Today was a day for trying new things, and for those of you who don't know me, I don't do well with trying new things. For example, when I was six my parents wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner, but I had never been to Olive Garden, so I cried all the way there because I was worried their spaghetti and meatballs would not be as good as my mom's. And today, as with Olive Garden, I was pleasantly surprised. Our morning started off rather late. We left the B&B in groups between 9:00 and 10:00 this morning and wandered around the English Market. Then we met at 1:00 this afternoon to go to Blarney Castle. Unlike the Rock of Cashel yesterday, Blarney had more nooks and crannies for us to explore. More on that later.
The English Market decorated for Christmas.
This morning, Sam, Kristin, and I wandered around the English Market, the most famous market in Ireland, with Dr. Elsner. The English market was essential for Ireland's economy and was responsible for exporting all kinds of dairy products like butter and cheese. Today it's sort of like a rather large grocery store with different vendors who sell fresh meats, cheeses, breads, produce, and desserts. There are also cafes within the market that sell fresh food for visitors. This morning, we visited one of the butchers and picked up lamb for a lamb stew tonight, but instead of getting the lamb out of a refrigerated case, the owner's son chopped up the lamb right in front of us. We also got some cheese to have with some soda bread, and after we tried a few different samples, we decided on a creamy white cheese.
It was interesting to me that though many of the vendors were Irish (like the butcher and the cute guy selling bread) some weren't Irish at all. In fact, the woman who sold us the cheese was French. Another thing I noticed was that the vendors were all extremely friendly. In fact, every shop owner/assistant we met today asked us where we are from. Some of them know where South Carolina is, others don't, one guy asked if it was near Nebraska because he had heard of that from watching The Big Bang Theory, but their interest is greatly appreciated. Dr. Elsner gave us an assignment to try to talk to as many vendors and people as possible. I took that as a personal challenge to become extroverted, which is a stretch for me, and spent a lot of time talking to random vendors. Most of the vendors have family businesses that have been around for generations; however, one vendor lamented that the younger generation is not always interested in following in their parents' footsteps. For example, the butcher lamented that his son was going to college in Limerick instead of helping him at the shop. When we asked the son how long he'd been working there, he smiled and said, "Oh, since I was three." (And if you're having a hard time picturing it, think Chris Hemsworth with an Irish accent.)
After we wandered around for a while, we headed upstairs to the cafe to have brunch. Sam and I had tea and yogurt with granola and fruit compote and Kristin had a croissant and a toasted cheese (which is basically a grilled cheese but better). After brunch, Sam, Kristin, and I milled around Cork and did a little shopping. I went into a bookstore called Waterson's and purchased a copy of James Joyce's Dubliners. Kristin went into Brown Thomas, a department store she'd been begging to go to since we got off the plane, and bought some mascara and lipgloss. When we went upstairs to look at the women's clothing, they had a jacket for €2,000. It reminded me of a Sax Fifth Avenue, except maybe nicer. I felt privileged just to touch the clothes! After getting coffee from Costa (our Christmas themed travel mugs were adorable), we headed out to Blarney Village and Blarney Castle.
The ride into the village took about thirty minutes by bus, and then we had a five minute walk to the castle grounds, which are massive. Running in front of the castle is one large river with many streams coming off of it. The riverbank is littered with trees and flowers and every few feet there is a bench or picnic table where people can sit. You have to walk a few feet before you can see the castle, but once you do you are blown away by the view. I felt like I was stepping into a storybook, and in a minute a knight in shining armor was going to come riding up and sweep me off my feet. I got Cali helping me down off the battlements instead, so I guess beggars can't really be choosers. The best part about Blarney castle was getting to explore all the nooks and crannies, and boy, does Dr. Elsner know ALL the nooks and crannies. I probably took over two hundred pictures today inside the castle and on the grounds. There were so many cool rooms and little places of interest. For example, the castle had its own murder room where people would place a victim beneath a hole in the ground and then shoot something down the hole (rock, arrow, cow poop, whatever) to kill the person. I felt like it was something Shakespeare would appreciate. And speaking of Shakespeare, I saw a raven in the castle and said "Quoth the raven nevermore," and it was probably the coolest thing I've ever done because Poe and ruined castles just go together, you know?
Cali looking adorable.
Despite how much I love the castle, I will be the first to admit I was absolutely terrified. To walk up to the top of the tower, where the Blarney Stone is, you have to climb a series of small, slippery stone steps, barely big enough for my foot and the only railing/place to hold on to was a rope running up the side of the tower. Not only am I claustrophobic, but I'm also absolutely petrified of heights; however, I knew that the end results would be worth it, and I was right. They say a picture tells a thousand words, but I don't know if there are enough words to describe the absolute magnificence of what I saw from the top of Blarney Castle. The richness of the greens and browns, the brightness of the sun after a long morning of rain, the simple splendor of being so high up that you wonder why you can't just kiss the sky... and even that falls short of the truth. Of course, by this point I had so much adrenaline running through me, I was feeling minor effects of being in shock. Still, I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life, and I highly doubt that I ever will.
And like any good tourist, I kissed the Blarney Stone. Tradition says that kissing the Blarney Stone will give you the power of eloquence. Just trying to kiss it made me almost pee my pants. You lay flat on the ground with your head tilted behind you and scoot your body off the castle wall till you're hanging practically by your knees and your face is against the stone in front of you. Your only support are two metal bars and a relatively elderly gentleman who is holding you by the waist. It seemed to me a heavy price to pay for eloquence, but my motto this trip has been "When in Ireland," so I was willing to give it a go. Anyway, now I can say I've kissed the Blarney Stone, which is significantly more impressive than it sounds. I promise.
Upon leaving the castle, we walked down to the Blarney Woolen Mills, which have very famous wool sweaters that are incredibly comfortable. The bus ride back was quiet because we were all so tired from climbing rocks all afternoon. On our way back to the B&B, we stopped at the English Market again to buy some potatoes, carrots, and bread for dinner tonight with our lamb stew. One of the things that I like about the places where we stay is that we have flexibility to eat in if we want, which is a luxury on vacation and a special luxury when you're on vacation with a chef. Tonight we went to a pub where they had live, traditional Irish music. We had a wonderful time listening to the singer, and the music was absolutely poetic. While we were there, some rather intoxicated, friendly Irish men in their late sixties came over to talk to us. They were really excited about our trip to Blarney. The best part about the night was immersing ourselves (once again) fully in the Irish culture and embracing it. The beauty of the music, the expressions of pain, love, joy, and political conflict. I believe this is the goal of true music, not to objectify the opposite sex or shout expletives, but to express the emotion and passion of every day life. Time and time again, I have been blessed today, and I'm thankful for that.
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