Kinsale and Castles

We left our humble abode in Dingle to make our way through at least part of the Ring of Kerry and continue on until we ended up in another little apartment outside of the small port town of Kinsale.  We had a few stops in mind and also allowed for the last minute following of signs/ playing with GPS to get to a few hidden gems.  

Our first stop was in and near Killarney where we stopped by a gorgeous cathedral and the Castle Ross, which was right beside a lake in the national park.  It was extra cold and extra windy, but obviously, beautiful.

We continued up the road to Blarney, home to the famous Blarney Castle and Blarney stone.  Legend has it, if you kiss the Blarney stone you will be blessed with the gift of gab... that is eloquence and flattery.  So, we made our way around the grounds and up to the top of the castle where we hung upside down to kiss a small square of stone that is kept as far away from thieves and tramps as possible.  The stunning grounds included walking paths, a poison garden, the castle itself, the residence house and some kind of Japanese-ish water garden.  

I actually kissed the stone... setting in stone my already present gift of gab, but Michael, not wanting to kiss something that millions of others do a year, instead just turned upside down and touched his nose to the stone.  What a weirdo!!

 We spent two nights in a lovely apartment outside of Kinsale.  The weather worsened slightly, but we just enjoyed our time walking around and exploring the town and beautiful views of the boats below.

There was also this darling sweet shop that was exactly like Honeydukes in real life.  We talked to the owner for awhile.  Apparently he only opened the shop during high season (St. Patricks week and summer) and weekends and spent the rest of his time travelling.  Rough life. Sounds great.

Once we left Kinsale, we started on our last leg towards Dublin where our Irish adventure would end.  We stopped at two more awesome castles: Cahir Castle and St. Patrick's Rock of Cashel. Cahir was really fun, and apparently since it was never take by force, has more original castle than any of the other (many) castles in Ireland.  The town was built right up to that one, which always amazes me.  A gas station across the street from a medieval castle.  

Conversely, the Rock of Cashel was up on a hill overlooking the countryside in a sort of dominance you would expect from a castle.

St. Patrick's cross:

 This guy was BIG!!:

 We finished our time in the Irish countryside and arrived in fair Dublin that evening.