Vagabond Treasure Ireland Tour Day 7

We awoke in the morning to this tranquil view of the lake.

Cute little birds posed among the flowers adding to the idyllic scene. I could have lingered for hours, but it was time to move on.

Our first destination of the day was Blarney Castle, home of the oft-kissed Blarney Stone. Unfortunately, we also ran into a rather large number of American tourists who had come at the same time as us for the big football game, many still wearing Notre Dame t-shirts. One particularly annoying couple was clutching a football which they included in every picture they took.

Built 600 years ago by the great chieftain Cormac MacCarthy, Blarney Castle is still an imposing structure, and the surounding grounds are also impressive. On this day, a piper was greeting visitors.

The main attraction, of course, is the Blarney Stone at the top of the castle. People wait in line for hours to kiss it in the hope that it will grant them the gift of eloquence. One man in our group did actually kiss the stone, and he had the picture to prove it.

I had expected Blarney Castle to be a sort of tourist trap, but it was actually quite an interesting place with some very nice gardens.

The final stop on our tour was The Rock of Cashel, said to be the most impressive cluster of medieval buildings in Ireland. I was definitely impressed when I first caught a glimpse of it sitting high on a cliff. Other members of the tour were, perhaps, feeling a bit burnt out. "More old rock walls!" one of my fellow travelers whispered to me.

He wasn't wrong. We had seen a lot of old rock walls, but they still impressed me.

According to legend, the devil took a bite from a nearby mountain and spat it out here. This huge rock sits in front of one of the buildings. Perhaps it is THE rock, but I could find no confirmation of this or even pictures of it on the web. Overall, there was a curious lack of signs or information at this site. The highlight, apparently, is Carmac's Chapel which can only be visited on a guided tour which we were not taking. Ah well. Perhaps it was time for our own tour to end.

...and it had been a wonderful tour. We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide than Angela. She was always looking out for everyone's comfort and well-being. It can't be easy to drive a van down those roads and deliver a commentary at the same time.

Here's one final picture of the peaceful Irish countryside taken from the Rock of Cashel.