I Think I See a Leprechaun

I wish! Leprechauns weren't in the cards for me yesterday when I visited Blarney Castle. But some of the most stunning scenery of the semester was!

Yes, Blarney is famous for the Blarney Stone. And I kissed it, of course. (Amusing photo later in the post). Ashley had some work to do yesterday, so I ventured out on my own to see the sites. However, as fate would have it, I met two random Canadians on the bus over. They were around my age, and on holiday for a few weeks following the end of their semester at university. They were visiting a friend of theirs in Cork as well, so we spent the day together. It's like Jack said in Titanic, "I love waking up not knowing what's going to happen, or who I'm going to meet.." And who said life lessons couldn't be learned from that movie?!

Okay, I'm done. But seriously, that's what I've absolutely loved about this semester. Fellow travelers are often so willing to be friends. I will probably never see them again, but it was an adventure all the same!

Ireland is, in my opinion, one of the few places in the world where the clouds dramatically enhance the views. Seriously. The soft light, the gentle drizzle...beautiful. Not to mention, I've never seen so much GREEN. Drastically exceeded any expectations I had.

Blarney Castle

Tight spaces

Beautiful

You could crawl through the dungeon tunnels! Ducking, of course.

Painting?

View from the top

Funny story behind his grate. If someone was invading the castle, the guards would stand over this opening (which is above the entrance) and poor boiling liquids, etc. on the invader as he walked in. That's one way!

We then walked to the "poison garden." One of very few of its kind, this garden is full of genuinely poisonous plants. All I could think of were my six-year-old summer campers, who love to touch, and occasionally eat, anything and everything we see in the wild. Taking them here would be a nightmare.

 The poison garden ended up turning into a kind of scavenger hunt, titled, "Let-Me-See-How-Many- Harry-Potter-Plants-Are-Real."

YES! MANDRAKES ARE REALLY REAL! HARRY POTTER FANS!

Found this sign at the marijuana section:

Haha

One of several from the "Maria tries to climb a tree" photo shoot

One of the few times I can be tall

More amazingness

 We then took one of the walks around the grounds. I can't even explain the following pictures. I seriously thought a fairy was going to pop out.

My favorite picture of the day. Who knows where it leads.

The Wishing Steps! Walk up and down with your eyes closed, thinking only of your wish. It should come true within a year.

Real life?

I like the castle looming in the background.

And to end things: My kiss. And for the record, those bars below my head are an illusion. They were not right below me. There was nothing there but a nice long drop. Splat. Thus the nice man holding me.

Put your back into it!

Heading to London tomorrow. Happy Tuesday!