The day of castles

We really had no concrete plan when we left Dublin, more of a goal to see how far we could get. Our Dublin hosts thought we were a bit too ambitious but as a Canadian and an Australian, we laughed at the distances. Ireland is so cute, you can drive across it in 2hrs!

Basically we would pick a place, get there and then decide which place was next. En route we took selfies to show our friends where we were. The first day brought us to Kilkenny and Blarney Castles with a rest in Kinsale - I will let you google the distances.

First stop – Kilkenny. 

The objective here was Kilkenny Castle which was built in 1195 to control a part of the River Nore. It was transferred to the people of Kilkenny in 1967. 

I don’t know what we were expecting but when we walked onto the grounds we were blown away – the landscape was stunning! (the weather, not so much!). We did the castle tour and then quickly surveyed the grounds since it was raining. Then it is was off to a pub for lunch and on to our next stop.

Next stop - BlarneyCastle  

Doesn't the weather look great!

I have to say that we were skeptical driving up to this castle because you cannot see it from outside the grounds. Eventually once we paid a ridiculous amount to enter, we finally got a glimpse!

For those that have been before, you know that the castle itself is just a shell basically so it's really great to tour when it’s raining! This is actually the third castle built on this site. It was constructed in 1446 by Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster.

It takes 100 steps to get to the top and reach the Blarney stone. There are a number of legends surrounding how the stone came to be but basically they all equate to  - kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of the gab. I figured since I had climbed the 100 steps (in heels - don't ask), I might as well do it. I am not entirely sure why one has to hang upside down to do it but being a shorter person it was a bit of challenge. Nonetheless, it was a success!

photo of a photo because my friend can't take pictures!

The castle gardens looked amazing and we would have spent more time visiting but it was pouring rain and cold so we just headed to the converted stables for some tea and to decide on the next stop.

Then it was off to Cork – which was just a quick drive through and then to our overnight destination of Kinsale. Kinsale is a southern coastal town - small and quaint! 

Our Dublin friends had been there recently and they had recommended a place for dinner which we of course had to try and take our last selfie of the day!