Cashel and Blarney

Hi!  How are you?  Did you have a good weekend?  We just got back from Holland and I am exhausted, but I want to push through and wrap up Ireland before I move unto our next destination.  Are you ready to see the Rock of Cashel and Blarney? Staying in Cork for a couple of days gave us the perfect opportunity to explore multiple locations without having to change hotels. The one thing my mom and I forgot is traveling with children is different than when we are traveling by ourselves. Getting ready in the morning took us a lot longer than it normally would. Everything just takes longer. This meant we had to really do a quick visit at Cashel and didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked before moving on to Blarney. The Rock of  Cashel is magnificent!  You see it from a distance and it is like wow!  Cashel was once the seat of ancient Irish kings. St. Patrick baptized King Angus here in 450 A.D.  Later the castle was given to the church by the king and was the ecclesiastical capital of all Ireland. The castle sits on a bedrock of limestone known as Fairy Hill and overlooks a valley called the Golden Vale named this because it is the best soil in all of Ireland. Then it was on to Blarney which is only 20 or so minutes down the road. We were starving by this time, so we ate a lovely lunch in the Blarney Mill cafeteria. The food was wonderful!  Sadly, I am allergic to wool, or I would have probably bought every sweater in the store. I am kicking myself though for not purchasing a scarf. I just couldn't decide which one!  Next time!  Then it was on to the Blarney Castle. Did we kiss the Blarney Stone?  No!  I had done it on the two previous trips and sadly we were either there too late in the day or because they are making some repairs to the castle it was not available. I think Roman was secretly relieved he couldn't do it anyway. The Blarney Castle that you see today was built in 1446 A.D., but the original building was built in 1210 A.D.  It was destroyed because it was a wooden structure.  Blarney is more than just the castle.  The park is lovely to explore. The kids had so much fun exploring the wood, climbing on the rocks, and they have now even added a small swing set. The adjacent village is charming and if you have time enjoy some of the local music.