Kinsale

I know it's been a long time since my last post but I will use this post to update you about my trip to Kinsale and then I will talk about my birthday and last weekend with the next post. I also will try and get up some pictures of my house and the room that I'm living in by request from my Aunt Debbie.

Mike and I went to Kinsale on Valentine's day and spent the day there. We checked out the harbor there and also went to Charles Fort. There were many other things we could have done in Kinsale, but we were just happy to get out of the house and go somewhere new. Here are some pictures from our journey.

Me in front of some boats in the harbor

A view of part of the town of Kinsale

The entrance to Charles Fort
A great view from the top of part of Charles Fort
More from Charles FortAwesome picture of Mike that I took from the top of Charles Fort

That's it for now. I will update you soon on my birthday and last weekend. Mike and I are going to go to both Dublin and the Ring of Kerry in the near future. We are just trying to figure out which weekends we are going and where we are going to stay and what not.

Blarney Castle

Yesterday Mike and I ventured to Blarney to check out the Blarney Castle. We went into the city centre to catch a bus, but we were a little late and missed the bus we were trying to get. We went and ate Quizno's and then came back to catch the next bus which was supposed to leave at 11:20, but when we came back at 11:17 it was leaving already (the time on the buses is 3 minutes ahead which we didn't know at the time). So we went back into the Merchant's Quay which was a small mall and explored for awhile and then caught the next bus. When we arrived in Blarney we headed to the Blarney Castle where we spent the afternoon. I took a ton of pictures but here are some highlights of our trip.

Blarney Castle
Here are some views from the top of the tower

Me, after kissing the Blarney Stone

The stone is at the top of the Blarney Castle and to get there you have to go up some really tight stairwells to get there. They spiral up and are pretty steep. Once you get to the top as you can see in the picture above you can lay down, bend back and kiss the Blarney Stone. There are bars for support and the guy helps you out as well. You can't see the Stone in the picture but it's somewhere below my head. According to legend, kissing the Blarney Stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). If you want to know more about the stone or the castle I advise using google and you will find plenty of information.

After checking out the castle we walked through the Rock Close which was right next to the castle. It is a path with different landscapes that have names such as the Wishing Steps, the Witch's Kitchen, and the Head Druid's Cave. Some of the stuff wasn't marked, but just looked cool.

A cool looking waterfall Me trying to hold up the DolmenThe Wishing Steps Me, on top of some sweet rock Mike, keeping warm inside the Witch's Kitchen Druid's Circle

That's all for now. Mike and I are planning on heading to Kinsale next weekend. So you can look forward to that. I hope you enjoyed all of the pictures. We had a great time getting out and going somewhere, and I would definitely recommend going to the Blarney Castle if you ever travel to Ireland.