They are all Corkers

When I was growing up, whenever you were acting like a silly goose, you got called a corker. I became quite comfortable with the term it wasn't until later when I called some of my friends corkers that I realized it was not a wide-used term amongst them. It wasn't until I watched the movie "Far & Away" that I heard the term again. (Aye, Shannon you're a corker.)

Why the story? Well, last weekend I went to Cork. The land of the Corkers, or so I thought. While most of the other crew went to see the Cliffs of Moher and dolphin watching I opted for Cork. It was one of the top places on my visit list that Nathan and I didn't hit on our 2001 adventure. The trip worked out well because Jillian had a friend from undergrad that lived in Cork so that provided us with three very key elements to the trip: 1. A guide to the city and area, 2. transportation because she had a car and 3. A place to stay for free.

We departed for Cork Friday after class and got there early in the afternoon. While waiting for Jillian's friend, we perused a Dunnes Store -- which is their version of Wal-Mart. I purchased an umbrella for the first time, and what do you know I haven't been rained on since. Awesome.

Because the traffic was so bad and it was getting late, we decided to put off the trip to the Blarney Stone until Saturday. Instead, we relaxed at Emily's house and waited for her boyfriend to get home before work and going out for dinner. Dinner included black pudding. Brendan (Emily's boyfriend) wouldn't tell me what was in it except it was made with blood. But surprisingly it wasn't that bad. Afterward, we went to a few pubs and the capped off the night at a dance club. Cork has a nice nightlife, but boy is it expensive. To get to the nightclub we first had to pay a cover to see a band (The Lollygaggers) on the ground floor. Then at about 1 a.m., we went up to the ultra-hip dance club, which featured a 12 Euro cover charge -- which is about $20. I drank four Red Bulls up to that point and didn't care and was ready to dance and get rid of some of that extra energy. We stayed until 3 a.m. before going home. I was so hopped up on caffeine that I stayed up until about 6 a.m. Good times.

Saturday was awesome because it was the first day in Ireland that I've been able to sleep in. There had been other chances, but travel arrangements and the early sunrise prevented any sleep past 8:30 a.m. I like sleeping in. Before we went to Blarney we first had to wait for Brendan to get off work so we could use the car. We passed the time by watching "The Pursuit of Happyness." Great flick. For some reason, Brendan didn't want to go to the Blarney Stone. In fact, I think he wanted nothing to do with the Stone at all. He was surprised that we Americans had heard of this insignificant stone and had such a desire to see it.

Eventually, we made our way out to Blarney Castle. I was slightly worried about the crowds because I figured midday on a Saturday in July would be a zoo, but I'm guessing between the high prices of travel and a few showers helped our cause. We went on the 20-minute ride out to Blarney, the grounds weren't packed and it didn't feel like an overly touristy place. Once arriving at the Castle and the Grounds we headed to the Blarney Castle. The Blarney Stone is located on the top floor of the Castle and to reach it we had to climb a super narrow staircase -- I had to turn my feet sideways so they would fit on the steps. Luckily there was a rope to make the walk feel a little more secure, but I do not think it would meet ADA standards. On the way to the top, there were several side rooms. From these rooms, I determined that ancient Irish people were tiny. At 6'1" I had to duck quite a bit for most of the doors and couldn’t stand upright in a few of the rooms. I pity the person taller than I.

Once we reached the top, a breathtaking view awaited us. You could see miles of lush countryside and pastureland. Check out the video for a complete 360-degree view of the grounds. Amazing.



Much like the rest of the grounds, the top was almost empty and I think there were at most five other people on the level with us. I was expecting to wait about 10 minutes or so in line before getting to kiss the Stone. I wanted to read as many of the signs about the history and lore of the Stone as possible, but because there was no line I felt like we were rushed right up to the Stone. First, let me tell you about the stone. Its origin is unclear but legend has it that the stone is believed by some to be half of the original Stone of Scone, and said to have been presented to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in 1314 in recognition of his support in the Battle of Bannockburn. There are a bunch of others too. Anyway, a legend grew that those who kiss are granted the gift of eloquence. Many famous people and tourists have kissed it, including people like Winston Churchill. A less popular legend is that each night locals pee on it. I could not taste anything, and luckily it rained earlier.

Once at the Blarney Stone, you have to lie on your back and then lean back to kiss the Stone. But it is not just a straight back lean, you have to arch your back at least a foot, if not slightly more, to reach the Stone. It is kind of unclear where the stone is because there is no definitive marking. It is just a stone that is part of a wall. This leads to fake outs and multiple kisses of the wall. While leaning back, a Blarney Stone Guy holds your waist as you lean back to kiss the Stone.

So check that off the list.

We hung up at the top of the Blarney Castle for about five minutes with just our group of three and the guy who takes your picture (and is willing to sell it to you for 10 Euro.) It was quite peaceful and serene. Again, it was one of the best scenes I've seen while here.

In addition to the Castle, the rest of the grounds included several extensive hiking trails, picnic areas and other smaller buildings. We went on the shortest of the planned walks. The first item we encountered were these giant plants that had huge leaves - by which I mean like three feet across. I'm not sure quite what they were like that but they were huge and everywhere. After meandering some more, we ran into a few more points of interest. The first was the Wishing Steps. Legend has it that a blind witch had to carry wood up and down the steps each day. If you walked up the stairs backward and down forward, all with your eyes closed, your wish would be granted. Not only did I do this, but also I broke all sorts of time records. (That might be a stretch of the truth, but I did it twice as fast as anyone else around us.) We passed by a few more spots such as the Fairy Den, Witch's Cave and a sideways branch that connected two trees.

After we departed from Blarney Castle, we crossed the street to the Blarney Mills Factory Store. When you think of Irish sweaters, you think of Blarney Woolen Mills. They had a huge outlet store along with a wide assortment of Irish gifts and Waterford Crystal. I made several purchases and we ate a quick lunch before continuing the adventure south.

One of the other spots recommended by our Professor (a native Corker) was to go south to Kinsale, a nice port town. Kinsale is a typical port community with tons of sailboats and lots of little shops around the bay. However, before we attacked the city, we continued all the way south to Old Head. Compared to the first beach we viewed on the Irish Sea, this one was awesome. Fine sand covered the beach and then probably not quite a mile each direction was cliffs. There were lots of families enjoying the semi-nice day and wearing bodysuits.

Back in Kinsale, we walked around town several times looking at shops and trying to find a place to eat. It so happened that Saturday was also the first day of a week-long arts festival in the city. We listened to a little of the live music and eventually settled on a little pizza place with seafood. I had some smoked salmon. So good. We returned from the daylong adventure wiped out and topped it off with a trip to the store for some ice cream.

Live update: Tuesday's featured a trip to the driving range at Limerick County Country Club. Wes, Jillian and I hit some balls in preparation for our St. Andrews trip. Man, I am pumped. We were going to play a pitch and putt, but there wasn't any in Limerick. Anyway, Wednesday features a trip to Galway and no class. Summer school is great.