The Blarney Stone

After leaving Waterford we headed south to our next B&B in Cork, which happens to be very close to Blarney.

Beechwood House B&B was very nice, and the host proudly showed us the soapstone fireplace which is original to the house and is over 100 years old.

I'm sure the breakfast was prepared by the lady of the house, but the host was a very friendly guy who cheerfully served us with a smile while whistling a happy tune.

The B&B was close enough to be able to walk to Blarney, past the town's old milk cart,

 where I admired more of the beautiful Irish flowers.

This is all we saw of Blarney Castle.  I really had no interest in kissing the Blarney Stone, and I have a feeling that Bob think I'm chatty enough, so we agreed it was not high enough on our priority list.  We went to the Blarney Woolen Mill instead, and I left a good bit of our American Dollars there.  Ha!

The Pub in Blarney was fun, and the seafood stew was wonderful, paired with Guinness, of course!

We were only in Cork one night befofe heading west to Kerry, and the Dingle Peninsula.  This was one of the wider roads we traveled on our way to Dingle, where the roads are narrow.  VERY narrow!

Ah, we left the cities behind, and we finally saw more of the beautiful, green Irish countryside.  

We enjoyed the sunny Irish weather.  It only rained the last day we were in Ireland, and the Irish people were very happy to believe we brought the sunshine with us.

Isn't it just beautiful!  Everywhere we looked it was so green and lush.  We loved the Dingle Peninsula.

Jaime likes calla lilies, and she'd like it here because they were growing wild everywhere.

Rock walls are everywhere too.  We were told that during winter farmers use their time to build rock walls, and some of the walls go straight up the steep hillsides.

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This was our home away from home in Kerry, with easy access to The Wild Atlantic Way and other scenic drives.

Our hostess was very sweet, and she was a good cook too!

This narrow road is a typical two lane road on The Dingle Peninsula.  The scenic road along the coastline is called The Wild Atlantic Way, and this section of road was on the Slea Head Drive.

We like to hike and our host at the B&B told us that the Lub na Cille, Dun Chaoin walk would be a good place to hike.  It's one of Ireland's National Looped Walks.

 The views were spectacular, and the trail was sort of spongy because we were hiking on peat.

More calla lilies, and that piece of land sticking out into the ocean is the first land that Charles Lindbergh saw when he reached Europe during his trans Atlantic flight.

Of course there were gates to pass through on the hike.  We have to keep the cows and sheep where they belong you know.

If you saw the movie "Ryan's Daughter" you might recognize this old building because it served as the schoolhouse during the filming.

We always enjoy having lunch along the trail.  

We didn't stay in Dingle town, but we did go to check things out there, and we were glad we stayed out in the beautiful Dingle countryside.

After spending a few days on the Dingle Peninsula we reluctantly moved on. 

Next stop:  Clare

IRELAND!!!

This year, when Bob asked where I'd like to visit on vacation, I thought a little and decided that Ireland would be a great place to visit.  It's always green, no snakes, and it's the home of Guinness beer.  How could we go wrong there?  So off we went.

We decided to rent a car and drive around Ireland ourselves, so we rented a little VW Golf, and we had a very fun time.....after Bob learned how to drive a standard shift car while sitting on the wrong side of the car, while driving on the LEFT side of the road, with his wife (me) in a near panic most, no, all of the first day we were there.  It was rough, but we made it to our first B&B without a scratch.

Our hosts were very friendly, and they recommended a pub in a nearby town for our first dinner in Ireland, along with our first genuine Guinness.  The fish and chips and Guinness were both very tasty indeed!  ha

Our hosts sat and chatted with us in the evening, telling us the history of Ireland and their little town, and they treated us to some very delicious apple pie.  Good old American apple pie tastes good where ever you are!

We couldn't decide between visiting Kilkenny Castle or the Rock of Cashel.  They thought we'd enjoy Kilkenny Castle and we took their advice.

Kilkenny Castle was built during the 13th Century, and later became the principal Irish residence of the Butler family for almost 600 years.  People actually lived there until 1935!  Can you imagine living in a genuine castle?  The castle was huge, with thick walls and slits in the castle walls to shoot arrows through.

Some of the bedrooms were open so we could see typical bedrooms from the era, including this child's bedroom.

During the restoration they cut away part of the walls so the ancient part was visible.

Isn't it pretty the way the flowers grow in the old rock walls?  Ireland is so beautiful

Waterford was our next stop, and, since it was once a Viking port, we discovered a replica of a Viking ship,

a restored Viking watch tower, and......

 this very handsome Viking Warrior!

Yep, dinner was at a local pub where we both had another Guinness and sampled genuine Waterford Blaas.  Too bad I forgot to take a picture of the Blaas, but trust me, they were good.  Actually a Blaa is a soft bread roll baked only in Waterford and well worth a taste when you're there.

 Wait, that's a Blaa on the left beside my Guinness!

 Waterford is a pretty little town, and we enjoyed our walk to the Waterford Crystal Visitors Center.

I really thought the crystal center would be just another tourist trap, but we were both surprised and happy to find the tour was quite interesting. 

They showed us the molds that are used for special pieces. Because they're carved out of wood they can only be used a few times.

These guys have good lungs!  I missed the shot, but they blow through the metal bar to form a large ball of molten glass which they then shape into the form they want it to be.

They do have plans and drawings, but they cut the glass using memory.  A grid drawn onto the glass before it's cut is their only guide.

This shows a glass bowl from beginning to end.  On the right we see the plain, glass bowl, and the left the finished product.

Can you see the grid?  The glass cutters apprentice for five years!

Waterford Crystal makes The People Choice Awards, and we were given a chance to hold one.  "I would like to thank my husband and daughters for their support!"  ha!

Yes, of course we bought some Waterford Crystal before leaving, and you can come visit us to see our selection!

Next stop:  Cork!