Arrival in Ireland and First Full Day: Cork and Blarney Castle

We an 8:30 pm flight so we got to Ireland around 11 because it is about a 2-hour flight with a one-hour time change (they are one hour later than Madrid). We had a little difficulty getting to our hotel. There was this shuttle bus that was suppose to run every 20 minutes and take you to anywhere in Central Dublin. It was only 6 Euros so it seemed like a good idea. However, you had to wait for the bus outside, it was nearly midnight, and we were in Dublin in December so it was pretty cold. The bus also still hadn’t showed up after more than 30 minutes so we decided to get a taxi. A lot of people were mad about it too because apparently the shuttle that had left right before that one only had 2 people on it, so they should have just waited for more people to get on it.

Anyways, we made it to our hotel easily with the Taxi driver and he was really nice and a native Irishman so he told just some cool places to go and whatnot. Its always good to try and get a local perspective on things if you can.

When we got to our hotel we basically just wanted to pass out because they next day we were getting up early to get on a bus to go to Cork, Ireland which is where the Blarney Castle is. The Blarney Castle was build in 1446 A.D. and houses the Blarney Stone, which, as legend holds, gives eloquence and wisdom to anyone who kisses it. Winston Churchill is said to have kissed it among many other famous world leaders, literary master, artist, ect.  

We woke up at like 5 am to get to the train station by us to get on what we thought was a 6:30 am bus. Since the hotel didn’t have Internet we couldn’t double check. We got to the bus station and of course no one was there so we had to buy tickets from the kiosk. We didn’t know what we were doing and we ended up buying tickets for a bus that was going to leave at 8 am.

The whole idea of us going to Cork came from my friend Alex, who is also studying abroad at SLU and was in Dublin that weekend as well. She told me how she wanted to go to Cork to see the Blarney Castle but the two people she was on her trip with didn’t want to go. She asked me if I wanted to go so she wouldn’t have to go alone and I said yes because it seemed like a cool site to go see.

So the idea was to get on the same bus as Alex, which was actually the 8 am bus we bought tickets for which was non-express and made a few stops before going to Cork. However, since we were at the station at 6:30 am there was an express bus straight to Cork and my Dad, before we could make a decision, just talked to the drive and got us on that bus instead of waiting for Alex.

It ended up being fine, and there were only four people total on the bus (the three of us and another random person). My mom and I slept basically the whole way there so it seemed like a quick trip.

When we got to Cork it wasn’t even 10 am and Alex wasn’t supposed to be there until 12ish so we decided to go get breakfast. All of us were really hungry because we basically ran to the station (the hotel forgot our wake-up call) and then just hopped on the bus.

We found this awesome bagel place with really great coffee. My mom and I each got a café latte (that’s sometimes the alternative to coffee with milk because its expresso with milk aka the same thing) and a breakfast bagel with scrambled eggs, bacon, red onions, and tomatoes. 

First Irish Breakfast; Asiago Cheese bagel sandwich with egg, red onion, tomato and bacon

After that we wandered around Cork a bit and then I called Alex to see where she was. Her bus was running a little late and we had already killed a good amount of time wandering so we told her we would just meet her there.

St. Peter and Paul Church in Cork, found while exploring 

We had to get on another bus to get there. The weird thing about the bus was it didn’t announce stops as we hit them. It was quite strange.  We figured out where the Castle stop was though just by asking the bus driver and we found it easily once we got off.

The Castle grounds were breathtakingly beautiful right from the start. It was exactly what you think of when you think of Ireland: super green grass, rolling rivers, mossy rocks, blue skies and just the right amount of sunshine. 

Parents on the bridge leading into Blarney Castle

So pretty

Me in a nook at Blarney Castle

The main attraction of the Blarney Castle is the Blarney Stone. As I said before, according to legend, whoever kisses the stone gains eloquence and wisdom. So, of course, I had to kiss. However, kissing the stone isn’t as easy as it sounds. To kiss it you have to lay on your back, grab onto two metal bars, and lean your head back and kiss it while dangling from the second floor of the castle. There are metal safety bars and a man holding onto you but it was still kind of scary. My mom was too afraid to do it but Dad did it. It was definitely thrilling but I was glad when I came up alive.

Kissing the Blarney Stone, just a little bit scary

We eventually found Alex after going through the whole Castle we explored the grounds with here. The grounds were alot bigger than I expected and they had a poison garden, a stable, a Blarney house (unfortunately not open in the winter months), a lake walk and a little stream/waterfall area. It was all really pretty and a great first full day in Ireland.

Blarney House