Blarney Castle

After living in Ireland for seven months (and less than an hour's bus ride away!), I have finally been to Blarney Castle!


According to tradition, now that I've kissed the Blarney Stone I have received the gift of gab (tell me if you know what that means). It was a little scary, because of the narrow stairs on the walk up and the fact that you can kind of see the ground when you bend backwards to kiss the stone (not so great with heights, this one...), but luckily there are bars to hold on to and there's a man who holds on to you so that you don't fall and hurt yourself.


I came mostly for the Blarney Stone tradition, but was very pleased to find that the castle and the grounds are absolutely breathtaking--and it's only just spring! I was also surprised to learn how much more there is to the surrounding area than just the castle: there's the fern garden (because it's so much WARMER here), the poison garden (literally a garden full of poisonous plants), the witch's kitchen (where the Witch of Blarney lights a fire to keep warm at night), and the wishing steps (if you walk up and down the stairs backwards with your eyes closed and focus on a wish, it will be granted).

The Fern Garden

The Poison Garden from the top of Blarney Castle

The Witch's Kitchen

The Wishing Steps

If any of you come to Ireland I would highly recommend taking a look at this place, but make sure you block out most of the day to walk around--I think my friends and I were there for about five hours!