Blarney Castle, Muckross House and Killarney

Today we are on the move again travelling through County Cork from Kinsale to Killarney. We have a day filled with adventure. Our first stop is at the Blarney Castle. The castle dates back centuries and it has a spectacular view of the brilliant green countryside. There are acres of sprawling lawns, forest,a lake and gardens. The Blarney Castle is famous for the blarney stone. We climb the narrow spiral stone stairway up to the top of the castle. It's quite a way up to the top and once there we take in magnificent view. Some of us are a little queezy with the height and the narrow walkway around the edge of the building. Each of us takes at turn at kissing the famos stone. You would think this is simple however they fail to tell you that you must lay down, lean back as far as you can and kiss the stone while upside down. This is quite a challenge and can only be done with the assistance of someone holding you. Even then it feels as though you are going to slip through the opening and crash down to the ground. We all kissed the stone and lived to tell the story. Rumour has it, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab. As if these women needed that, they already have the gift.
After visiting the castle we had free time to wander through the woolen mills, take a stroll through the grounds and some of us toured Blarney House. This is a magnificent home built in 1874 and is still inhabitated by Sir Charles and Lady Elizabeth Colthurst. The home is a small museum housing wonderful antiques, elegant furnishings and paintings depicting the family history.
After lunch we continue our journey on to Killarney. As we drive north the scenery changes from green rolling hills to a rockier topography with 3 famous lakes and great mountain ranges. The bus drops us at our next mode of transportation, a horse and wagon which is better known as a Jaunting Car. One of our drivers has taken a a shine to Helen and has proposed marriage. He slows along the way to pick a bouquet of flowers for her and the whole scenario has the ladies in fits of laughter.
Helen is a great sport and with her beau she entertains us all with an impromptu wedding, giving us all an afternoon experience to remember.
Our next visit is of the Muckross House,, a palatial estate dating back to 1839 and set in Killarney National Park alongside Muckross Lake. Queen Victoria stayed here in 1861. The Herbert family took 6 years and spent a fortune preparing for her visit which was to be cut short due to her husbands illness. Unfortunately to the dismay of the Herberts she only stayed 2 nights. The house is very elegant and has beautiful views of the grounds, gardens and lake.
After our tour we continue on to check into our hotel , the Killarney Towers. It's a lovely hotel in the heart of Killarney. The streets are lined with lovely shops and plenty of pubs.
This evening we take a winding drive through the country roads to Kate Kearneys Cottage to enjoy a typical pub dinner and live Irish entertainment. The trio educate us on the various instruments used to play typical Irish music and they entertain us with songs.. After our return some of us head out to Shannahans pub for a nightcap. It's Monday night and the pub is filled with patrons enjoying the live music and chatting with friends. Another great day was had by all.