Sunday, August 22, 2010

Ireland, Day 3, June 11


The second part of day 3 brought us to the Castle Blarney.  This structure was built in 1446 and has had changed hands several times over the centuries. 

These are photos of the great banquet hall.  It was three stories and had decadent touches throughout the hall.  Sometimes it was two stories and sometimes it was three, depending on what the occupants wanted during that current renovation.  Apparently castles were always undergoing renovation...

Views from the top of Blarney Castle.  The photo on the right is part of the formal gardens on the grounds of the Blarney Castle.  The photo on the left is a photo of the county from the top of the castle.  The 160+ steps to the top of the castle were worth it just for the views!


The Blarney Stone.  You have to lean waaaaaay back and kiss the bottom of the rampart.  And look over your head at the ground over 170 feet below you.  Yikes!  The reason there's only one photo of J is because I was still shaking too hard to hold the camara when he was actually kissing the stone.  So, we bought the professional photograph they took for us because I'm a big weenie. 

The Blarney Stone is said to be part of the stone that the kings of Ireland were crowned on.  No one's sure of where the stone came from for sure.  And no one's sure how it came to be part of the castle.
A very nice woman (from Texas!) took our photo on top of the castle.  It sure was windy up there!

These are my two favorite pictures from the Blarney Castle.  These views were amazing!!  Definitely worth every narrow step and counter-clockwise staircase. 

1 comment:

Bill and Tonya said...

These are awesome photos. You are describing your trip so vividly that I think I'm going along with y'all.
Love,
MamaT