AHH! Today we visited the Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone. When you kiss the Blarney Stone, you are supposed to receive the gift of eloquence. I kissed the stone back in November whenever I came over with my family, so maybe this will make me more eloquent. The Blarney stone is at the very top of the castle, and climbing to the top of the castle is not an easy feat. The hall ways are narrow and the stairs are broken in many places.
When you climb to the top you lay off the side of the edge and tilt your head to kiss the official Blarney Stone. I have heard from my Irish Mercyhurst friends that locals often sneak onto Blarney property and pee on the stone, but I convinced myself that it was not the truth! After roaming the grounds for an hour we visited the Blarney Woolen mills. I bought myself a wool scarf and bought Irish shortbread cookies for my sisters – they will LOVE them!
At lunch we had a book discussion. This trip will be counting for 3 credits so we had some work that came along with the trip. One of our assignments was to read a book, “ANAM CARA, A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue. The point of the book was to love yourself before you can accept love from others. I think that it is a great lesson for me to take in. It also seems that this lesson is portrayed in the day to day life for the Irish. Maybe that is why they always seem so friendly and happy!
After our lunch we headed to meet the owner of a local bed and breakfast for a history lesson of County Cork. During this time, I quickly realized how much pride everyone has for their country. There does not seem to be much political drama or county arguments, everyone is just proud to be living in the county they live in.
Tonight we are headed out to town and meet the locals!
Sláinte!
Meghan
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