So I'm up 4 hours after going to sleep because I'm so excited to start the day!!! ;)
After checking email and Krista having a shower comma we went downtown to Starbucks to grab a couple of lattes to start the day.
We got the boys up and moving, got some breakfast and headed north 15 minutes to Blarney to go to the Castle and see the Stone.
A bit of weaving and winding through some roads but we arrived to a beautiful lush area and paid the entrance fee and in we went. The Lukes were already inside so we visited with them while having a hot chocolate and waiting for Patrick Mia and Lucas to arrive. Once they got there, we walked through the gardens and around be careful and up numerous stairs to get to the top and line up for our opportunity to kiss the stone.
Having not done my homework, I assumed that the stone was smaller than the size of my hand and require some coordination in order to kiss it.
The stone is actually several feet wide and a couple feet tall and part of the actual wall of the castle such that when you lay on your back side and hold the railing you are essentially kissing the wall but the stone is part of the wall.
The weather changed numerous times while we were there going from a light next to a good rain to blazing hot and sunny with a blue sky. We'll take turns kissing the Blarney Stone while I took video and Anu took photos.
We carefully descended the stairs back down to the ground and spent a couple of hours during the gardens , the caves and taking photographs at every opportunity while the kids climbed on absolutely everything.
Of particular interest was the poisonous garden with numerous explanations of how the plant would kill you slowly or instantaneously. That was cool.
We grabbed a bite to eat in the restaurant and then made our way back into the city to do some laundry and regroup before doing more sightseeing and going out for supper.
We located a restaurant called Annies that was just across the river from us over a walking bridge so we set out walking and discovered a very nice park. Lucas and Jacob were bound and determined to play on the merry go round and climbing wall so the rest of us walked around the park and stopped to enjoy a wonderful string quartet playing on a stage. After 15 minutes we gathered all the boys and started walking towards the restaurant as we were all quite hungry. The walking bridge was spectacular and we encountered a number of teenagers jumping off of the bridge to the river below. Despite them doing a lot of swearing it was a beautiful warm evening and was quite the sight to watch these kids enjoying themselves.
We walked several more blocks app the hill to Annie's restaurant only to discover a sign that read 'over 21 and properly dressed' on the sandwich board outside. We were quite disappointed as we had walked a long way and there were no other restaurants nearby. I walked in and spoke to the barman and he said it was absolutely no problem for us to come in so in we went. We found a section of the restaurant all to ourselves and ordered heaps of seafood and other delicious appetizers and had a terrific meal over the span of 2 hours.
Krista and I had been up quite early that morning and were comfortable in going home and taking Lucas with us while Patrick and Mia joined many other couples downtown at a pub to catch up even more prior to the wedding. We cleaned up the condo and went to bed at a civilized time while Patrick and Mia crawled in much later.
It was another spectacular day in the beautiful city of cork Ireland.
I put a Facebook update post that read the following.
Our last night in the city of Cork Ireland. Had their not been a wedding here, I'm quite positive this would be a place on earth I would never take time to visit.
I would have regretted that - having been here only a day and a half spending time out and about in the city visiting with people from around the world who are working here. We have met some fantastic people, walked down city streets in the wee hours of the morning feeling incredibly safe, laughing and getting to know the culture and heartbeat of this beautiful southern Irish community. Everyone I know who has traveled to this country has nothing but amazing things to say about the people even though the weather is even more unpredictable than Calgary. :)
I cannot speak highly enough about what a wonderful time we have had this summer and it has encouraged me to continue saving up to travel the world to see all the amazing beauty in the land and the people who reside in it. #sotrulyblessed #EpicMorozSummer2016
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