We spent the weekend in County Cork, Ireland (where it rained incessantly and we stayed in a hotel that refused to turn on the heat before 7PM!) before coming back to the States. The highlight (in part b/c it was the only two hours when it didn't rain) was visiting Blarney Castle which is in--wait for it--Blarney. The castle itself was pretty cool, if largely without floors and the grounds were beautiful. (FYI: that tree in the slideshow is a Mugo pine--the shrub growing in many North American front yards which doesn't get larger than 3x3'.)
It's hard to describe the location of the Blarney Stone itself. It's at the top of the castle and for some reason there's this gap of about a foot between the floor and the outer wall. The stone is (in)conveniently on the outer wall. So you lay down on the ground, stretch yourself across the gap, stick your head upside down into the hole, and kiss the stone. As a short person, I just want to say that the proportion of my body still touching solid ground was uncomfortably low during this exercise. I found myself stretching my lips out, hoping I could get the stone without sliding down any further. Didn't work. And kissing the stone is, if you think about it too hard, a little like kissing 5,000 strangers. I don't think about it too hard.
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