Kissing the Blarney Stone

This morning our group piled on the bus and drove to Blarney Castle, which has unbelievably beautiful gardens around it. The rhododendrons were in spectacular bloom in many colors. I agonized forever about climbing the steep stairs to the Blarney Stone, leaning over the chasm to kiss it, and going back down the stairs (the worst part when you're scared of heights), but finally I did it, and it really wasn't so bad. I didn't even get winded climbing all the way up to the top of the tower, so maybe all the walking we're doing is paying off. Then we drove to an adorable town called Kenmare, where half the businesses were called O'Sullivan, so maybe that's where some of my ancestors came from. The buildings were very traditional and painted in a rainbow of colors. We had amazing fish and chips at a pub there called O'Donnabhain's, which is pronounced O'Donovan's. We drove through part of the Ring of Kerry, up in the mountains, and I tried to get a really good shot of the mist shrouding them. We went to a sheep farm to watch demonstrations of shearing and dogs herding the sheep, and we got to pet some baby lambs. Finally we arrived in Killarney and took a horse carriage ride through Killarney National Park, seeing excellent views of the islands in the three lakes and the ruins of Ross Castle. Now I am blogging on a free computer in the hotel lobby, but other people are waiting to use it, so I'm making the description of this eventful day brief.

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