Week 488 · Kilkenny Castle · Cork & Blarney Stone · Two Vibes & Scribes
County Kilkenny
I had been to Dublin several times, but never made it outside of the city. The focus of this trip was entirely the Irish western countryside and coast. Alexandra has just started a 2-month journey through Europe and we joined her after she had spent some time in Dublin.
Alexandra wanted to visit a castle in Kilkenny so we stopped there and walked about town for a bit before I set up shop in a coffee shop for my meeting while Sharon and Alexandra did a castle tour. Then the debacle started — the AirBnB app asked for Google or Apple Maps and since I was using CarPlay I selected Apple Maps. Big mistake. We showed up about 5 miles from town in a random neighbourhood and the host would not give an address — just kept saying it was located next to various places. We went to her house to get the keys and she sent us to "Vibes and Scribes." I dropped off Sharon and Alexandra there while I found parking. When I got back — it was the wrong place. After a coffee shop tip and some texts, Alexandra went on a recce and discovered there was more than one Vibes and Scribes. Got into the room about 8:50 — almost 2 hours later than planned.
Big mistake selecting Apple Maps instead of Google on CarPlay. She would not give an address. Just kept saying it was located next to various places. We went to her house to get the keys.
She said to go to "Vibes and Scribes." When I got back from parking — it was the wrong place. A coffee shop told us there is more than one Vibes and Scribes. Eventually figured out we had gone to the wrong one. Got in about 8:50 — almost 2 hours later than wanted.
We went out — I found a pub to watch Manchester United beat Chelsea to secure a Top 4 finish in the EPL. The game wrapped up about 11pm local time. We were ready to eat — Cork is one of the great foodie towns in Europe. But after 11pm — only classic Irish food available. McDonalds open.
We started off the next morning with a walk around Cork — the first of many beautiful days. We then went to Blarney Castle — home of the Blarney Stone — which is the type of standing in line tourist thing I hate. But the castle grounds were awesome and we did stand in a short line to go to the top of the castle and kiss the stone. No injuries. Next stop — Ring of Kerry and the Irish coast!
The Blarney Stone is a block of Carboniferous limestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle in County Cork, constructed in 1446. Legend holds that kissing the stone bestows the "gift of gab" — the Irish word "blarney" meaning flattery or persuasive speech. The stone's origins are disputed: theories include it being half of the Stone of Scone, a stone from the Biblical Ezel, or a gift from Robert the Bruce to Cormac MacCarthy for sending 4,000 soldiers to fight at Bannockburn in 1314. To kiss it, visitors must lean backwards over the castle parapet while being held by a staff member — a practice that continues today for over 400,000 visitors annually. The castle is one of Ireland's most visited tourist attractions.
"The castle grounds were awesome. We did stand in a short line to kiss the stone. No injuries. Next stop — Ring of Kerry and the Irish coast!"