded only by Dublin, and has a population of approximately 120,000 people. It is separated into two parts by the River Lee, much like Limerick with the River Shannon and Dublin with the River Liffey. I plan on going back there in about a month so expect more pictures to come.